My own philosophy of treatment is to approach the patient as a person and try to solve the problems they present with. I completely agree that stress factors, changes through life and the person's inability to completely deal with them, accumulates and cause these disturbances. My first advice to patients is to try and reverse or change the habits that have led to this situation- as is the classic advice given by HIPPOCRATES Himself. However, by the time the patient reaches me- which is usually after years of waiting and trying every other method- the person has a medical problem like a mental illness. Now at the stage of mental illness, medical treatment becomes essential to restore the person's ability and comfort. At this stage the damage is done and medical intervention is required to just cope or compensate the damage. Patients tell me 'I dont want to take medications'. This scenario is problemmatic in two ways.
Firstly, if you dont want to take medications, why come to a doctor at all? It is a well known fact that doctors, particularly those like myself who have an MD degree in Psychiatry from the Modern Scientific Medicine tradition are trained to give medicine only. If you expect natural treatments you should go to a Naturopath, if you need Yoga approach a Yoga Trainer, diet treatment is given by Nutrition consultant and Exercise treatment is give by Physiotherapists/ trainers. Psychiatrists can advise about these only as complementary to mainstream medical treatment. So it is really waste of your time and money to consult a Psychiatrist if you expect any of the above. If you come to a Psychiatrist, be prepared to be prescribed medication and you can discuss your fears and concerns. If that doesnt make you confident to try medications, you are free to not take them. A Psychiatrist's recommendation is not binding at all. (Unless in very few scenarios of mandatory mental health treatment). But surely it is worth consulting a Psychiatrist, to know what your treatment options are. Some patients discover treatment to be not so frightening and get the correct information and proceed with it.
The Second problem is the belief that one has the choice. As I mentioned earlier; by the time a person reaches a Psychiatrist, the stage of reversible mental turmoil is long past and the stage of irreversible mental illness has been already reached. At this stage medical treatment is the only effective option. At this time one has only two options actually- either treatment induced recovery or continued progressive mental illness. This is a difficult thing to explain to the person who cannot accept one's true situation. Most Psychiatrists will try to convince by saying 'take medicine for some time', 'I am giving mild doses' 'I am giving mental vitamins' etc. The truth is that patient has reached a level of mental damage that absolutely needs medication for recovery. The sooner the patient and family members accept this fact, the better it is in the longer term. When treatment is started the patient not only recovers, but further damage is also halted. Anyone who doesnt want to take medication, should seek opinion from another Psychiatrist. If two or more Psychiatrists agree that you need medical treatment, best is to accept medical treatment. Start treatment with the Psychiatrist whom you were most comfortable with and continue till the Psychiatrist advices you to stop.
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