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Notes #69

 

I believe, at least in the last 20 years, therapists have been asking themselves a lot about just how much, and to what degree we support the growing trend to question whether "to medicate or not to medicate."

At the turn of the century (2000), one in 10 American women was taking antidepressants. Six percent of children who saw a doctor were prescribed an antidepressant.

What should doctors and therapists know about antidepressants? What advice do we give to those considering antidepressants and what should we be on the lookout for with our clients who are already on them?

England's National Institute of Clinical Excellence in their guidelines on whether to medicate or not makes the following suggestions: they urged doctors not to prescribe antidepressants for mild depression until psychotherapy has been tried. For moderate depression, consider therapy first, then a combination of therapy and medication--this is their suggestion for severe depression as well.  (Psychotherapy Networker)

There are many studies to support that psychological therapies work as well as drug treatments in treating depression and have fewer side effects. Perhaps drug therapies ought not to be the first choice, but they certainly can be very helpful to some individuals.

Side effects of antidepressants in some people include: excess crying, difficulty concentrating, changes in appetite, dizziness, becoming more anxious, trouble sleeping, feeling like they're crawling out their skin, and the scariest symptom of all--suicidal thoughts.

If a person experiences severe side effects over the first two weeks of their regime, old advice used to be to increase the dosage and to remain on the drug for at least four weeks. It seems that clients are now told to just simply stop the old medication and we'll try something new. The greatest problems seem to occur when starting, increasing, or stopping the drug. Stopping abruptly can cause unpleasant, even dangerous withdrawal symptoms.

So the decision to medicate or not to medicate is a very tough one. As I mention to my new clients with depression symptoms who by and large state "they do not want to be medicated", "Okay, but if in 3-6 months you don't feel significantly different/better going the natural route, then you need to consider medical intervention. Dan

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Spine

When I was young I decided I wanted to be a doctor, so I took the entrance exam to go to Medical School.

One of the questions asked was to rearrange the letters *PNEIS* into the name of an important human body part which is most useful when erect.

Those who answered spine are doctors today.

The rest of us are sending jokes via email.

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Is it true that by definition, peaceful demonstrations are peaceful, have a purpose and meaning, and send a message worthy of being heard? Could I make the assumption that this does not include the destruction of property?

It might then be true that people whose anger gets the better of them and they spray paint and behead statues, that their actions are actually counterproductive to the "real message" they want to send. What is the "real message" that peaceful demonstrators want to send? Is there a progressive message in the demonstrations or are they merely gut-wrenching reactions to the terrible realizations that hundreds of indigenous children lay in unmarked graves and some major players in this dark piece of Canadian history will not take responsibility and own up to the part they played in these atrocities? If this behaviour is about anger, I can somewhat understand indigenous anger. But don't forget I too am angry at how these children were treated! However, anger won't work. Angry behaviour covers up the "real message" and our society needs to hear that message.

So please construct the "real message" and repeated it often in a way that it can be heard, with no blame. Blame only causes those being blamed to become defensive and all communication ceases. We (Canadians) want to get it right this time--as a white person I am weary of being made to feel guilty and in some cases being angry and frustrated with no real plan of how to end this blame game that has been going on all of my lifetime. What can we do to end this "You owe us because of what happened 50, 100 years ago?" And we are always finding things from the past to keep the fires of anger stoked.

It seems to me that our indigenous citizens want the same as the rest of society (good housing, clean drinking water, automobiles/trucks/snowmobiles, quality education, access to proper medical facilities, and to own their own property). So maybe Canadian Integration is the key (which is different then "other" integration I suppose). It means that people who come to Canada or have been here since the beginning are all Canadian citizens and yet are strongly encouraged to practice their own cultural nuances. You can be Canadian and support the Greek Orthodox Church and community. You can be Canadian and practice your Thai religion and culture. Just check out the number of practising cultural entities that make up Folklorama. They are well supported by all levels of government and we accept and support each other's pavilions/culture. Could not our indigenous citizens be so integrated? Could they not have their culture, celebrations, and religion and still be Canadian instead of a separate nation within Canada?

Why then do our indigenous citizens need to be a separate nation within Canada? Why do they need a separate government - funded mainly by the Canadian government and the rest of us taxpayers? Guilt! That's why. We feel guilty for the way these folks have been treated in the past and they are making us pay in the present.

As I said earlier, I am weary of feeling guilty for what has happened in the past. I think we need to be as helpful as we can to provide opportunities to all citizens of Canada to reach a level of success in our society and that includes our indigenous citizens. However, by way of a separate nation-No!

I have dialogued with many indigenous educators, professional persons, and business owners (ok it was only three, definitely too small a sample to have any real validity), and when asked how did they get to where they were, their response was, "Hard work, failure, hard work, and work the resources that were available to them".

To reiterate, I would like to see all Canadian citizens succeed and I think success begins with education. We must encourage all parents (this very much includes indigenous parents) to do whatever it takes to get their children a good education--get involved with your school and your kids' schooling, and have them be consistent about attendance -- parents, make your kids' schooling a priority in your life. Because if they are confident and competent, I feel that the majority of Canadians couldn't care less what race, culture, or church they identify with; only that they: are a friendly bus driver, set my broken arm correctly, style my hair beautifully, take care of my teeth painlessly, keep my car running--get the point? Anything is possible if you get an education, work hard, and don't depend on anybody to just give you a free ride: work hard, establish goals, set high standards, and work hard.   Dan

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------PARKING TICKET:

My wife and I went into town and visited a shop. When we came out, there was a cop writing out a parking ticket.

We went up to him and I said, "Come on man, how about giving a senior citizen a break?"

He just ignored us and continued writing the ticket.

 I called him an "a**hole." He glared at me and started writing another ticket for having worn-out tires.

 So my wife called him a "s*it head." He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first.

Then he started writing more tickets.

 This went on for about 20 minutes. The more we abused him, the more tickets he wrote. He finally finished, sneered at us, and walked away.
 
 Just then our bus arrived, and we got on it and went home.

 We always look for cars with Justin Trudeau stickers.

We try to have a little fun each day now that we're retired. It's so important at our age!!

 

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