I know lots of boomers take various medications for depression, bi-polar, etc. and I would never advise ignoring a physicians' advice. But every time this subject comes up, I have to practically tie my hands in a knot to keep from responding. I have seen so many lives wrecked by both legal and illegal drugs.

When drugs are prescribed it is so important that symptoms are carefully assessed by a qualified physician who will spend enough time to make an accurate diagnosis.
Far too often family physicians and others without psychiatric training prescribe anti-depressants and other psychotropic drugs without spending enough time to accurately evaluate symptoms.
They prescribe a drug and the patient feels better immediately, but the long-term effects can be serious. Anti depressants which are for clinical depression which is a depressive response to situations that are not necessarily depressing. It is a depression that continues for a long period of time and does not lift even long after a particularly depressing event and is not responsive to happier times.
Anti depressants are often incorrectly prescribed for situational depression which is a perfectly normal response to a sad event. In the presence of anti-depressants which try to trick the brain into thinking it is not depressed, the brain simply compensates by lowering the sadness threshold so that in the future even a barely distressing event will lead to extreme sadness. Therefore, the patient must take the drug forever or face the consequences of extreme sadness and perhaps even clinical depression.

Even with an accurate diagnosis, it is important to be alert for side effects because in addition to physical side effects, they also have psychological side effects that are discrete and difficult to evaluate because the drugs lead to distorted thinking which makes it difficult to assess one's own reaction and/or side effects.
It has recently come to light that anti-depressants can lead to extreme anxiety, aggressive tendencies, and lack of control in teens and children. I believe they would lead to similar reactions in adults, except adults have more well developed controls.
Anti depressants when inaccurately prescribed can lead to aggression. They have been implicated in at least eight of the most recent school shootings and in several of the workplace shootings. There must be a correlation.

I know I sound like your mother or worse, but I am speaking from my heart and from observations in the healthcare facilities where the ill effects show up.

Just be careful and do all the research you can on any drug you are prescribed. I have refused several drugs prescribed for me after surgery because I researched the side effects. It's scary.

I appreciate the warning. I was on Lipitor for a while and was losing muscle strength in one of my legs. Scared me to death and it was only after seeing a tv commercial about it being a serious side effect, that I told my doctor no more. I don't think I have a very good doctor anyway. Gonna change.

Bipolar disorder is sometimes referred to as a set of symptoms. They last for a length of time, usually considered an "episode", that have a beginning phase, the worst phase, and a recovery phase.

Those of us with bipolar would consider these as "life experiences."

(Taken from The Bipolar Disorder Survival Guide by David J. Miklowitz) Bipolar is a mood disorder. Mood swings occur between two "poles", a high and a low. In the manic "high" stage people experience different combinations of the following: elated or euphoric mood (excessive happiness or expansiveness.) irritable mood (excessive anger and touchiness), a decreased need for sleep, grandiosity or an inflated sense of themselves and their abilities, increased talkativeness, racing thoughts or jumping from one idea to another, an increase in activity and energy levels, changes in thinking, attention, and perception, and impulsive, reckless behavior. These kinds of episodes alternate with depressed behavior. Being sad, blue, or "Down in the dumps", losing interest in things he or she ordinarily enjoyed, losing weight and appetite, feeling fatigued, difficulty sleeping (or sleeping too much) feelings of guilt and feeling bad about him/herself. Trouble concentrating or making decisions and often feels like committing suicide. (end of excerpt)

Now, I can help expand on this "committing suicide" thing. It doesn't have to mean taking some pills or using a gun. It can mean indirectly as well. Putting yourself in situations where you "wish" that an accident would happen and you would die. Like getting into a car accident so you could die. This means that the person might not pay as close attention to their driving as they usually would and could get into an accident. They may start speeding a lot and driving recklessly.

They may start hanging around people they wouldn't normally and getting into situations or confrontations with people in hopes to insue a fight or some type of commotion.

When in a manic stage some people feel giddy or mildly irritable. They might go on spending sprees and begin impulsive behavior they wouldn't normally do like acting out sexually. This person may suddenly want to go clubbing all the time when they're "normally" a quiet introspective person.

For me personally, I start to talk a lot when I'm moving into a manic phase. I'll get very verbose and drive my husband absolutely crazy. Or the manic phase can come on with irritability and a sense of paranoia and high anxiety. I'll suddenly be afraid of everything and anything. I won't drive for fear of getting into an accident. I won't go out and get my mail from the mail box because I think someone is watching me.

I don't go into full manic anymore. My meds take care of that for me. But, for someone unmedicated and uncontrollable, their manic stage can lapse over into full blown paranoia and dillusional behavior.

I'm very intuned to what is going on and can usually figure out my mood very quickly. I have additional meds for these to help stabilize along with the ones I take on a daily basis. They work rather well and I won't go anywhere without them.

Before I was diagnosed I went through approximately 5 or 6 years in a full manic phase which then swung into a depression that lasted for a couple of years. It took over a year to find the right combination of meds and doses to make me stable. I trust my doctor and he knows my complete history.

I know what Smile is saying about side effects, but for me, the cost of not being on the meds is too high. I'm not willing to pay that price.

[ May 19, 2005, 07:22 PM: Message edited by: Vicki M. Taylor ]

Thanks Vicki for sharing this. I have to ask a question though. Why is religion playing such a bizarre role in this for my sister's DIL? I know you aren't a doctor but I have a friend who works in mental health and said a lot of her clients go the religious route.

Dianne, I don't know why religion is so often involved in mental illness, but it certainly is. When I took my psyche training ages ago, they would not allow a Bible in the facility. I believe that is the case in many hospitals still today.
Maybe it relates to guilt someway.
It's an interesting question. Any other ideas out there?
smile

that's a really good question, but I too, seem to have seen an increase in religious "fanaticism" among those with mental illness. I don't understand the connection.

It's not just with christianity either. Other religions are just as involved, buddaism, muslim, paganism, and more.

Maybe among the paranoia, grandiose dillusion, there is a desire to connect with some sort of supernatural force and people turn to that which they can't explain and can be "brain washed" into believing.

People who are dysfunctional in a mental way, tend to gravitate towards cultish behavior. Religion is a cultish behavior.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

While it admittedly isn't always the case, perhaps in some situations, one's faith or belief system becomes the only stable anchor in the midst of the very frighteningly unstable world that overwhelms so many (including myself) who struggle with "mental illness" of any kind. Our own minds become a strange, whirling maelstrom of contradictions, our ability to think and reason our own way out becomes mangled by an unfathomable and inexplicable despair, and we become completely sucked into a level of darkness that few others can even begin to comprehend.

For me, God is the only anchor who never fails to be there with me even in my darkest and loneliest nights when all others have given up on me; it is my past experience of His gentle, steadfast presence and compassionate mercy that keeps me from drowning in my own sea of perceived failures and dysfunctionality.

I don't believe I have ever been brainwashed into believing...and I am definitely not a member of any religious cult. My faith has weathered through decades of dark nights of the soul and I have walked away from Him out of rage and anger because I had just as many unanswered questions as anyone else. His silence has been overwhelmingly and painfully deafening at times.

But the bottom line for me, and many other "mentally ill" people like myself, is that it is first and foremost a personal, intimate relationship, not with a religion or a grandiose illusion, but with a very real and tangible God who for some strange reason loves us just the way we are, even with our mental frailty and inability to function in the "normal" world. When so many others are so quick to relegate us to dysfunctional labels and psych wards, it's comforting to actually have someone on our side, looking out for our real selves (we are always infinitely more than our illnesses)

I still don't have all the answers, and I still struggle with life. But God has been my most (and often only) faithful companion, my consolation through thick and thin, and the best friend anyone could ever imagine or hope for. I wouldn't trade Him and the groundedness my faith gives me in those turbulent mangled times of "mental illness" for anything.

And that's my two cents.

PS...that's not to say that there aren't those out there who do believe in grandiose delusions or religious paranoia, or cultish fanaticism. There absolutely are those for whom religious belief is an unhealthy talisman and integral part of the mental illness itself.

I'm just cautious about lumping everyone who has mental illness and believes in God into the same boat of being delusional, or painting us all with the same colour that sounds suspiciously like "abnormal".

Late addition: And I also humbly apologize if my comments have hijacked this topic in any way. I too struggle with mental illness (these days, mainly mangled thinking), albeit not as severe as bipolar or schizophrenia; being passionate about my faith and sensitive to labels, it was difficult not to participate when this thread took this particular direction.

[ May 20, 2005, 11:23 AM: Message edited by: Eagle Heart ]

Eagle and Vicki, your words are touching. I'm certain they will remain helpful for years to women who visit our neighborhood. I'm aware you both suffer/have suffered, but I also know for a fact that you are two of the most insightful, compassionate women I know. I hope you see the gifts amidst your illness because there are many! You are blessed.

I bet we'd finsd some interesting information if we did a Google search for mental illness and cults. Just a thought Dianne.

Thanks ladies for a wealth of information. I think all of you are special and wonderful to share openly here. Applause, applause.