Heavenly said:

what about if you need an operation? you have to take drugs then

lollyp0p said:

Well, I haven't reached that stage yet. But yes, when my body has no strength to cope, I'd probably use drugs. I just feel that as long as I can try and fight it alone, I'd rather do so, because I'm sometimes very irresponsible and forgetful, and will not be able to follow doctor's orders. That's why I prefer to fight it without the help of drugs.

Heavenly said:

ok, i guess some people have a lower tolerance of certain things

my tolerance is very low hence why i was in labour hardly an hour and i was crying for pain relief and begging for them to operate and make the pain stop.

again i feel no shame at that either, people should not compare themselves to others i guess is what i'm saying.....

you don't need it but i shouldn't think i've failed at life for needing help.

thank you for the drugs

especially the pain relief ones

I have just come back from my doctors with a perscription for anti-depressants!!

I feel so ashamed and embarrased that I am having 2 take these in order 2 cope with everyday life!! I feel a total failure!!

podiumdancer said:

Umm, now those are not the drugs I'm talking about.
I also have a low threshold for pain, and would ask for pain killers when needed. Especially if I was having a baby. (thank God I'm a man and don't have to go through such pain).
But those drugs are not there to heal you, but to dull your pain during extreme situations. They are not for the long run.

Heavenly said:

exactly what anti-depresants are for only for the brain this is what i mean about seperating physical and mental well being

podiumdancer said:

No, you're talking about medication you have to take daily. not once.

But I would use drugs in extreme situations. And I think it takes a lot of dedication and strength to be able to keep taking drugs.
Accepting your problem and trying to heal it is a huge welcomed step.
As for myself, I don't see me taking drugs on a daily basis. that's all.

podiumdancer said:

No, you're talking about medication you have to take daily. not once.

But I would use drugs in extreme situations. And I think it takes a lot of dedication and strength to be able to keep taking drugs. Accepting your problem and trying to heal it is a huge welcomed step.
As for myself, I don't see me taking drugs on a daily basis. that's all.

Heavenly said:

fair enough but anti depresents are exactly the same as pain relief, and pain relief is not just a once only drug, some people are on that long term.

it's more common for people to be on pain medication rather than anti depresents long term.

but i understand what your saying, that you just don't like to medicate which is your choice and if you manage it's a good one so long as you don't ignore serious problems as you don't like medication

podiumdancer said:

Yes, that's about what I mean.
I don't have any routine, that would be my first problem taking medication, because I will always forget to take it on time.
Another reason is I like to stay as independant as I can, not be 'inslaved' to medication to keep me going. Of course if I'm too weak, I don't have much choice, but as long as I do have a choice, I choose not to.
Though I admire people who do have the strength to admit they need medical help and allow themselves to add medication to their daily lives as a routine.

Heavenly said:

Inslaved isnt a very good choice of word Heavenly!

REDBABY said:

I think that people who haven't had to take meds like these have a hard time understanding what it's like to need them, unless they've done extensive research in the field.

What's common for everybody who do need them is that we NEED them to ONCE AGAIN be ourselves, we had a chemical balance that turned into an IMbalance and so our mood and behaviour was altered. People make out that these meds alter our behaviour when they really bring us back to who we were before the imbalance.

REDBABY said:

I think that people who haven't had to take meds like these have a hard time understanding what it's like to need them, unless they've done extensive research in the field.

What's common for everybody who do need them is that we NEED them to ONCE AGAIN be ourselves, we had a chemical balance that turned into an IMbalance and so our mood and behaviour was altered. People make out that these meds alter our behaviour when they really bring us back to who we were before the imbalance.

Teacher said:

I don't have a hard time understanding what it's like. I have a close friend who is schizophrenic and I see exactly how it works. Everything you said I agree with. But you're still dependant on the drug to balance those chemicals.
That's what I called being inslaved to the drugs. just another word for dependant, to me.

Heavenly said:

being schizophrenic is NOT what we are talking about here Heavenly. Please dont catagorise schizophrenia and depression together

REDBABY said:

they are both a mental disorder but to differnt degrees....

it's like comparing a cold to a heart attack or cancer.

podiumdancer said:

I wasn't referring to any specific illness, I was referring to the use of drugs.
Please don't twist my words.

REDBABY said:

they are both a mental disorder but to differnt degrees....

it's like comparing a cold to a heart attack or cancer.

podiumdancer said:

not exactly. shizophrenia is a widely misunderstood disease and one that i have previously suffered from - i'm not ashamed to admit - in a mild form. it is misunderstood and stigmatised because many people think it means you are "crazy" when it fact is is just a problem with the way the brain functions, not the person. it is not a personality defect and neither is depression, which is why i can't understand why anyone would be ashamed - except for fear of being labelled a nut, which is definitely not the case. another common misconception (due in large part to the media and movies) is that a shizophrenic has a "split" personality. this is entirely false. "split" personality is another disease entirely, one that is not widely recognised to even exist, called "multiple personality disorder". most shizophrenics are not violent either, contrary to popular opinion and have only experienced one major episode in their lives where they have hallucinated (heard voices, seen things, etc). some do however continue to experience these things but at least a third of all shizophrenics recover completely, like myself. so if you're lucky, it's not necessarily something you have "for life" either, like someone else said.

just to let you know, because i hate it when people get it wrong about shizophrenia as being the most severe thing in the world. in most cases, it's not and is treatable with medication if not curable completely.

.
[Edited 10/18/04 12:28pm]

Heavenly said:

Well, talking technicalities here but schizophrenia and depression have about as much in common as a cold and cancer, depression is most often but not always temporary, whereas schizophrenia (not to be confused with Multiple Personlaity Disorder) is a diagnose you have to live with for the rest of your life. The way of medicating them are entirely different. They're so different from each other that I'd REALLY take offense if I told somebody I didn't know well about my being depressed and they would nod and say "I know what it's like, I have a friend who's schizophrenic".

podiumdancer said:

not exactly. shizophrenia is a widely misunderstood disease and one that i have previously suffered from - i'm not ashamed to admit - in a mild form. it is misunderstood and stigmatised because many people think it means you are "crazy" when it fact is is just a problem with the way the brain functions, not the person. it is not a personality defect and neither is depression, which is why i can't understand why anyone would be ashamed - except for fear of being labelled a nut, which is definitely not the case. another common misconception (due in large part to the media and movies) is that a shizophrenic has a "split" personality. this is entirely false. "split" personality is another disease entirely, one that is not widely recognised to even exist, called "multiple personality disorder". most shizophrenics are not violent either, contrary to popular opinion and have only experienced one major episode in their lives where they have hallucinated (heard voices, seen things, etc). some do however continue to experience these things but at least a third of all shizophrenics recover completely, like myself. so if you're lucky, it's not necessarily something you have "for life" either, like someone else said.

just to let you know, because i hate it when people get it wrong about shizophrenia as being the most severe thing in the world. in most cases, it's not and is treatable with medication if not curable completely.

.
[Edited 10/18/04 12:28pm]

Teacher said:

Forget it, it's pointless, you're taking something I'm saying and directing it in the wrong direction.
I'mm out of this discussion

this i know which is why i related it to heart attack and cancer with the right treatment it is likely most suffers can live a full filling life and it is true that it is quite rare for them to be violent

.

Errr, just for laughs, you type "shizophrenics".... I'm only kidding but it's a bit like shits-.....well you get the idea

no need to feel ashamed... some folks really need it,me its too late see i was born

podiumdancer said:

No, you're talking about medication you have to take daily. not once.

But I would use drugs in extreme situations. And I think it takes a lot of dedication and strength to be able to keep taking drugs.
Accepting your problem and trying to heal it is a huge welcomed step.
As for myself, I don't see me taking drugs on a daily basis. that's all.

podiumdancer said:

not exactly. shizophrenia is a widely misunderstood disease and one that i have previously suffered from - i'm not ashamed to admit - in a mild form. it is misunderstood and stigmatised because many people think it means you are "crazy" when it fact is is just a problem with the way the brain functions, not the person. it is not a personality defect and neither is depression, which is why i can't understand why anyone would be ashamed - except for fear of being labelled a nut, which is definitely not the case. another common misconception (due in large part to the media and movies) is that a shizophrenic has a "split" personality. this is entirely false. "split" personality is another disease entirely, one that is not widely recognised to even exist, called "multiple personality disorder". most shizophrenics are not violent either, contrary to popular opinion and have only experienced one major episode in their lives where they have hallucinated (heard voices, seen things, etc). some do however continue to experience these things but at least a third of all shizophrenics recover completely, like myself. so if you're lucky, it's not necessarily something you have "for life" either, like someone else said.

just to let you know, because i hate it when people get it wrong about shizophrenia as being the most severe thing in the world. in most cases, it's not and is treatable with medication if not curable completely.

.
[Edited 10/18/04 12:28pm]

mrdespues said:

Well said.

My dad was schizophrenic, (exasperated by drug use when he was younger) and I have Bipolar Disorder. I hate it when people say things like "I was so schizo today - I couldn't make up my mind." or whatever.