Comment Re:Is that supposed to be news?? (Score 1) 202
Yes -- particularly annoying on my netbook when it forces me stop everything while it slowly renders the update manager.
That's like saying it is ok for me to shit in my roommates bed because he hardly ever cleans.
hahaha insightful, informative and funny!
And yet, the rather flamebait-ish response is completely valid and correct. A lack of incentive will lead to a lack of success - so you need to address that before you can address the actual problem (and once you do, traditional approaches will probably work fine).
Nevertheless, in this case the incentive *is* the problem that the OP is trying to address through the use of computer games. The OP is asking how to address this problem, and instead of answering directly, Freeman basically responded "you shouldn't solve this problem" or asserted that the problem is inherently unsolvable. Both of those answers are very much unproductive.
If they have no incentive then don't bother with them. If someone isn't willing to work at something then there's no point helping them, they're still going to fail. If they have trouble getting employment, then that's an incentive right there. You don't need to create incentives for someone who doesn't want to try..
It's clear the OP doesn't give a toss about why the clients "have no incentive", he just wants to solve the problem regardless of your feelings about people needing to motivate themselves. I respect his position much more than using emotions or jealousy as an excuse not to solve the problem.
I have several friends who are working in the field, as psychiatrists, psychologists, and counselors, and they all say that most people who start on antidepressants will in fact never get off of them.
Well unfortunately I couldn't find a study to indicate one way or the other, and both of our evidence just just anecdotal, but I personally know numerous people who have started and weaned off anti-depressants. It most definitely can be done.
Some won't because they will always truly need them, and some because of inertia. The medical establishment that prescribes seems not to have the ethical problem continuing to prescribe medication that could be eliminated
That's unfortunately true. I also think that (through no fault of their own) many GP's don't have to time to ensure that anti-depressants are followed up by cognitive therapy or lifestyle changes, which would often result on a dependence on the drug.
, and the patients who could go off of them probably just never find the time (it's got to be a process, and perhaps a fairly intimidating one if the drugs have made a noticeable difference in their life).
Well it can be intimidating, that's true, but that's why it's done slowly. Furthermore, the side effects of SSRIs (memory loss, loss of libido, unable to be 'happy', etc.) means many people will themselves decide when its appropriate to stop.
But I do agree, for some people this might be a problem that will need to be addressed by their practitioner.
me: Because using pills as a crutch, instead of fixing the underlying problems, doesn't allow the brain to get back to normal.Keep in mind, we have no idea how depression gets cured.
I disagree, we have many "cures" for depression (medication and cognitive therapy come to mind). I suppose it's more a problem of identifying the right solution for that person's specific circumstances. Of course, there's a few things that will almost always prove beneficial, such as exercise.
If it were a simple chemical imbalance then restoring the balance would restore normal function. But once prozac came out we stopped the research. If it were an imbalance, you wouldn't have a waiting period of several months for it to kick in, it would work immediately.
There's nothing simple about a "chemical imbalance". I also don't follow as to why anti-depressants should work immediately -- it takes time, even with anti-depressants, to build up serotonin levels in your brain. Google SSRI (the most common anti-depressant) which specifically targets serotonin -- the chemical that makes you feel happy (and if you don't believe that, go have some ecstasy). Also I certainly don't believe that research has stopped in the area of depression -- the markets worth way too much for that.
The latest research I found before this report suggests the brain actually gets damaged, and restoring the chemical imbalance allows it to heal, which takes time. Once it's healed you can function normally again.
However this new research/theory suggests that using medications simply buys you enough energy as you suggested to fix the problems, letting the brain return to its normal state and then probably physically healing. In short, pills are good but you have to address the cause as well.
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I completely agree and would in fact suggest a combination of SSRIs to get people to a stage where they are open to cognitive therapy, then cognitive therapy, in combination with exercise, to address the cause. I strongly believe that anti-depressants without cognitive therapy will rarely produce lasting changes, but that not everyone will be receptive to cognitive therapy alone. I think of anti-depressants as a tool to increase the effectiveness of other treatments.
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According to this new research, depression is not a modern disease. And according to this new theory, distractions which take your mind off your problems are the opposite of helpful. They don't let you solve your problem and get past it - they just prolong the problem while making you feel better. Like a pain reliever that masks the symptoms.
Entirely untrue: This study says nothing as to how distractions affect depression. The only thing this study says is that depressed people are better problem solvers. You might want to read a little more in to it and infer that depression is a tool to solve difficult life situations.
To understand why distractions can be beneficial to your state of mind, you need to have some understanding of the underlying biology. Depressing thoughts lead to more depressing thoughts and each comes with a cost. Simply put, those negative thoughts decrease the levels of serotonin in your brain & overtime, without the stimuli, the serotonin receptors begin to die off. This makes it physically impossible (almost) for you to be happy (any depressed person can tell you how this feels and how shocking it was at first to even find out you could feel this way). If not for the constant barrage of negative thoughts, this might not be a problem (of course its a lot more complicated than that, but at 2:16AM I have not the motivation).
That was my point about pills and TV and internet and all of the toys we have today - it's easy to simply ignore that you feel bad, solve no problems, and not feel better. Not feel horrible, but not feel better either.
Not feeling horrible but not feeling better is not being depressed. In fact, that's pretty much right where anti-depressants will put you.
Being depressed is actually like feeling the worst you could ever imagine and then take away all hope.
A hunter-gatherer society would likely present fewer complicated issues which require problem solving. When we settled down into an agrarian society and depended on rain for crops, problem solving probably became more important.
In my own personal experience, the thing to do when I feel the first sign of depression is to change something. I don't always know what to change, but simply cleaning the house or sorting through papers which have piled up or calling a business to work out why something isn't right - these things tend to help.
That's actually a fantastic approach, although it does sound a little like distraction to me
Avoidance behavior seems to make things worse, which matches this theory. Doing nothing when your brain is trying to fix something for you is just working against yourself. So in my personal experience, this new theory does make sense where others have not.
Its the "trying to fix" that causes depression -- the constant problem solving and thinking. The worst part about depression is your mind turns against you and you get some kind of sick pleasure out of thinking these negative thoughts, which only reinforces your depression.
The problem solving might be a survival tool but IMO depression is when that survival tool breaks down and turns against you.
Well anti-depressants, if prescribed properly, do the exact opposite. They enable people to change their environment and break the vicious cycle of depression.
Oh, bullshit.
Fair nuff.
I'll give you the example of someone who, due to their depressive state, is incapable of leaving the house. Without going in to much detail, this will make their depression worse.
Yeah, and a shrink is going to make housecalls? Not likely.
I didn't think it needed to be said, but depressed people can actually leave their house... But some might choose to avoid social situations because, for example, they don't want to ruin everyone else's fun with their depression.
Give that same person some anti-depressants and they might feel good enough to leave the house, make new friends and create a positive reinforcing cycle.
They might have the energy to leave the house. But if they couldn't make friends before they became depressed, your happy pill won't have given them the ability to. So more likely, the pill will simply let them become content with staying in the house, or leaving it but having no friends.
Maybe they did have friends, and can make friends, but they lose them all due to a relationship that ended badly. Anti-depressants aren't for everyone but they are amazing effective for specific circumstances.
By the time the wean off the drugs, their environment might have changed such that they remain happy.
People don't "wean off" of mood-altering drugs. Either they're on them all their life, or they stop taking them against medical advice (because they don't like the side effects, or they cost too much, or something).
You're an idiot; People do wean of anti-depressants all the time, and almost always with their doctor's advice and/or consent. Stop spreading FUD.
"Can you program?" "Well, I'm literate, if that's what you mean!"
