Posted by Squiggles on May 24, 2003, at 8:39:21
I was thinking about this last night;
and i think my *real* problem with bipolar
disorder, is that i have never *really* believed
that this was true of me.I am a sceptical person and do not believe
things on faith. I have reasons not to believe
that i was ever really permanently, endogenously,
nuts. The reasons are many -- but among them- my relatives never believed it even when i
showed them articles, med. literature, testimony
of my doctors, etc.- my husband never believed it (at first - he
said "i never ever saw you show any signs of
being mentally ill"), but after my involvement
with the anti-psych. group i may have just
driven him to the brink - and how he says, yes
there is no doubt that what i had was not
withdrawal from Valium but bipolar disorder;- the arguments prsented by much of the
anti-psych. literature of mental health are
moving;- there is the question of habituation to drugs
or addiction, in one case i got rid of panic
attacks by quitting Xanax, thereby casting
doubt on the real cause of panic disorder as
the DSM categorizes it;- i have very little knowledge about neurochemistry
and so must accept things on faith;- the symptoms of bipolar disorder can result from
many causes, among them withdrawal;- trauma and stress can make you transiently nuts;
which was the case around the time i was diagnosed.So basically, i have trouble believing that i ever
was truly bipolar (despite the symptoms) because
of the reasons and others, above, and because i
am uncomfortable placing my belief on ignorance.Maybe, that is why i am somewhat non-compliant.
Deep down, I believe that my dr. may also be
sceptical. But because it is so difficult to
get off drugs after a long time, the welfare of
the patient takes precedence over the certainty
and knowledge in psychiatric diagnosis. After all,
that is what the raison d'etre of medicine is:
to alleviate pain and suffering - mental or physical.
Squiggles
poster:Squiggles
thread:228796
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030520/msgs/228796.html