I’m on my mental breaking point! But what to do: should I get medications or
visit a therapist?
Most people opt for the first way at first. Most psychoactive
drugs (the class of drugs that can induce changes in mood, sensation, thinking,
and behavior) are easy to purchase at most pharmacies, a 5-minute conversation
with most psychiatrists can result in a prescription for those drugs not so
readily available. It is convenient to avoid having to tell someone about one’s
‘weak points’, hoping that the unpleasant ‘guest’, in the form of anxiety,
depression, obsessive thoughts, etc., might soon leave. This approach follows
the idea of man as machine: a (pharmacological) turn on the right cog can reset
the machine and have it running smoothly again.
Psychologists and psychotherapists naturally have problems
with this concept, because it not only reduces people to ‘thought and digestion
machines’ but also ignores the important other two pillars of humanism: mind
(our rational skills to tackle problems) and psyche (the idea that mental health
problems have specific causes, which we should fix or resolve).
For these two very contrasting views, a modern
psychotherapeutic approach has emerged, proving itself well in most all
variations of psychological distress. Psychosis, severe mental illnesses, and
acute problems, the pharmacological approach is the first choice. Medicines help
to stabilize the mental situation so that patients can actually make use of what
counseling and other forms of therapy can provide for them.
For conventional mental disorders, psychotherapy and
counseling is typically applied. In certain cases pharmacological support can be
helpful during the first months of treatment. Purely pharmacological therapy
without any form of accompanying counseling or psychotherapy has been abandoned
by most Western clinics today. In every individual case, a trained psychiatrist,
psychologist or psychotherapist should be involved the diagnosis and assessment
of the correct procedure in order to maximize the therapeutic effect.
Self-diagnosis and especially self-treatment with
psychotropic drugs is not recommended due to a variety of potential side
effects.
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Live the happy life you planned! Richard L.
Fellner is head of the Counseling Center Pattaya in Soi Kopai and
offers consultations in English and German languages after making an
appointment at 0854 370 470. |
