Half of US Teens Meet Criteria for Mental Disorder

[Alceste]

Maybe kids aren't any worse off than before, but media attention & increased recognition of problems just makes it appear worse.

It can't help that psychoanalysis is a fairly young field, and mapping the human psyche must be extraordinarily difficult due to its complexity and diversity. On top of that, we live in a culture where the social norms are changing so dramatically from one decade to the next that establishing some comparitive sense of what is "normal" must be next to impossible.

I have some lingering skepticism about the state of mental health infrastructure in my country, let's just say. Can't help but, really, when we have people sawing the heads off strangers on our Greyhound buses. I do think empiricism is the only way forward, but I'm not sure we've advanced very far when it comes to the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness.

 

[Sunstone]

It's my impression that psychology and related fields are making rapid progress in resolving our understanding of human nature, health and disease.

 

[LuisDantas]

Psychoanalysis seems to me to face remarkable challenges just to remain useful. It is IMO way too subjective, and often way too molded by the times when its founders lived.

And Psychiatry is IMO even more over-valued, and dangerously so. Not everything can be usefully reduced to chemical imbalances.

Now, psychology, on the other hand...

 

[Sunstone]

Is psychoanalysis still used by anyone? I could be wrong, but I thought that died out thirty years ago.

 

[Revoltingest]

Psychoanalysis was going strong back in 2007...the last time I had a building with those guys in it.
It's a grueling process to become one though, & limits the number of'm. One tenant was training
to become an analyst, & she had to cut back her treatment hours to accommodate the schedule,
which included going thru analysis herself. Analysts are a different breed from other shrinks.

 

[Revoltingest]

And Psychiatry is IMO even more over-valued, and dangerously so. Not everything can be usefully reduced to chemical imbalances.

And of course, psychiatry is not just about chemical imbalances & medication. But there's a good reason that psychologists
don't prescribe drugs...they typically are not an MD, & therefore cannot legally do so. When psychoactive drugs are appropriate,
the patient needs to see a psychiatrist to get a physician's diagnosis & prescription. It's also dangerous to not see a shrink when
you have neurological symptoms. If you've never known anyone with a brain tumor, schizophrenia or clinical depression, then
perhaps you simply haven't seen how useful such treatment can be. Some people say to instead see a clergyman & rely upon one's
faith, but that has its limitations & risks too, especially for heathens & children.

 

[LuisDantas]

And of course, psychiatry is not just about chemical imbalances & medication. But there's a good reason that psychologists
don't prescribe drugs...they typically are not an MD, & therefore cannot legally do so. When psychoactive drugs are appropriate,
the patient needs to see a psychiatrist to get a physician's diagnosis & prescription. It's also dangerous to not see a shrink when
you have neurological symptoms. If you've never known anyone with a brain tumor, schizophrenia or clinical depression, then
perhaps you simply haven't seen how useful such treatment can be. Some people say to instead see a clergyman & rely upon one's
faith, but that has its limitations & risks too, especially for heathens & children.

I actually agree. What I don't understand is why people are so eager to attempt drugs before other, more sensible and less risky approaches. Not too many of a psychiatrist's patients actually have medical problems (as opposed to psychological ones).

 

[LuisDantas]

Is psychoanalysis still used by anyone? I could be wrong, but I thought that died out thirty years ago.

I wish. Never heard of Lacan, I assume?

 

[Sunstone]

I wish. Never heard of Lacan, I assume?

Nope. Who is he?

 

[LuisDantas]

To be unforgivably blunt and honest, he is a very succesfull neo-psychanalist that takes lots of pleasure from testing the limits of his own capability of producing lengthy, pretentious, and completely meaningless texts.

Even his supporters can rarely deny that actually understanding what he means if often a major challenge.

His bluffs have been called on occasion, particularly by Sokal. Here are some links:

Fashionable Nonsense - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Untitled Document

 

[Sunstone]

To be unforgivably blunt and honest, he is a very succesfull neo-psychanalist that takes lots of pleasure from testing the limits of his own capability of producing lengthy, pretentious, and completely meaningless texts.

Even his supporters can rarely deny that actually understanding what he means if often a major challenge.

His bluffs have been called on occasion, particularly by Sokal. Here are some links:

Fashionable Nonsense - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Untitled Document

Excellent. I happen to think psychoanalysis is largely a racket, and that does nothing to dispel my impression.

 

[Revoltingest]

I actually agree. What I don't understand is why people are so eager to attempt drugs before other, more sensible and less risky approaches. Not too many of a psychiatrist's patients actually have medical problems (as opposed to psychological ones).

I don't know what the percentages are regarding surgery, medication, counseling, etc.
I couldn't even say whether some problems are "medical" or not, eg, clinical depression.
Do you know of sources relating to these issues?

 

[LuisDantas]

Not with any rigor worth mentioning, unfortunately. I am only going from my personal impression.

 

[DallasApple]

Au contraire...that killed further questioning.
I'd expect that a neurologist might refer the voice hearer to a psychiatrist.

Well I dont know about that..I took 2 of my children to a child neurologist to determine if 1 had ADD and if the other needed to be treated for any type of depression or mood disorder.He did not refer me to a child psychiatrist.He examined them and gave me his opinion.I felt a hell of a lot more confident going to him than a psychiatrist that would just sit there and shuffle through his bag of samples and toss them over to you to try on them ..Or a pediatrician .

I guess you can tell I dont have a whole lot of faith left in pshychiatrist..I serioulsy will tell you right now..I could go to one tomorow and basically tell him/or her what I have and what drugs I would like him /her to give me and do a better job than they could on what it was I needed or didnt need.

Um yes doctor..I have a history of depression and severe anxiety ...Whats worked in the past for me is 1mg..clonzepam for the anxiety attacks ...Oh and seroquel is the only thing that works to help me sleep especially if Im on the Lexapro which is the only antidepressent that has seemed control the severe depressive episodes.Im telling you they would hand me over a 6 months prescription for all 3 of those without blinking an eye on my first visit .Even if I really didnt need any of them.


Love

Dallas

 

[Revoltingest]

Um yes doctor..I have a history of depression and severe anxiety ...Whats worked in the past for me is 1mg..clonzepam for the anxiety attacks ...Oh and seroquel is the only thing that works to help me sleep especially if Im on the Lexapro which is the only antidepressent that has seemed control the severe depressive episodes.Im telling you they would hand me over a 6 months prescription for all 3 of those without blinking an eye on my first visit .Even if I really didnt need any of them.

I've found that no doctor should be trusted to the extent that one doesn't second guess & question him/her.
(After all, they're just people.) That goes not just for psychiatrists, but also GPs, orthopedists, etc.
Whether you're treated by a neurologist, psychiatrist or neuropsychiatrist, drugs are sometimes of value.
But it is an issue not just with shrinks, but in all of western medicine that drugs are over-prescribed,
eg, antibiotics by GPs.

 

[Kathryn]

Yes it is sad, and people are so immersed in over-materialism, just constantly hoarding things, that they're killing their spirituality.

You know what - I agree with a lot of what you're saying.

I'll give an example from my own life. I am spoiled rotten even in lean times, and this past year has been very good for both my husband and myself.

We bought a new house -it's great. We bought new furniture - it's pretty. My husband bought a new truck - it's cool. Then we had Christmas, and we bought a lot of stuff for our kids and grandkids -that was fun.

That would have been MORE than enough for me. My GOSH, I am awash in material things! But guess what - my husband bought us a Wii for Christmas - and then surprised me with a very nice Yamaha keyboard.

It was at this point that I literally began to feel sick about all this. It was like eating wedding cake for six months.

My birthday is this month. I DON'T WANT ANYTHING! I mean, I could sit here and make a list of more things I'd like to have - a singe serving coffee maker, a new cell phone - heck, I don't even have an iPad or iPod! OMG, I'm behind in technological toys! But honestly - it's ridiculous. There's no end to STUFF we can buy and fill our houses with.

But the stuff doesn't make us happy. We think it will - but it never does. However, we keep throwing stuff at our kids as if that will fulfill them, when what they REALLY need (even though it might strike horror in them) is a sit down dinner with their parents several times a week, Saturdays spent with their family doing things AS A FAMILY (no movies in the car, texting, etc.).

And we need it too. Maybe if we all knew each other better (accomplished by actually SPENDING TIME with each other without technological interference) we'd be able to better help our kids navigate the teen and early adult years, which are tough times even in the closest families.

 

[dust1n]

Psychoanalysis was going strong back in 2007...the last time I had a building with those guys in it.
It's a grueling process to become one though, & limits the number of'm. One tenant was training
to become an analyst, & she had to cut back her treatment hours to accommodate the schedule,
which included going thru analysis herself. Analysts are a different breed from other shrinks.

From my understanding, a psychoanalysis must go through one year of additional training after the Ph.D., which, naturally, includes quite some time be psychoanalyzed.

 

[Revoltingest]

From my understanding, a psychoanalysis must go through one year of additional training after the Ph.D., which, naturally, includes quite some time be psychoanalyzed.

There's also a lot of cross-pollenization, since many psychologists practice in the analytical style.
I found this interesting how much it affected building design, HVAC systems, noise management & staff training.

 

[dust1n]

There's also a lot of cross-pollenization, since many psychologists practice in the analytical style.
I found this interesting how much it affected building design, HVAC systems, noise management & staff training.

They don't have Industrial Psych classes for nothin'!

 

[Revoltingest]

They don't have Industrial Psych classes for nothin'!

Therapy for depressed milling machines?