Director of NIMH said "we psychiatrists don't have what people most need.."?

Question

"..Our medications can sometimes take the edge off symptoms but they cannot give people what they most need. They need meaning and relationship."

Your thoughts. Agree or disagree? How we should use this information?

Answer 1

Agree.

We can't do much with the information until we understand why so many people don't have "meaning and relationship." That question has so many answers.

And when it comes to mental health, probably one of the first and foremost reasons that people cannot receive "meaning and relationship" is that two very important systems--the health insurance system and the educational system--see little to no value in trying to provide "meaning and relationship." "Meaning and relationship" are a waste of time and money, as they see it.

Answer 2

I am in agreement with this. I tend to be more holistic in practice so while I believe medications have their place, I feel they are often a band-aid for an underlying issue. Meaning and relationship is central to the human condition. A break in being, a lack of belonging, isolation can destroy or permanently maim a person in such a way that medication can never repair. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the individual to find meaning - nobody, no matter how good they are, can do it for them. Relationships are no different. A neuron cannot survive alone -it needs others to be in communication with or it dies. Humans need other humans to relate to, to belong to. Meds can help with some aspects of that but it comes down to being responsible for forging those relationships and maintaining them. That in itself is another form of meaning.

Answer 3

He is an honest man !!! What he said, that you quoted, is right on the money.

I agree because: american and u.k. cultures are 'cultures of death'...we are bored out of our gourds, we pretend that we are connected via cell phones (and make bunches of money for those company's), music and art has decayed to such an extent that is is garbage (or worse) and instead of being genuine people in loving relationships; we are phony's who use people for our own selfish purposes.

We are in a mess.