“My otherwise conservative sister thinks mental health treatment should be widely available free. Mental health is more witchcraft than science. What exactly would you give away? Drugs? Shock treatments? Involuntary incarceration? What qualifies as needing treatment? Too fat? Mental health issue. Spend too much? Mental health issue. Believe in guns and the second amendment? mental health issue.”
If you saw my sister, on and off her depression meds, you might have a different view. She needs them, realizes that, takes them, side effects and all. (She does not, never has used drugs or alcohol)
Some people take themselves on and off the drugs they need, leaving the casual layperson with the idea that the drugs do no good.
There are plenty of legitimate mental problems, best treated with drugs.
And there is plenty of misdiagnosis too.
Many with mental issues, turn to not only their prescribed drugs (on and off) and drugs/alcohol—making matters much worse.
Not uncommon is an alcoholic who gets a doctor to prescribe depression meds, for alcohol is a depressant, and it works.
Now we have a compounded problem. Misuse of alcohol and psych meds.
Get the person sober, off alcohol, and the depression MAY go away, too.
Nobody says the art can’t be used to the good.
However note that the Author of goodness, the Lord, is not to be seen in the picture we have.
You seem to be confusing "anti-depressant" (drug used to treat depression) with a central nervous system "depressant" -- alcohol (actually a disinhibitor with euphoric effects). No relation whatsoever.
In addition to the issue of on/off medicine is the issue is that the diagnostic tools are very poor. On AVERAGE psych medicines make things worse...because psychiatrists have to go through trial and error to such a high degree, and it usually takes multiple attempts before an improvement is seen, if at all. ...and then comes the dosage adjustments.
Excellent post. I have known several people (including some extended family) who have had legitimate emotional and mental issues that were treated successfully with therapy and/or medication.
Now, I’ll be the first to say I believe there’s a lot of baloney put out in the field - especially from the pop-psych types you see on tv or the hucksters who cater to spoiled celebrities wanting to gin up press for themselves. And I do think there is a problem with over-prescribing some drugs as a result of misdiagnosis (IMHO ADHD is a bad one for this). But for the folks who have legitimate mental health problems, it’s as real and as serious as having a broken arm or a bleeding ulcer.