What is your opinion on mental illness?
Tianna, I'm a teen too and sometimes I feel like my family thinks I'm exaggerating. If you want to talk, I'm here for you. My email is sarah.lancaster@stu.jessamine.kyschools....
Opinions on taking meds for mental illness?
Severe Bipolar Disorder can have psychotic features, but the two disorders (Bipolar and schizophrenia) are rarely dually or sequentially diagnosed. Self-medication is feasible for some people, but it's not often as safe, effective and minimally compromising as is planned out, prescribed medication. Medication is generally something that I avoid recommending for my patients unless the severity of their disorder is such that their daily functioning is significantly impaired.
What is your opinion about people with mental illness?
People having mental illness are as innocent, as clueless, as any other person with any physical illness or even who don’t have it. So it’s been unfair to hold any opinion about mentally ill patients, without personally knowing them.Still having an opinion about mental illness is that we should recognize mental illnesses as physical health issues, then only people can get the treatment they need. Mental health is just as important as physical health. In fact, mental health is physical health; the two are inseparable.
In your opinion, what is the WORST mental illness to have?
Depends on the person and the severity.There are people with well-controlled schizophrenia who suffer less and more functional than some people with severe cases of ostensibly "mild" disorders like social anxiety disorder. There are people with major depressive disorder whose depressions are mild, brief and rare. There are people with the same disorder who are in agony and incapacitated for years. Even on average, it still totally depends on how you define worst: - The "worst" in terms of most likely to be chronic and cause lots of disability would be schizophrenia (actually not the paranoid type, which has a better prognosis, but the disorganized type). - "Worst" in terms of pure intense suffering at a given moment would be, to my mind, severe major depression. Panic attacks are no picnic either. - "Worst" in terms of most destructive to the people around them - probably antisocial personality disorder. - "Worst" in terms of highest mortality - as has been mentioned - anorexia nervosa (although it's not "by far" the highest mortality - the suicide rates for the severe mood disorders, schizophrenia, and borderline personality disorder are competitive, but not as high.) - "Worst" in terms of most resistant to treatment - probably the personality disorders. - "Worst" because it's bad by any of these definitions - borderline personality disorder.
What are your opinions on taking medication for your mental illness?
My experience has been a bit of a mixed bag. I'm Bipolar Type 1 and valproate had been my main medication for several years. I tolerate it will land have few, if any, side effects. The problem is the adjunct medication. I had to try 4–5 before trying out Latuda. It was nothing short of a miracle. I hadn't thought as clearly nor feeling as normal in decades. Problem was it raised my blood sugar and turned me diabetic. I'm now on lithium plus a synthetic thyroid. It does the job and works well… just not like the Latuda.Overall my opinion is medication for a properly diagnosed disorder really does make all the difference though sometimes I still get a little bitter about the Latuda.
What is your opinion on medication for mental illness? Yea, nay, or maybe something in between?
As a Psychiatrist in practice for over thirty five years, my answer is definitely yes, depending on each person’s situation.It depends on the person, the diagnosis, their specific symptoms, and their entire lives.That’s the purpose of an extensive, comprehensive Psychiatric consultation— to obtain a full picture of the patient’s illness. An accurate diagnosis, and then treatment options.It is so variable, there is no one answer when asking about “mental illness.” Are we talking about schizophrenia with psychosis, mania with psychosis, major depressive disorder, social phobia, panic disorder, eating disorders, and so on.A person with mild depression or mild ADHD may not need any medication treatment at all. A person with a history of abuse and avoidant behavior may do very well with psychotherapy alone. A person with anxiety who is drinking heavily or ingesting too much caffeine may benefit from changing habits.So there is no one answer as to a question like yours, because it is so broad. If you have a specific illness in question, that would enable a more specific response.
What is your opinion on people who lie about having mental illnesses?
Like the lawyers love to say: “Depends”.Lying about issues you don’t have is certainly wrong, like any other lie that is designed to confuse and deceit others. Moreover, when people with self-proclaimed conditions go online, describing their issue - they often just help spread myths and misunderstandings surrounding said condition, because they often lack real knowledge of it.At the same time, it is important for me to understand motivation. If they fake mental illness to get away with less when moral deeds they do or get some benefits from the government by illness pretence - it is not only wrong, but may be outright criminal. Such people deserve if not legal, at least social punishment. They deserve to have their lies exposed for everyone to see their true nature. On the other hand, if they lie just to get attention and don’t harm anyone- I would less care about it. Moreover - I would honestly try to understand if their attention seeking is not stemming from some other issue they have and if they may actually need help.