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Original poster

that 'chemical imbalance' myth

160 replies

Alameda · 26/06/2012 15:54

so nice to see this notion that has been used to oppress and repress women for decades finally discussed as a dangerous myth - chemical imbalances and other black unicorns

although I despair at how sort of prevalent it is, how regressive and how effective it is at distracting women from the cultural determinants of their unhappiness

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Original poster
Alameda · 06/07/2012 23:26

dunno?

if it isn't it should be

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EclecticShock · 06/07/2012 21:45

This a mumsnet blog?

Original poster
Alameda · 06/07/2012 21:36

canard is taking AGES Angry will have to find another blogger to stalk

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EclecticShock · 05/07/2012 22:28

Blimey, that's a lot of typos, even for me. Maybe I should think about using a pc Blush

EclecticShock · 05/07/2012 22:25

Please excuse my typos, on phone.

EclecticShock · 05/07/2012 22:24

Thanks alameda, I understand that psychiatrists are qualified doctors. I know psychiatrists train for long but IMO, clinical psychologists train also train very hard. It's very hard to get onto doctorates. What I don't follow is the two obviously different approaches. Cognitive and pyschoanalytical. Especially as cognitive as more evidence backing as far as I am aware than pyschoanalytical, yet psychiatrists administer medicine? Am I missing something?

Original poster
Alameda · 05/07/2012 21:55

so psychiatrists dole out drugs, psychologists tell you that you are beyond the reach of therapeutic help :( unless they think you are not, then they do taking treatments (I think)

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Original poster
Alameda · 05/07/2012 21:42

what, psychology and psychiatry? My favourite quote from my favourite dr is that the only difference between a drug dealer and a psychiatrist is the medical education.

( Psychiatrists have to qualify in medicine first, proper dr stuff, anyone call themselves a psychologist)

just to tide us over while canard is (hopefully?) busy researching the therapeutic effects of masturbation

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EclecticShock · 05/07/2012 20:33

Canard, this might not be the right place to ask but why are the two disciplines so different?

Original poster
Alameda · 05/07/2012 09:24

hooray, at last

then can direct to your blog anyone who says am hypersexual/sinful and point out that am merely spending therapeutic time with myself in line with classical thinking or something and am not beyond the reach of this sort of help at least

someone used to have a sort of ritual wank, a pharaoh maybe?

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EclecticShock · 05/07/2012 08:11

Thanks canard, really interesting, must read more about it.

canardtheduck · 05/07/2012 07:37

hello eclecticshock you are partly right - clinical psychologists do not learn psychoanalytic theory or therapy during their training, as it is almost exclusively cognitive-behaviorally based though they may have a supervisor who is psychodynamically inclined, or could opt to train in psychoanalytic therapy later on. In contrast, psychiatrists do learn about psychoanalytic theory and in the UK all psychiatric trainees have to attend a psychoanalytically based group to discuss the dynamic aspects of their patients and their countertransferences..
Here in the US psychiatrists have their own personal psychoanalytic therapy, learn psychoanalytic theory, treat a patient with psychodynamic therapy, and attend a psychodynamically-informed T-group.

As far as I can tell, this leads to psychiatrists coming up with convoluted object-relationist formulations to explain why someone is psychotic, and then prescribing 3 antipsychotics!

As for hysteria, I have a special interest in the treatment of conversion disorder but use hypnotherapy not psychoanalysis. much quicker. I have never recommended masturbation to an hysterical patient, and considering most of these patients have a history of sexual abuse or trauma that might not go down so well.

canardtheduck · 05/07/2012 07:30

hello alameda i will write something on masturbation if you like, but it will require some research on my part! there too my knowledge a long history of prescribing masturbation as a medical treatment dating back to ancient greece, or maybe it was egypt?

EclecticShock · 05/07/2012 07:26

My statement wasn't very clear. There is a movement away from psychoanalysis in terms of the type you were discussing... however like all movements, it's effects are not felt everywhere. This is an interesting paper:

here

Original poster
Alameda · 04/07/2012 23:22

part of me is fascinated as to how and why you think psychoanalysis is not still alive and kicking but mostly the rest of me is wondering if canardtheduck is ever going to post on his blog again and whether there will be any masturbation when/if he does

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EclecticShock · 04/07/2012 21:44

Not a laughing matter at all. Psychology was very weak in some terms then as it was bases on pyschoanalytical theory which gladly has been mainly left in the past.

Original poster
Alameda · 04/07/2012 21:34

Cured hysteria didn't it? All that C19th research was grim though wasn't it, not really a laughing matter at all.

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EclecticShock · 04/07/2012 21:24

I'm sure there are therapeutic effects, there must be some research somewhere, not sure it's an effective cure for mental illness though.

Original poster
Alameda · 04/07/2012 20:45

just want to get started on this urgently needed research into the therapeutic effects of masturbation, mainly

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EclecticShock · 04/07/2012 19:55

There are so many causes of depression, I think drugs are way of alleviating symptoms and making life bearable while the root causes are investigated. I don't think you can say that antidepressants oppress women. They help people to cope will they figure out what is making them depressed, which could of could be due to them being oppressed in some way.

Original poster
Alameda · 01/07/2012 22:34

COME ON THEN

Add message | Report | Message poster canardtheduck Thu 28-Jun-12 04:56:09
hello alameda i do think more research into therapeutic effects of masturbation is urgently needed and have advocated for making vibrators available on prescription and tested like medical devices so they would have to undergo head-to-head comparisons so you could find out which ones work best and for whom! but i digress...

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Original poster
Alameda · 28/06/2012 15:03

moving back to uk sounds good, must be easier to make friends when not divided by language

don't know how best you could address the depression though, it could be that antidepressants might help you make other changes, decide how you feel about past events and the extent to which they can inform your future and feel more in control generally, there must often be a case for that?

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MiseryBusiness · 28/06/2012 12:25

We're being moved back to the UK towards the end of the summer, maybe Sept.

It's quite hard to make friends, most of our neighbours are German and I dont speak any. Blush

The place we're moving to I have one very good friend so that should make things slightly better.

Things will improve, eventually. I know I look at things different because of the depression and that actually things probably aren't that bad.

Original poster
Alameda · 28/06/2012 11:51

:( misery

think it might help a bit if you had more friends where you are? how long will you be there, could you move?

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Original poster
Alameda · 28/06/2012 11:28

ugh just IMAGINE an NHS vibrator, bet they'd be nice. Hope the Wellcome Trust fund that study, they have the perfect name for it.

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