A MUST read for everyone coping or dealing with mental health issues.
“Antipsychotic medication, which seemed so important in the early phase of psychosis, appeared to worsen prospects for recovery over the long-term. . . .It appears that what we currently call “schizophrenia” may comprise disorders with quite different trajectories. For some people, remaining on medication long-term might impede a full return to wellness. For others, discontinuing medication can be disastrous.” Thank you, “Beyond Meds”!
From Mad in America today Bruce Levine talks victory:
After examining two long-term studies on schizophrenia and psychoses, Insel has come to what was previously considered a radical conclusion: in the long-term, some individuals with a history of psychosis do better off medication.
Insel finally recognizes what mental health treatment reform activists and investigative reporter Robert Whitaker have been talking about for years—the research shows that American psychiatry’s standard treatment protocol has hurt many people who could have been helped by a more selective and limited use of drugs, and a more diverse approach such as the one utilized in Finland, which has produced the best long-term outcomes in the developed world….
….The Harrow and the Wunderinks studies, Open Dialogue, and the lives of many ex-patient activists dispel the myth that people do not fully recover from psychotic states. The reality is that people can experience long-term recovery, and for…
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Heila 
Very informative. I found the post particularly relevant as a close relative suffers from Schizophrenia and drugs never seemed to support him.
Does the incidence of schizophrenic attacks and symptoms diminish with age? Is there any significant evidence available on this aspect?
Shakti
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Hello Shakti and thanks for commenting.
My son too has schizophrenia and the medication definitely helps him. As it says in the article: “…some individuals with a history of psychosis do better off medication.” SOME, not all.
As for your question regarding symptoms dimishing with age, I know that some people recover and others don’t. I’m not fimiliar with the statistics.
Here is a great talk on TED by Elyn Saks, a professor of law, psychology and psychiatry suffering from schizophrenia: http://www.ted.com/talks/elyn_saks_seeing_mental_illness.html
Heila
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Very much agree with it….
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Thanks for stopping by chaver. Yes, psychiatry is not a field of black OR white and therefore applying a standard treatment protocol for everyone can bear great dangers and/or simply risk being less effective.
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Indeed, every case is a test in it’s own.
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