Why is it that people...even other physicians...treat psychiatry like the Special Olympics of the medical specialties? "Oh, I have a cousin who's a psychologist!" (Psychiatrists are physicians. Psychologists--even those with PhDs--are not. Doctors, sometimes, but not physicians. Psychiatrists can prescribe drugs. Psychiatrists are required to complete medical school, residency, and generally fellowship. Psychologists go to graduate school, and are fantastic, gifted, and frequently delightful people, but they aren't doctors).
In the words of one of my instructors, when they heard I was interested in psych, "Oh, you guys have come a long way from the days of id, ego, superego...you're getting really...scientific now." He's an ID (infectious disease) guy, and I wanted to reply, "Yeah, and you guys don't believe in miasmas and evil humors anymore. Good job." So instead I said, "Yeah, I did research this summer using co-registered structural MRIs to perform volumetric analysis of paralimbic brain regions associated with early-onset major depressive disorder. It was pretty...scientific."
And we're doing psych now, and a lot of my classmates are talkin' smack. Not all of them, but a lot, and a number of folks have been pretty effing insensitive. So, for the record, I've had some psych issues myself--early onset, partially genetic, partially environmentally induced. Anxiety and severe depression. Life-shattering, oh-crap-it's-hospital-time depression. An eating disorder thrown in. And I'm not particularly ashamed of it. Know why? Because if more people were willing to admit these things, it might be normalized, and people would calm the hell down with the guilt trips--"Oh, I NEVER let myself get depressed. I just don't have time."
"Maybe if you stopped thinking of yourself and started thinking of other people you'd feel better."
"It's all in your head."
"Snap out of it."
"Pray harder and Jesus will heal you."
"Just eat something."
My views on psych meds are...complicated, and more suited for an extended essay than for this venue. But hey, just for fun, let's talk about how difficult it is to get yourself euthymic (ie, OK) on meds. It's hard. I've been sampling various medications since I was eleven, trying to 'get right,' and in that time, guess what I've taken? Oh, you don't have to ask, I'll tell you. *This is why I haven't had to go to many of the psychopharmacology lectures.*
Sertraline, venlafaxine, fluvoxamine, trazodone, lorazepam, alprazolam, clonazepam, valproic acid, gabapentin, mirtazapine, quetiapine, lamotrigine, lithium, topiramate, zolpidem, aripiprazole.
How many? 16, ladies and gentlemen. The majority of diabetics have an easier time managing their condition than I've had keeping this under control. And I don't even get any MedicAlert bling for my trouble.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
For the record, I don't think that psychiatry is bullshit. I do take issue with the some (many) of the teachers of this course and their methods. I think most of them would benefit from a long pedagogy course but none of them will make the time for it.
I get frustrated when people spend a large amount of time talking about small amounts of material in a disorganized way (Ex: this afternoon). I get frustrated when Dr. Rubin decides to spend the first 35 minutes of a 60 minute lecture discussing a tangential case before running 15 minutes over while rushing through the material.
I think that if they just stuck to teaching us the material in a concrete way, I'd enjoy the course a lot more. The general feeling that I get from our class is similar; while comments may be broad, the sentiment seems to be directed more at the teachers than at the material.
Regardless, I'm sorry if I inadvertently fell into the category of insensitive boobs.
Dani, I understand a lot of people have issues with the way the psych course is taught (and compared to the uber-competence of Dr. Z's neuro course, it looks especially bad), and I can sympathize with that--in fact, some of the lecturers started working my nerves, too. I guess I was thinking more about the people who assume (and I have heard some explicitly state this)that psych disorders aren't REAL diseases and psychiatrists aren't REAL doctors. I don't think you're an insensitive boob, in your words.
Haha, you said boob!
Having said that, I think a lot of people will neglect to specify whether they're railing against the field or against the particular practitioners we are interacting with. Which is understandable but unfortunate. On the other hand, I think that most people understand that good psychiatrists are quite valuable.
Post a Comment