Re: Does long term use of psychiatric drugs cause more harm than good?
It seems remarkable to me on the basis of a quick review of responses to this question, how little in the way of actually unbiased responses, helpful to patients and families, seem to be published here. Of course the question is far too broad--almost like asking, "Is living in the US bad for your health?" So much depends on the particulars (exact location, educational and financial status, gender, ethnicity and so on, that the differences greatly outweigh the similarities in struggling to provide a meaningful answer). However, having spent the majority of my life treating or supervising the treatment of thousands of patients with mostly severe mental/emotional disorders, there is no question in my mind that the answer would be along the lines of "Absolutely not and they can be life-saving when used properly." However for a variety of reasons they are often over-used: in terms of numbers of persons treated, average doses used, average numbers of medications prescribed per patient, that the skill of the treating practitioner can easily swing the answer considerably one way or the other [like the global question about living in the US vs. elsewhere].
My best advice to patients or families is if you or a loved one has serious symptoms and someone advises going on a medication or multiple medications: ask a lot of questions. Ask for some scientific literature supporting what they are proposing, in language you can understand. Talk to others about their experiences. In many locations, support groups are available. A doctor patient enough to listen to and answer your questions is an excellent start. If their answers sound as if they deeply understand this field, that's another good flag. Finally if you feel you do not have confidence in one provider, try finding someone in whom you feel you have more confidence.
Rapid Response:
Re: Does long term use of psychiatric drugs cause more harm than good?
It seems remarkable to me on the basis of a quick review of responses to this question, how little in the way of actually unbiased responses, helpful to patients and families, seem to be published here. Of course the question is far too broad--almost like asking, "Is living in the US bad for your health?" So much depends on the particulars (exact location, educational and financial status, gender, ethnicity and so on, that the differences greatly outweigh the similarities in struggling to provide a meaningful answer). However, having spent the majority of my life treating or supervising the treatment of thousands of patients with mostly severe mental/emotional disorders, there is no question in my mind that the answer would be along the lines of "Absolutely not and they can be life-saving when used properly." However for a variety of reasons they are often over-used: in terms of numbers of persons treated, average doses used, average numbers of medications prescribed per patient, that the skill of the treating practitioner can easily swing the answer considerably one way or the other [like the global question about living in the US vs. elsewhere].
My best advice to patients or families is if you or a loved one has serious symptoms and someone advises going on a medication or multiple medications: ask a lot of questions. Ask for some scientific literature supporting what they are proposing, in language you can understand. Talk to others about their experiences. In many locations, support groups are available. A doctor patient enough to listen to and answer your questions is an excellent start. If their answers sound as if they deeply understand this field, that's another good flag. Finally if you feel you do not have confidence in one provider, try finding someone in whom you feel you have more confidence.
Competing interests: No competing interests