Creativity May Be Linked with Psychiatric Disorders (Schizophrenia/Bipolar)

a reply to: FlyersFan

The list of suits, closings of psychiatric hospitals, et al is too long to list. The cash kick-backs, via 'speaking engagements' is huge, usually based on the volume of prescriptions written. Add in free room and board-vacations- at luxury resorts localed near the 'speaking engagement' and the mechanism is exposed. Several current suits/indictments as we speak.

Here is one eg. of outright closures of funny farms.

www.nytimes.com...

To answer your question re Bi-polar, etc. yes. Nothing more than a label. As with almost no exception, defined as 'un-curable but 'controllable with drugs'.

The list of invented 'disorders' grow almost daily.

A complete and total fraudulent industry. You may not be involve with big pharma or not. probably not. Fine. The symbiotic relationship between the Psychs and big pharma is beyond debate.

Many put their 'trust' in these groups as some form of hope for their individual concerns...IT IS MIS-PLACED.

a reply to: Hefficide

CBT or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy along with psychotherapy can often times be a good way to unravel the mind and get to the core issue that the mental disorder stems from.

CBT:

Mainstream cognitive behavioral therapy assumes that changing maladaptive thinking leads to change in affect and behavior,[9] but recent variants emphasize changes in one's relationship to maladaptive thinking rather than changes in thinking itself.[10] Therapists or computer-based programs use CBT techniques to help individuals challenge their patterns and beliefs and replace "errors in thinking such as overgeneralizing, magnifying negatives, minimizing positives and catastrophizing" with "more realistic and effective thoughts, thus decreasing emotional distress and self-defeating behavior." [9] These errors in thinking are known as cognitive distortions.

Link

So, so many things we consider a mental disorder stem from unresolved issues/feelings from our past. Irrational belief systems can sometimes hold a grip over our decision making centers and judgement processes.

Sure, there are def. chemical imbalances that cause a whole host of mental disorders, but we seem to always focus on the pharmacology of mental health, instead of the intrinsic, psychology behind it.

originally posted by: Hefficide
a reply to: nwtrucker

Not only can they name the chemicals in the brain ( dopamine, serotonin, norepinepherine, ect ) and explain how and why they work - they can use cat scans to watch it happening in real time. The only "unknown" is that with some medications they are unsure how and why they effect these chemicals in the manner that they do.

I am not sure where you are getting your information from, but it's incorrect and misleading.

They may understand the neuroscience but the diagnosis is what? The problem is there is no scientific way to define what is normal behavior. A scientific approach would be for the social sciences to get together debate and reach an opinion regarding what the bodies behavior patterns stem from and what they did in the evolution of the species from an anthropological and biological standpoint.

Right now the diagnosis is based on behavior within an ever changing society of rules and values. The diagnosis is simply just a prescription for the most normal behavior pattern in the most written about medical society and universities.

Psychology diagnosis of mental illness is most definitely unscientific. You can surely understand the medicine behind ibuprofin taking down a fever and you can predict it to work but you don't necessarily treat the illness or even understand what it is.

a reply to: nwtrucker

Well then, I guess I'll cancel my meds, prescribed from a guy who has a Phd in Psychiatry and an MD in internal medicine - because a guy on the Internet said...

Again, wherever you are getting your information ( my feeling is it is probably your own opinion as most people I've encountered argue from a very subjective place and simply refuse to accept mental illness is real because they think "Hey, I got depressed once and it went away, so, therefore, depression is bogus" ).

What makes your posts more alarming is that you are citing the National gutting of the Mental Health system as "proof" that mental health issues don't exist? Sorry to be the one to break it to you, but those budgets have been slashed because Congress picks on the vulnerable. Call your local prison and ask to speak to the warden or a guard and then as them what their beliefs are regarding mental illness... because they are the ones now stuck with dealing with the mentally ill.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

Been in therapy, off and on, for the most part of 30 years. Talk therapy works for some, not for others. My last talk therapy session ended with my therapist saying that I was the most "self actualized" patient she'd ever had and that I was not benefiting at all from talk therapy.

In my case medication works, even though I've had some massive adverse reactions to most of the meds they try to foist on folks. Once I finally found a doc who wasn't a one trick Prozac pony - and who worked with me? Now my mind is working ten times better than ever before. I can take a single pill and feel "normal" for several hours. If I skip a pill or two, the symptoms return.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

I know that CBT is good to start with for mild to moderate depression. We have a constant and unending monologue going on in our heads of self critical comments and self negativity. CBT teaches us to stick up for ourselves, in our own thoughts and with real life bullies.

I'm not sure that CBT works with Schizophrenia or Bipolar. I don't have experience in that area.

One of the best examples is Philip K. Dick

originally posted by: Hefficide
If I skip a pill or two, the symptoms return.

May I ask - what are those symptoms?

a reply to: FlyersFan

There are two classifications of Bipolar. Talk therapy works for the depression. But those who have hypo or hyper mania? Medication is necessary.

a reply to: Itisnowagain

My symptoms are extreme anxiety, panic attacks, deep depression, and a lot of sub-symptoms that go along with the above ( loss of appetite, loss of interest in everything, despair, thinking in absolutes, isolation, and so on ) and ultimately aural hallucinations. Though, thankfully I have only had two episodes of those.

ETA: Forgot to include obsessive / compulsive behaviors. Not the typical "counting" type. I don't have OCD - I have OCPD. In my case I tend to do things like buy way too many pairs of shoes in a given week, or binge watch movies for days... that sort of compulsiveness.

ETA 2: If you click on my name and look I've authored a substantial number of threads discussing my issues very openly as well as discussing the general subject of mental health.

a reply to: FlyersFan

CBT along with some work in codependency can go along way. I'm learning that most of us have codependent traits to one degree or another, as well as poor boundaries. Poor boundaries are becoming an increasingly huge problem in our society these days. It's pretty eye opening to see what someone with good personal/emotional boundaries looks like.

For example, I was told not to say "I'm sorry" to anyone unless I actually intentionally caused them harm. If someone tells me their day was really crappy, I do not say "I'm sorry man..." Why? Because I'm not sorry! I didn't cause that person to have a bad day, it's not my fault!

Another example would be speaking up for yourself. How many times have you needed to ask a question and started it with, "Hi...I'm sorry but..." WHY ARE YOU SORRY?! Did you cause that person intentional harm? No! Stop apologizing for nothing!

We never say what we mean, and we never mean what we say anymore. We let other people come into our "yards" and ignore our "fences". Our yards and fences are just our belief systems and moral attitudes. We let anyone trample them, and often times find ourselves ignoring our own yards, only to find ourselves messing around with someone else's -- judging them, or trying to "fix" them. Fix yourself first!

rant off :p

With schizophrenia though, pharmacological solutions are probably going to be the fastest/safest route to go off the bat.

originally posted by: FlyersFan
a reply to: MystikMushroom

I know that CBT is good to start with for mild to moderate depression. We have a constant and unending monologue going on in our heads of self critical comments and self negativity. CBT teaches us to stick up for ourselves, in our own thoughts and with real life bullies.

Yes - it is good to notice the thoughts which appear in the head and notice that you are not a good friend to yourself - in fact I expect no one is as mean to you as yourself.
The best way to deal with thoughts is to just watch what they say and just be the quiet listener.
It might at some point be noticed that the thoughts just arise, there may even be some laughter at the stupidity of them - crazy amusing thoughts.
When you find that you are not actually doing the thoughts - that you are just the silent witness of them, the thoughts start to lose their grip and start to slow down. But they don't need to stop and can be a great source of amusement.

I know what it is like to have the whole body affected by the thoughts which appear in mind - feeling sick and scared all the time. But honestly, if you try to mend thought with thought it does not work. Only by realizing that you are the silent one will the suffering end.

a reply to: Itisnowagain

Want to change your thoughts?

Change your beliefs. Even if you have to lie to yourself in the beginning, just start telling yourself a new belief over and over. Reinforce that new belief every chance you can get. Eventually it'll become a new belief, and new thoughts will spring from that belief.

I mean, look at people that have changed their beliefs from watching Fox News...LOL. They're told the same way to think over and over, and eventually they believe what is being told to them, and start to think like what they're being told on TV.

That's one thing I never seemed to get out of CBT, they never tell you that deeper than your thoughts lie your beliefs. If you can dig down that far and tweak those -- CBT will be 1,000 more effective.

originally posted by: MystikMushroom
a reply to: Itisnowagain

Want to change your thoughts?

Change your beliefs. Even if you have to lie to yourself in the beginning, just start telling yourself a new belief over and over. Reinforce that new belief every chance you can get. Eventually it'll become a new belief, and new thoughts will spring from that belief.

That's one thing I never seemed to get out of CBT, they never tell you that deeper than your thoughts lie your beliefs. If you can dig down that far and tweak those -- CBT will be 1,000 more effective.

I don't want to change my thoughts - they come and go and I just see them pass by - they are not done by me and they are not speaking about me.
I am that which notices thought.

a reply to: Itisnowagain

Your thoughts are born from your beliefs.

originally posted by: MystikMushroom
a reply to: Itisnowagain

Your thoughts are born from your beliefs.

They are not my thoughts - they just happen - I am not doing thought. I am just aware that thoughts happen. Thoughts are very interesting - have you seen one?

a reply to: Hefficide

Hmm, I've no doubt they have CT's that show some anomaly. The trouble is assuming that the anomaly is the cause of the 'dis-order' rather than merely another symptom.

I'd like to see even one poster state that they received a 'scan for the anomaly before receiving the prescription. Even one.

The money tie has long since trumped any actual 'cure' efforts. When over 500,000 toddlers, years and younger are on these prescriptions, it's time to take a long, hard look at this industry that claims responsibility for the insanity of this planet.

From everything I can see it's worse, not better.

I recall reading how in WWII, if there was someone who was considered a potential security risk, but without solid evidence of wrongdoing, the gov't would have a doctor 'commit' the individual, fill him up with debilitating drugs and after the war's end, dry him out and kick him out.

I was surprised to see even the FBI-and probably other agencies- use this procedure even now. The difference being, these facilities are under agency control, not the medical industry. Between big pharma, the questionable practices of Psychiatry throughout their history, gov't agencies with their Quid Pro Quos, trusting this crowd....any anyone endorsing them, is either uninformed, delusional or some form of vested interest.

a reply to: Itisnowagain

Yes, I have seen a thought. When I dream.

The problem is that there is this very strong belief that you are doing thoughts - that you are thinking. If you were doing thought there would be no mental health disorders - you could just stop thinking or just think the right thoughts - nice thoughts.
But thinking has a life of it's own - it is just rolling on and on and it is causes much distress in the body. When the thinking is found to be just thoughts arising and is watched - 'you' have stepped back and are freed from the mess - 'you' are seeing thought.
If you look directly to where your next thought is going to appear you may find it is very quiet.

originally posted by: Itisnowagain

originally posted by: MystikMushroom
a reply to: Itisnowagain

Your thoughts are born from your beliefs.

They are not my thoughts - they just happen - I am not doing thought. I am just aware that thoughts happen. Thoughts are very interesting - have you seen one?

So, what you just wrote didn't come from you? After all, writing something down is putting your thoughts on "paper". In this case it would be electronically, but its essentially the same.

Are you suggesting that you wander around life and things just pop in and out of your head and you have no idea where they come from?