Re: I've been labelled as treatment resistant schizophrenic

@Zoe7 What I have realised is if I really wanted to end my life I would have gone into full completion no ifs or buts. As soon as you tell someone you want to die your reaching out for help and don't really want to. It's a new way of thinking. The chances of suicide when they did a medical analysis went up after 2 years of treatment. And that was a big study, not to say it will happen to everyone but it is a very real problem and it has also been proven in the court of law. They have to show it in the list of side affects but the word it in a way that can be easy to overlook at first glance.

I have attempted suicide but didn't complete it and that was on meds because of them.

@MDT that's up to you to figure out. When you look at large numbers, yes that's the case for many. It's really important to do your own 'proper' research.

@krs It is dangerous to presume that everyone that attempts suicide do not intend to complete that and that everyone that says that is what they are going to do are just reaching out for support and do not intend carrying through with that. It is also dangerous to presume that just because someone did not actually die in the process that it was not a serious attempt to end their life. In my case it was just luck that I did not die - I did not tell anyone what I intended and planned carefully to carry through with that. I learnt from the first failed attempt and rectifed (or so I thought) that will subsequent attempts. Withour the medication I would have been stuck in that perpetual state of darkness - nightmares, flashbacks, insomnia, unhelpful behaviour and wanting to end all that. Whilst I acknowledge that medication is not for everyone and everyone is different it needs also to be acknowledged that for some medication is not just a life saver but a beginning of a new and better life moving forward. To completely dismiss those of us that both need and thrive because of the medication is near sighted and unhelpful and completely invalidates our situation. As I said - everyone is different, our experiences are different, our circumstances are different and our situations are different - and what we need and can help are also different.

In respect to research - we can find any research that backs up our own beliefs if we look hard enough so whilst I acknowledge you have found that for yourself in respect to what you believe it is also the case that there is ample research that backs up what others believe.

I will add that it took nearly 2 years for myself and my team to find the right medication to help me - and those 2 years were torture - so not all medications are the right fit and are very much different again for each individual. But now I am in so much a better place because the medication allowed me to begin to claw back my life in increments by helping suppress the flashbacksand nightmares and allow me to sleep. None of that was possible with therapy alone and in fact therapy sessions were re-traumatising - talking is also not something everyone can do - so to assume that talk therapy is for everyone is also alienating for some.

Everyone is very different and what works for one may not work for another - but there is room for all views - however that needs to be an individual choice in respect to each person's circumstances and that needs to be respected.

@Zoe7 I am not saying people don't suffer in life home saying people get stuck and don't know what to do when they're thinking about suicide. It's a scary feeling and yes I had all those same symptoms especially coming off long-term treatment. I went through 5 months of extreme insomnia about 2 hours a night sometimes a little bit more sometimes nothing I became paranoid hearing voices and had visual hallucinations I've been through hell but still here. They can cause what's called a paradoxical effect which is worse than the initial so called phycosis. People die without treatment I get that but also many move on without it. Talk therapy only works if you find the right professional don't know how to deviate away from the DSM and in Australia unfortunately it's extremely rare. They also have to be the right for that particular person, but there is no fix for any treatment and sure isn't for medication that dr's claim they fix chemical imbalances in the brain. Whats dangerous is the fact that over 80, 000 Australians die every year from antidepressants, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines and stimulants etc... There is no such thing as enabling the brain to function with chemicals that mess with brain chemistry to numb your emotions and make you feel better. It's really important to see the other side and educate yourself because it's your life not psychiatry's. I was medications spellbound and had no idea until recently. That was my stupidity.

@krs You are making some pretty blind assumptions here that other people are not educated in this area as you are. Just because some people do not agree or believe in what you do does not mean they are not educated in the area either. As I said previsouly - you can turn any research around for one's own benefit and find evidence to back up your own views and ascertions. It is not only invalidating but disrespectful to believe that on'e own views are the only ones that matter or work for everyone - and to not acknowledge that there are different benefits of therapy/medications for different people based ion their unique circumstances.There can never be a wholistic approach because of this but minimising - or rejecting - that which works for some is actualy perpetuating the stigma attached to mental illness. So whilst you have your views it is important to be congisant of those others that have differing views from their own ecperiences.

@Zoe7 I feel sorry for people that are mentally ill. It's not their fault they don't know the full story. It takes time for people to realise the truth. The medication can make you sick, the mental problems are real. There is no real science in psychiatry how do you know if you haven't looked in the right places? As I said I had a psychiatrist tell me this in person, they start to wear off and you build up a tolerance and become sensitive to the medication think of it like alcohol or smoking or any other psychoactive substance. Look into Joanna Moncrieff she is a well-known psychiatrist in the UK she only use this medication in acute distress for short-term while other therapies take place. The UK are doing much better than Australia, they had a shift in thinking. It may take some time to this to come out, it's a huge epidemic but this poor irresponsible government haven't woken up. The assumptions are quite credible considering the lack of Disclosure to the mentally ill.

Again @krs making assumptions of people that are not based in recognition that people have their own minds and whether they have a mental illness or not also have the ability to research things themselves - and any research can be found to back up one's own views as you have done here. "Looking in the right places' is another way of saying you are backing up your own reconceived views and whether that is supported by people you have personally talked to is further evidence that singularity of views can be evidenced by people that you seek out to support those views. Anyone can do that but looking at a wholistic approach in mental health care has to take into consideration all models, all research, all opinions and all lived experience. To reject those you do not personally believe in is not looking at the entirity of evidence nor respecting that each individual case is different - and that each individual both needs and deserves the approach that helps them best. If there was a one-fix solution to mental health and mental illness then there would be no need to any heath professionals in the area, no need for ongoing research, no debate about what is best for each individual, nor no need for a forum like this. I am more than happy to debate this issue with you but it needs to be acknowedged that a holistic approach needs to incorporate what is best for each individual and that your persepective is a narrow view from your experience as are the views of others from theirs. The truth is what each person understands for themselves and if their truth helps them to navigate the minefield that is mental health then that cannot be dismissed.

@Former-Member Can this whole discussion be moved to a new thread as whilst it is a valuable one to have it is also not the right place to have it ongoing in the Introduce Yourself Thread.

@Zoe7 again you can't disagree with something you know nothing about. It's important to educate yourself about the pills that you take every morning and or night. They just make it harder for someone to feel their true feelings. It's much more complicated than you think and you haven't gotten to that stage yet. I'm continuing to learn and don't know everything at all but I do know more than most people with diagnostic labels. My uncle is a social worker my cousin is a mental health nurse and I discuss these things with them all the time, it takes time for them to shift the way of thinking. My uncle admits the dsm-5 is the worst one yet he has to read this non scientific book for his job. My current social worker also does the same and he admitted to me that it isn't science. Say something to have a scientific merit it has to be found. Unfortunately that's not the case and people like yourself haven't realised yet.

You are making very wide assumptions here without having any knowledge whatsoever of either myself or others' knowledge of what they also know. To assume that either I or others have not done that research themselves is narrow, single minded and arrogant. To also assume you know more than most people is also arrogant and clearly that arrogance is masking the ability to see from the perspective of others. Let me ask you one question - how do you know that medications have side effects if there is no scientific basis to finding those out. I am not debating the merits or not here of the DSM - and have not throughout our whole conversation - I have consistently talked about the merits of medication and that one size does not fit all. You are again assuming however that your view is the only valid one here and not at all recognising that everyone has their own views and experience - further more you are backing up you views by hear say from people you have talked to and the opinions/research of a narrow section og the mental health world. Yet again you are dismissing those alternative views that are also based in their own evidence. Any research can be tailored to achieve the required outcome if the researcher has a particular view or 'end game' in sight - so it may be worthwhile for you to also research the background to those studies, the sample size, the questions asked, the compliation of that data and the conclusions drawn in isolation. It would also be worthwhile you determining who funded that research and what the narrative was in obtaining the funding to do so. Any research is subjective and any research can be manoevered to support an assumption if the researcher works it around enough to do so.