The Feeling Good Handbook and the anti medication bias

[unicorn2014]

So I checked this book out of the library after seeing it referenced on this board and I see that is very negative in regards to medication. I have to say that I believe if I had been given medication as a teen my life would be very different today. My possibly borderline mother is very opposed to medication and doesn't believe in mental illness. Sometimes medication is necessary and therapy will not solve a problem. I think as adult children of disordered parents we need to include all points of view. Some of us were seriously injured by having disordered parents to the point of having our brains altered by trauma and needing to have long term medication to stabilize our brain chemistry.

I want to delineate between depression and trauma. While depression may not need medication I am convinced that trauma absolutely does. I also believe that untreated depression may lead to trauma, and since depression is a biochemical imbalance, the case is pretty strong for medication there too.

[Buck]

I agree with your assessment. I am an adult child of disordered parents and experienced a lot of trauma. I became depressed as an adult and began the process of recovery through alanon in my late thirties. It was in alanon that I became open to the idea of medication for my depression and it made a big difference in my life and has aided my recovery. Unfortunately a pill alone can't heal people like me, but it can help.

[unicorn2014]

Thanks buck, my blood always runs cold when I see an anti-medication book being promoted. I think it's dangerous.

[Kwamina]

Unicorn2014,

Every person is different and people do not necessarily respond to the same treatment in the same way:

- Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) has been proven to be effective for many people in certain situations

with certain conditions or disorders

- Mood-altering medication has also been proven to be effective for many people in certain situations with certain conditions or disorders

- The combination of CBT and medication has also been proven to be effective for many people in certain situations with certain conditions or disorders

There are various forms of treatment available and there is no one-size fits all solution.

The mood therapy Dr. Burns presents in his books 'Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy' and 'The Feeling Good Handbook' was primarily developed for the treatment of depression and anxiety. It was not developed for the treatment of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or complex post traumatic stress disorder (c-PTSD).

[unicorn2014]

I understand that but it denigrates drugs that are used to treat complex PTSD. That's all I was saying. The book itself is negative. This site has a more positive view on medication as evidenced in its article on BPD and drugs.