Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Let’s avoid talk of ‘chemical imbalance’: it’s people in distress

psyche.co

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

191–200 of 396 posts

Re: Let’s avoid talk of ‘chemical imbalance’: it’s people in distress

#191

Post by [deleted] »

EE84M3i wrote: post #170
_ywdj wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I usually get asked this and my standard reply is that I don't prefer not to get into discussions about specifics here, but I'm happy to share info via email, and I also host a Discord group where people interested can discus and share their own experiences with different techniques. So, please feel free to email me (address is in my profile). Edit: the reason I’m reticent about getting into details here is that I’ve…

To be blunt: why? Your reply reads to me like you're recruiting for a cult and/or selling something.

[deleted]

Re: Let’s avoid talk of ‘chemical imbalance’: it’s people in distress

#192

Post by rednerrus »

dukha wrote: post #56

I've always been depressive and pessimistic person as far as I can remember. I've been looking at other people only to see how happy they are and how content they with their life. They feel motivated, want something from life and in generally think that being alive is alright, which I just couldn't internalize no matter how hard I tried. Essentially, I've come to the conclusion that there _must_ be something wrong wi…

What is your purpose?

Re: Let’s avoid talk of ‘chemical imbalance’: it’s people in distress

#193

Post by nsl73 »

asveikau wrote: post #32
nsl73 wrote: post #11

I find the chemical imbalance metaphor for mental illness the opposite of empowering and an easy well to sell pharmaceuticals. There is some truth to the metaphor, but I wonder if it’s doing more harm than good.

If you have been close to a psychotic person who refuses to take antipsychotic medication (a common enough problem that I have faced with multiple people), the "just trying to sell drugs" story gets old very fast. A lot of people really do need the drugs in order to stop harming themselves. I think this article does a disservice by suggesting that people on such drugs are trying to get over a minor breakup. And actua…

Please don’t consider my initial statement questioning a metaphor to mean that people that have suffered a psychotic episode or are likely to suffer a psychotic episode in the near future should avoid medication. The threshold for considering medication should be lower than a psychotic episode.

My concern is the metaphor in which many people are viewing mental health, not in the treatments themselves.

Re: Let’s avoid talk of ‘chemical imbalance’: it’s people in distress

#194

Post by twojacobtwo »

dukha wrote: post #56

I've always been depressive and pessimistic person as far as I can remember. I've been looking at other people only to see how happy they are and how content they with their life. They feel motivated, want something from life and in generally think that being alive is alright, which I just couldn't internalize no matter how hard I tried. Essentially, I've come to the conclusion that there _must_ be something wrong wi…

Have you looked into the possibility that you have ADD/ADHD?

I ask because your description sounds spot on for how I have felt throughout life. The 'fog', lack of motivation, and sensitivity to even the slightest stimulus especially ring true. When I first took medication for ADD, I felt like I had been driving through a downpour my whole life and finally discovered the window-wipers - the storm didn't stop, but I could finally look forward and see my goals and desires clearly. Every few weeks I try to do a reset and test how I feel without medication and I definitely still feel that 'fog' that you mention. I would say my fog is more like being in a lightning storm, because I feel the constant 'patter' of thoughts hitting my subconscious (for lack of a better word), but the occasional lightning strike will pull my attention completely away from everything else momentarily.

If you want to learn more, I highly recommend looking through the ADHD subreddit[0] - especially the sidebar material.

[0] https://old.reddit.com/r/ADHD/

Re: Let’s avoid talk of ‘chemical imbalance’: it’s people in distress

#195

Post by MR4D »

I disagree, and do so on my personal experience with Keto (yes, you read that correctly).

Just to give one case - last month I tried to get back into keto, as the lockdown had worn away my resistance to junk food and bad eating habits began.

In the process, I bounced in and out of ketosis, and my emotional state was all over the map. Crying, ecstatic, and everything in between. It was like being bipolar (I have a family member who is clinically bipolar, so I know firsthand what that does to someone).

But then, two weeks ago, I finally was able to get into my Keto diet fully. And for two weeks, my personality has been back to normal, and much more calm, less emotional, more focused, etc. [0]

Also, while I was going through the transition phase in/out of keto last month, I had several days of really vivid bad dreams and poor sleep. Several days of bad dreams was weird. Being tired on top of it made it worse.

So that's why I disagree. My firsthand experience with changing my food made a huge difference. (The first time I got into keto - about 2 years ago - I did so with a doctor who specializes in eating habits. This time was with that knowledge, but without my doctor as a guide. Thankfully my wife was a month ahead of me in the process, which made it tolerable.)

[0] - note to anyone trying Keto - go in fully, not halfway, and you'll only have a day or two of being grumpy (usually day 3 or 4). Have a guide to support you, as being on the cusp, but not truly in keto really sucks!

------

Quick Edit - there ARE people in distress, and I'm not trying to take away from that, rather I'm talking about the everyday person who has some things out of whack sometimes.

By all means, if you are depressed, PLEASE talk to someone - it will probably save your life.

Re: Let’s avoid talk of ‘chemical imbalance’: it’s people in distress

#196

Post by Johnjonjoan »

cj wrote: post #185
Johnjonjoan wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. Human beings as you say are products of their circumstances and one circumstance that seems very pervasive is technology. We are no longer fully human beings. Technology had changed what it is to be human even in Huxley's time; nowadays I wonder has AI already taken over? The prevalence of computer run algorithms in human beings decision making seems to imply it has started at least.

Technology has definitely changed what it is to be human. But I don’t think that means what we are today is less human than before. Technology is a very powerful tool we created. But so was the “invention” of the wheel.

I think the more that technology influences our decisions the less human we become in our actions. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing but that we are definitely diluting our humanism with other stuff.

Re: Let’s avoid talk of ‘chemical imbalance’: it’s people in distress

#197

Post by viburnum »

dukha wrote: post #56

I've always been depressive and pessimistic person as far as I can remember. I've been looking at other people only to see how happy they are and how content they with their life. They feel motivated, want something from life and in generally think that being alive is alright, which I just couldn't internalize no matter how hard I tried. Essentially, I've come to the conclusion that there _must_ be something wrong wi…

This has been my experience as well. It’s taken a long time to understand how I am different than most other people.

Have you read about sensory processing sensitivity/highly sensitive people?

Re: Let’s avoid talk of ‘chemical imbalance’: it’s people in distress

#198

Post by newacct583 »

MR4D wrote: post #195

I disagree, and do so on my personal experience with Keto (yes, you read that correctly). Just to give one case - last month I tried to get back into keto, as the lockdown had worn away my resistance to junk food and bad eating habits began. In the process, I bounced in and out of ketosis, and my emotional state was all over the map. Crying, ecstatic, and everything in between. It was like being bipolar (I have a fam…

The article isn't denying a biochemical basis on emotional regulation. It's saying that building the language of treatment around that framework is harmful, because it stigmatizes sufferers (even by simply making them fear the stigma), increases anxiety, and tends to act against recovery. It's an article about the best way to practice psychiatry.

Re: Let’s avoid talk of ‘chemical imbalance’: it’s people in distress

#199

Post by waheoo »

Its a metaphor that helps people understand the way something complicated works.

If you take offense to this, im sorry, but you have a chemical imbalance.

Depression can feel like your whole world is upside down, an imbalance in the way your head works is a perfectly apt metaphor for how your brain works in this state.

These ideas arent mutually exclusive either. Context matters, I wouldnt point at jane and say, this is the one i was telling you about, the one with the imbalanced brain.

I would say, this is jane, the one going through some depression as of late.

If someone says well whats depression? Then maybe it would make sense to explain how depression works, maybe then it would come up.

Post reply on HN