"What is right with you?" Part 15: Another word about medications, chemical imbalances...Can medications just be written off that easily?

Are medications this easily written off (see prior post)?  Clearly not.  The prior post takes a harsh look at the lack of data supporting the ideal of "mental illness" or biological/chemical imbalances as causes for emotional problems.  However, it needs to be made very clear that our stress, emotional struggles, and so on, can take its toll on the body and may result in our having symptoms which express these conditions. From this point of view, symptoms are natural indicators of things gone awry that need help.  Sometimes this means that our minds and bodies can go into overload and that medications may be needed to help us cope until we can. Also, some individuals do not always have the resources with their insurance (this is especially increasingly so in a society and a culture that does not value healing relationships in therapeutic settings and seems more inclined towards medical model solutions such as medications), nor do we all have the finances, or psychological resources to cope with the rigors of psychotherapy.  In summary, from my point of view, medications can help.  Our body can be thrown off balance by the stressors of life and need to be held in check until, and if we can find another way through these challenges.  Thus, in this respect "What is right with you?" includes the asset that our symptoms can be to us in helping us back to health. MY WEBSITE

"What is right with you?" Part 14: Yes, but aren't some conditions the result of a chemical imbalance or genetics?

This is a very good question, because we have been strongly conditioned to believe this.  Before I say more about this, I want to affirm that medication helps many people through many things.  At the same time, there are some important considerations to be made regarding the assumption that medications are a cure for a problem with the brain, or a chemical imbalance.

The following represents a summary of the research on the so-called "mental illnesses":

     * No gene has ever been identified as associated with any "mental illness."
     * Despite being able to measure neuro-transmitters, no support for chemical
        imbalance has ever been found.
     * Psychiatry is the only branch of medicine that treats "disorders" or medical
        conditions with no known causes.                            
     * Twin studies' correlations do not rule out environment and artificially inflate
        results by double counting (proband) instead of pairwise tallying.
     * Brain imaging studies do no support any consistent findings associated with
        "mental illness"

An alternative view is that symptoms are not to be blamed on the body, a defective brain, or some kind of chemical imbalance, but rather are the result of the mind's creative ability to protect itself against further emotional pain.  Therefore, symptoms, rather than being something to be disabled by medications, again, seem to play an important part of signalling the clues of what is ailing the psyche (soul).  How does making an unfounded claim that we are brain impaired, etc. have on our already struggling psyche?  MY WEBSITE

"What is right with you?" Pt. 6: Life Themes and their power

When a person begins therapy, themes begin to emerge.  Sometimes a powerful theme emerges in the first (and on some occasions only session) session.  This theme usually dominates thinking and life choices.  Often, it can be simple like, "I want my life to be like one long highlight film!"  At other times, it can be painful and disappointing like, "I never feel like will be enough for anyone to love me or want to stay with me."  While themes can change, be numerous, or remain somewhat constant, it is through elaborating them, their power, and their consequences that determine not only what has been silently assumed, but how we might work together to find other ways of living.  The themes that are self-defeating have been a part of a life story, but are not the path of the "What is right with you" story.  What is right with me can be expressed in terms of one's true self, one's always known inner truth, one's innate talents, who God created me to be, etc.  But when the theme has been destructive, tearing down those latent abilities that remain part of an un-lived life.

Steven M. Harris, Ph.D.  My Website

"What is right with you?" Pt. 4: The future (and letting go of the past)

The future, and letting go of the past

Part of the "weeding" process, the clearing up to get to the garden often means learning to let go of some things from the past that hold you up.  The problem is that it is not always as easy as identifying the problem and saying goodbye.  Sometimes it can be that, but we often have emotional connections to our past.  I have found that getting past the actual event of the past and finding out what was the purpose or emotional meaning of that event for us, may require us to address the emotional need.  If you are able to find some kind of way to address that, or at least begin to work on that, you might find that the grip of the past has on you might begin to loosen its grip.  It is as if some part of us is dragging us there to finish something or address something, and stubbornly holds on until we get it.  The deeper the meaning, the more powerful the event has on you, the more work might need to be done on this part of you to loosen you from its grip.  The negative past and our attachment to it can seem so pointless, but it usually has a meaning worth mining and giving it its due, so you can move forward.  Remember that we are all doing what we need to do, or at least think we need to do to survive.  My Website

"What is right with you?" Pt. 3: On the flip side...

On the Flip Side...

Sometimes to get on to the good stuff, its like weeding a garden.  We have to remove what is interfering, maybe even choking off...the flowers.  But with some steady attention to weed removal, the flowers will not only show, they might even become the main attraction.  Removing weeds is not ignoring them, or pushing them aside.  It means identifying them.  The soul is like a garden.  In fact our symptoms (weeds) like depression, anxiety, etc., are the soul's attempts to to get our attention.  So the weed (a symptom) in our analogy has something to tell us.  Is the anxiety due to feeling insecure about something that we need to address?  Are we down or depressed because something is literally keeping us down?  Even in anger, it is not the anger that is usually the problem. What we do with anger can be a problem.  But anger is very often a helpful alarm that lets us know that things are not right.  So weed removal means addressing where they come from.  When we do that and find our way with the problem (sometimes we need a helpful relationship for this), we may find the weed is removed or dissipates (but may return to remind us of something!).  My Website

"What is right with you?" Pt. 2: What is going on right now?

Sometimes it is hard to just experience what is happening right now.  Try not to think about what has gone on before or all you have to do next.  We can really only experience what is going on a moment at a time.  Even when we make lists of things to do, we can hear the sounds, smell the smells, see what is going on, and we can even select a lot of what we attend to.  Try it!  You might be excited to see what happens.  Do not make it too hard.  My Website

What is right with you? Pt. 1

As a psychologist in private practice, I have found that this is actually a much harder question to answer than it might seem.  However, it seems to me that this is what we are all after in one way or another.  Lets make it our task to discover this.  And if it is hard to find, lets remove what is in the way, or keeping us stuck, and get back on track!  More later.  Steven M. Harris, PhD  Newport Beach, CA.  My Website