Is there any promising treatments for treatment mood disorders on the horizon?

Question

What seems most promising to you? Maybe you already have the answer that might just give someone who has been suffering for decades hope, a fighting chance, to know what it is like to feel alive and happy.
Many people have been put on just about every treatment for depression and other various mood disorders, yet have not found relief. Their lives are just wasting away. A psychiatrist goal is for his patient to achieve a reasonable degree of remission. Yet often times that is not the doctors goal. What's on the horizon? What to these people and their families have to look forward to? Is there any light at the end of the tunnel?

Answer 1

When you have serious mental health issues light can sometimes be in short supply. I think often that the "treatment" is taken to only include drugs, treatment should be a much more holistic experience! There is no point pumping a person full of drugs if they live in a slum, with no family support and living on the edge of starvation. Professionals should consider every aspect of the person and also include other disciplines who can help. True, good psychiatric care needs to be multi-faceted and multi disciplinary.
This is starting to happen, but its still a lot slower than it should be. There is no miracle drug, every person is an individual and I doubt that there is likely to be a major breakthrough in the next 50 years or so. It takes determined people to keep chipping away at the established model of care and to introduce a truly enlightened model.
This answer is taken from the perspective of having suffered from clinical depression and of having been a nurse caring for people with mental health problems, and recently a volunteer befriender with the Health charity MIND.

Answer 2

I was diagnosed with bipolar in 1991. After being evaluated I started taking prozac and lithium as well as weekly therapy for a couple years. I was lucky, I went through only a couple of meds before I found what works. Today I am a therapist and I am pretty much stable on my meds. But I remember how it felt when I wasn't stable. It was horrible.

The clients I work with today most have dual diagnosis. A mental disorder and substance abuse problem. We do patient focused therapy where we address all areas including grief and loss, medical, dental, anything that can hinder the clients progress mentally we cover. We are all in one facility so we can send our clients to the different departments for help. We have a support team set up with an addictions therapist like me, case manager, pshyciatrist, doctor, and we meet with the client and set goals and objectives. These goals and objectives include; getting stable on meds, going to AA/NA meetings, etc. We find that this works well. We empower the client to be the decision maker. I do daily notes on each client after they have been in group for four hours. They are also seen in the afternoon one on one. The main focus is mental health and substance abuse.

Answer 3

I've been lucky enough to find a cocktail of meds that keeps me relatively stable, after about four years of flailing through life, trying to pretend I could live like everyone else. I realize some people have limited to no luck with medication, but science is getting closer to some real answers. I spent years thinking I'd never get on my feet and live like an adult, but I'm now holding down a full time job with my own medical insurance and apartment-hunting with my boyfriend.

Answer 4

First of all these lives are not just wasting away. This life was created and perfected by god almighty and is a good thing period. Yes there are some that must be on a holding pattern for many years until they can learn what life has been for them. It takes years for the problem making people to abandon those who are socially outcast and let them find life . The whole purpose of the gospel has been to save suffering outsiders not the happy winners. God has his ways and few can see what he is doing. Do you want to be god for a week maybe?

Answer 5

I am convinced that diet is a huge factor here---read the small print that gives the food additives and ingredients---all poison to some people. I had real problems with MSG, raw sugar, and artificial sweetners ending in "OSE" and "TOL". They are chemicals--people eat junk filled with stuff that could be the problem----doctors don't tell them that--they just load up everyone on pills.Sure my diet is bland, but I stopped punching people and lashing out violently.Could have went to jail---I was pretty close to it.