Psychiatry is an imperfect science at best. It is by no means a “pseudoscrience,” although it is frequently blamed for being same.
I have known LOTS of honest, decent people who have (I think, sincerely) seen psychiatric research as a difficult attempt to elucidate truth about the human animal. Read more on The “Crazies” are not very violent…
Filed under Diagnosis, Doctors, Government, Mental Illness, News, Psychiatrists, Violence by on Oct 27th, 2019. Comment. 
“GABA” stands for “Gamma Amino Butyric Acid,” a neurotransmitter long known for its relaxing, anticonvulsant (meaning “anti-seizure”) activity. We have certainly found ways to increase its presence with drugs that operate on, well, “lateral pathways” to increase its presence quantitatively. Unfortunately, these usually involve addictive substances, like benzodiazepines, which are pretty heavily addictive for most folks.
I am really glad those loveable Brits at U. Cambridge are saying they help “repress” unwanted thoughts. This is to me, a direct validation of Freudian Thought. We “repress” thoughts, and this seems to be linked to the way we do so. Read more on The Function Of GABA…
Filed under Alternative Medicine, medicine, Mental Illness, News, Research by on Jun 13th, 2018. Comment.
When push comes to shove, any psychiatrist can prescribe anything they damned well please.
Oh, there are a few particularities. Like needing to have a “triplicate’ pad if you are going to prescribe speed, or a “tamper proof” pad if you are going to prescribe something wildly addictive. But any licensed MD can just phone those in legally if you give your “magic numbers” like your DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) number — even if not a psychiatrist. Read more on Antipsychotic Medication For Children With Autism…
Filed under Doctors, medicine, prescription drugs, Psychiatrists by on Apr 27th, 2018. Comment.
In the middle of downtown Paris, I was having a snack when I was a mere medical student, honored guest of a famous and chic woman professor/scientist. She was telling me about how her son, who had numerous psychological problems, had two distinguished medical school professors fighting over his proper diagnosis. Of course, while they were doing this, he did not appear to be getting any better.
She confided in me more than I would have expected. Read more on Getting The Right Diagnosis…
Filed under Diagnosis, Disease, Doctors, medicine, News, Psychiatrists by on Feb 7th, 2018. Comment.
There is more happening and more being done about psychiatry and the brain now than ever in the history of the world. I like the idea of “consumer-run” organizations and I love the idea of this one:
Like most things I find on the internet, it is hard to describe how I got here. Probably it has something to do with “keywords” and “searches.” Read more on …
By now I think folks on the business management level of health care are at least aware that we Americans spend a lot of money on health care and seem to get very little in return. The author of a provocative piece in Forbes thinks “unnecessary health care” is our worst problem. This statement hit me broadside. This does seem pretty true for the example she chose, even though it is decidedly outside of my field.
As far as I can figure, this sort of planned emergency delivery she talks about brings nothing to obstetric science or to the quality of human life whatsoever. Around the net, I see estimates of how much of what we do is actually science. It usually comes out as about 50 or 60%; maybe a little over half. This is happening as part of what seems to be a massive drive towards EBM, known as “Evidence Based Medicine.”
Filed under Government, Healthcare reform, News, Psychiatrists by on Jun 12th, 2017. Comment.
I remember, several years ago, going to a national drug development meeting; the first time I had been at such a meeting, with drug company folks from the highest national levels. I remember how excited I was. Maybe someone could develop an antipsychotic that really could escape all those neuromuscular side effects. Maybe they had new things that were more powerful than antibiotics, which I already knew were not working as well as they ought to. I remember, with characteristic naivete, that it felt impossible to find anyone with whom I could discuss the pharmacology that so impassioned me, for the “big” drug guys seemed to be more interested in the business and politics of the thing. Read more on Could Fish Oil Prevent Schizophrenia?…
Filed under Alternative Medicine, FDA, Government, medicine, News, politics by on Sep 26th, 2016. Comment.
It is horrible and terrible and should not have happened, but it did. We have to look at questions we have looked at before. We claim — all of us at one time or another — that human life is precious, and that its very existence is beyond price, and the quality of such existence is pristinely precious, and then everybody in America has to process this tragedy.
First, let’s take care of the straight medical questions. Congresswoman Giffords is obviously getting the best possible care and the most modern possible care. People have learned a whole lot about injuries to the brain since yours truly hung out in a semi-rural University Medical Center in Northern France. (I cannot believe it was over two decades ago).
The people taking care of her have told USA Today the basics, so I can only recapitulate.The shot was made at point blank range, estimated by some as 3 or 4 feet. The bullet entered the back of her head on the left side, and exited through the front. It is true that the structures controlling heartbeat, breathing, and basic survival are more toward the middle of the brain, or “brain stem.” Things like using the senses to put together images of what a human is dealing with are a bit more superficial. Read more on Left, Right, Jewish, Christian — Arizona Shooting Victims Are More Than Political/Religious Pawns…
Filed under politics by on Jan 11th, 2011. Comment.
He looked different from most of the depressed patients that walk into a psychiatric clinic. He was 24, thin and spare. His hair was longer than average and hung loosely over his brow, his clothes were black and macabre –what the young folks call “Goth”. That style makes everyone look depressed, but I could tell his depression ran deeper than fashion styles.
He was actually a handsome young man, and he had sensibly avoided the face and body piercings that Goths favor. He was open about his choice of lifestyle, relishing his chance to educate me. But while he was talking, I could see he was so depressed, he could have been the poster child for the diagnostic manual.
But something more was going on here. He told me that he had adopted the Goth look at age 13; that nothing else could express how he felt about life — or rather, how he didn’t feel. Read more on What If Life Is Not Worth Living?…
Filed under depression by on Oct 10th, 2010. 2 Comments.
His diagnosis was schizophrenia, but this man in his mid forties looked more sad than schizophrenic. I asked his story. He hadn’t had any of the symptoms of schizophrenia for years; as a matter of fact, he was doing fine; no voices, no symptoms, working as a peer counselor. But he was sad.
His white hair looked so distinguished; I would have guessed he was a businessman, not a schizophrenic. But the downcast eyes, the slow shuffle of his walk, told me that sadness had taken over his daily life. As for the white hair, he told me his hair had turned quickly, at the time of his loss; a story I had heard before. To me, this was more empirical evidence of the Mind-Body connection — emotions affect bodily functions in a large number of ways. Sometimes we know more about the biochemistry than others, but everything I learn amazes me.
Like many with his diagnosis, he had struggled with relationships. He thought he had won the game, for he found a woman about whom he cared greatly. Then, she died. Read more on Fighting Grief With Positive Activities…
Filed under relationships by on May 5th, 2010. Comment.