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Disease Mongering

My father's a psychiatrist. Thank you all for your fascinating and well-informed contributions, based on years of medical training I'm sure.
I was only repeating what my friend said.
 
'as physicians' is precisely why I doubt the nature of psychiatry. Where is the science? If you want me to say that many psychiatrists sincerely believe they do good and their patients do as well, I agree. But so do priests. And acupuncturists.

Don't mean to be harsh, I'm just of the school that if the experiment is not repeatable its not science.
 
'as physicians' is precisely why I doubt the nature of psychiatry. Where is the science? If you want me to say that many psychiatrists sincerely believe they do good and their patients do as well, I agree. But so do priests. And acupuncturists.

Don't mean to be harsh, I'm just of the school that if the experiment is not repeatable its not science.


Psychiatric medication is as heavily researched and has to go through the same lengthy processes that physical medication has to. Psychiatry is a branch or medicine. Are you sure you are not confusing Psychiatry with Psychology?
 
The WHO has now classified playing too much video games as a mental health disorder. Guess who is calling in sick for work tommorow.
 
Psychiatric medication is as heavily researched and has to go through the same lengthy processes that physical medication has to. Psychiatry is a branch or medicine. Are you sure you are not confusing Psychiatry with Psychology?

OK. Psychiatry, as I understand it , is based on the ideas of Freud, Jung et al and is concerned with solving mental problems by bringing out one's inner thoughts and feelings. Difficult in my case because I don't think in words.

Psychology is based on external analysis of the brain - electrical patterns and the like. Being a biker, I've had friends with serious head injuries who've brains have reprogrammed themselves into undamaged areas to restore function - after a lot of very hard work.

One is analytical, the other is allegedly scientific. As far as I am concerned they are both bunkum. You are of course entirely free to disagree and consult either or both.
 
To be fair, I'm probably a bit scared of either discipline. I only have one eye, but two working optic nerves. Since ! was 12, when the other eye was removed, on the left I see an egg shaped window into reality . On the right, I see nothingness. A D shaped nothingness roughly behind my right nostril. When I close my eye at night I see black - or sometimes eyelid movies - and still a D shaped nothingness.

Coupled with the fact that I had 20-odd operations prior to 12 trying to save the right eye, involving lengthy separations from my parents and invariably being on an adult ward because most eye conditions that were treatable in those days affected older people and there was no provision for children, I developed extreme mental protections, A particular example of the other place I was in was the nurses allocating me, at the age of approximately 11, to comfort a lad of my age who had been fooling with his father's shotgun and blown his face off, blinding him in both eyes. Coupled with having mild homosexual abuse a couple of times i doubt my mind is understandable by anyone but me, and I would not appreciate anyone trying to poke in to it.

All this and more is true, but against that I have had many years of absolutely wonderful life, and I don't regret a thing - all of it made me. And I am the person who my wife loved.
 
OK. Psychiatry, as I understand it , is based on the ideas of Freud, Jung et al and is concerned with solving mental problems by bringing out one's inner thoughts and feelings. Difficult in my case because I don't think in words.

That's wrong I'm afraid. You're describing psychoanalysis, not psychiatry. Even among psychiatrists, Freudian/Jungian psychoanalysis isn't always looked upon favourably or regarded as a valid science.
 
That's wrong I'm afraid. You're describing psychoanalysis, not psychiatry. Even among psychiatrists, Freudian/Jungian psychoanalysis isn't always looked upon favourably or regarded as a valid science.

There's a similar issue with the characterization of psychology. The label applies to therapeutic interventions / services as well as scientific research into behavioral topics. There are also a variety of applied psychology specialties, such as human factors psychology, industrial psychology, cognitive ergonomics / engineering, etc.

Of the various therapeutic psychologists I've known as friends and / or colleagues, many have based their practices on Jung. I don't recall knowing any psychologists who based their practices on Freud.
 
OK, seems I need some educating on the subject. I must admit its 30 years since I last dug in to it, although my mentor at the time had a masters degree in psychology. But then I know people with degrees in computer science who know very little about computers.

So when people say they are going to see a psychiatrist they generally mean a psychoanalyst?
 
So when people say they are going to see a psychiatrist they generally mean a psychoanalyst?

That depends. Maybe, and maybe not. As a very general layman's overview:

Psychoanalysts/psychotherapists get you to talk about your life, dreams etc. to try and get to the root of past events or traumas that may be causing your particular issues (e.g. depression, anxiety). They may or may not be medically qualified.

Psychiatrists generally work in psychiatric hospitals (or psychiatric wards of general hospitals) and treat people with diagnosed mental illnesses. They are medically qualified doctors. Their patients have often been admitted (or self-admitted) under the guidance of the Mental Health Act (or similar).

It's a bit more complex than that, and there is sometimes some overlap, but that's a rough guide.
 
OK, seems I need some educating on the subject. I must admit its 30 years since I last dug in to it, although my mentor at the time had a masters degree in psychology. But then I know people with degrees in computer science who know very little about computers.

So when people say they are going to see a psychiatrist they generally mean a psychoanalyst?


No usually a GP will refer a patient to see a psychiatrist. The main thrust of the treatment is medication. However a psychiatrist will work as part of team that involves nursing, occupational therapy, psychology, social work, etc.


Psychiatry is medicine based and if someone presents they will have a full physical examination and a large amount of time is spent getting people on medication within a therapeutic range which can be tracked by blood tests.
 
I was thinking Americans. People in the UK don't usually announce to their friends that they are off to see a psychologist, or anything starting with psych. I don't know whether we are more sensible in the UK or more hung up about mental problems.
 
I was thinking Americans. People in the UK don't usually announce to their friends that they are off to see a psychologist, or anything starting with psych. I don't know whether we are more sensible in the UK or more hung up about mental problems.

What you normally see portrayed in US media are people who talk about being in therapy, i.e. they are paying privately to have a course of sessions with a psychoanalyst, dealing with problems (genuine or perceived) that are psychological rather than physical in nature. These psychoanalysts may or may not be trained psychiatrists.

People whose mental health problems are physical in nature are generally unlikely to receive much benefit from psychoanalysis alone. They need medication.
 
Star Trek: The Next Generation.

When the Yanks are exploring the universe, they're going to need their analyst with them for the ride!

(Commander Troi!)
 
Star Trek: The Next Generation.

When the Yanks are exploring the universe, they're going to need their analyst with them for the ride!

(Commander Troi!)

But she had a sort of empathic-telepathy.
 
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And wore a tight-fit bunny costume.

A nubile foreigner is the only one we trust in our heads!

(That's ripe for psychoanalysis)
Yeah, I'd have regular consultations with such a therapist...
 
Yeah, I'd have regular consultations with such a therapist...

I, too, would be desirous of intercourse with that anatomically satisfying female.

Kodoskangtappedout.png
 
Computer science is more of a branch of mathematical theory, so it's not necessarily a surprise that you get computer scientists who don't know their way around a PC.

About disease mongering. Has anyone read 'Oryx And Crake' by Margaret Atwood? IIRC (and I may not), there's a conspiracy in that book whereby pharma companies ship disease microbes in their pills to keep business booming. Has that one made it over to real life yet?
 
About disease mongering. Has anyone read 'Oryx And Crake' by Margaret Atwood? IIRC (and I may not), there's a conspiracy in that book whereby pharma companies ship disease microbes in their pills to keep business booming. Has that one made it over to real life yet
One of the more bonkers podcasts I used to listen to (seems to have vanished, maybe they got to her?) talked a great deal about how the US government was putting ebola in the flu vaccines in order to start an epidemic which would need expensive drugs to cure. Luckily she herself sold an even more expensive herbal tincture that cures ebola(!?) Of course when the upcoming ebola epidemic failed to materialise in the US, she just stopped mentioning it. So I am not sure about real life as such but yes, I have heard it!
 
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