Dale Partridge - Don't take your pills for mental health issues, just read your bible

[AlwaysDiscerning]

I thought I should bring this to everyone's attention. Lori Alexander is a fan of Dale. Ken has recently been commenting there. He is more reasonable on a lot of topics but his latest facebook post, has ruined it all for me.  He admits he has had depression but prides himself on not taking his pills. He goes on to suggest the bible is all you need. This of course is incredibly dangerous advice. He is getting lots of pushback but also an equal amount of support.  Its one of the top posts on his facebook page if anyone wants to join in. 

[Lgirlrocks]

Pills aren’t for everyonebut there is no shame in taking them. The Bible cannot fix mental illness. Talking to someone or taking pills can. 

[dramallama]

I'll stick to my citalopram 40mg, thanks.

[feministxtian]

Lexapro 20mg here. Trazadone 100mg for sleep. 

Take 'em away and we gonna fight...I LIKE feeling like me again. 

[PennySycamore]

Wil Wheaton wrote a piece that I read yesterday, about his lifelong struggles with anxiety and chronic depression.  And Sara Benincasa wrote this today on Medium following the suicides easier this week of Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade: When They Leave   on Anthony Bourdain, and me, and you

Neither Wil nor Sara would tell a person with mental illness to just rely on the Bible.  Get real help.  Take your meds.  Get therapy.  Do what you need to do to get well even if that means accepting this as a chronic condition just like I accept my high blood pressure that I need meds for.   There should be no shame in having physical illness and their sure as hell should be no shame in having a mental illness.

[pamplemousse]

I don't doubt that praying or reading the Bible might help some people.  However, I also believe that if God didn't intend for medications and therapy to help people with mental illness, He'd make sure those didn't work.  But meds and therapy do help a lot of people.  Therefore, imo, they are needed; and I'd urge anyone needing help to try them.  Mental illness is a physical illness, imo; and as others here have said, there should be no shame in treating it.

I'm currently on daily doses of 40 mg fluoxetine for depression, 15 mg buspirone for anxiety, and 1 mg risperidone for irritability related to autism spectrum disorder.  I also see a therapist every other week.  I don't like to think of how I might be without all of that.  Definitely not hanging in there as well (as it were) as I am...maybe dead.

[Anonymousguest]

3 hours ago, Lgirlrocks said:

Pills aren’t for everyonebut there is no shame in taking them. The Bible cannot fix mental illness. Talking to someone or taking pills can. 

Not fix, but help manage. I know this might sound nit-picky, and I mean this as a PSA, not an attack on you, but as someone who lives with a family member with mental illness, this idea that you just need to talk to someone, or take a pill and everything will be back to "normal" can be harmful. I get it all the time from well meaning friends "I thought she was on meds?" Or "I thought she was doing better?" Just like someone with diabetes can have a good run with no disease related problems they can suddenly have a bad day that lands them in the hospital. It doesn't mean they were off their meds, or not caring for themselves.  Mental illness like diabetes is complicated and what works yesterday may not today. Mental illness is often a chronic illness. It can be managed, but not cured. The Bible, various types of behavioral or talk therapy and medications can all help manage aspects of mental illness, but none of them fix it. 

[Alisamer]

Just bumped my fluoxetine up to 60mg this morning! The bump to 40 a month ago really helped so I’m hoping this new amount will get me back to some semblance of functionality, rather than the work/sleep/not much else I’ve been doing for years. This weekend I am slowly cleaning up my living room, and it feels less overwhelming than before. 

I could just sit on the couch and read the Bible forever, but I doubt that will actually help the chemical issues in my brain. 

I am Christian, and as such I believe if God didn’t want us to have depression meds, he shouldn’t have let people make them in the first place.

[Briefly]

2 hours ago, pamplemousse said:

I don't doubt that praying or reading the Bible might help some people.  However, I also believe that if God didn't intend for medications and therapy to help people with mental illness, He'd make sure those didn't work.  But meds and therapy do help a lot of people.  Therefore, imo, they are needed; and I'd urge anyone needing help to try them.  Mental illness is a physical illness, imo; and as others here have said, there should be no shame in treating it.

I'm currently on daily doses of 40 mg fluoxetine for depression, 15 mg buspirone for anxiety, and 1 mg risperidone for irritability related to autism spectrum disorder.  I also see a therapist every other week.  I don't like to think of how I might be without all of that.  Definitely not hanging in there as well (as it were) as I am...maybe dead.

You are exactly right, prayer and reading the Bible might help and that's fine. But God made doctors and gave them the gifts they need to practice their art.  If someone does not believe in God, I don't want to offend anyone - but doctors still have the ability to help and that is what they are there for.  That goes for physical or mental illnesses, if there is a need - then no one should be shamed for asking for help.

[feministxtian]

Managing mental illness is complicated and what works for one person probably won't work for another. 

I'm finally back to functional. My meds are working well and I've dealt with this for so long, I know what works for me. The biggest thing for me is keeping my stress level down. For some folks, stress level may not have as much of an effect or they actually thrive on stresses of certain kinds. 

Yes, my faith plays a part in coping with my particular issues...BUT...that isn't going to fix the chemical imbalance in my brain. The antidepressant and sleep aid meds are a HUGE part of what's making me functional again. 

For anyone else, I would encourage them to see a doctor. Hell, if you don't want to go alone, I'll go with you. You're not a failure, abnormal or anything else if you need help. God put doctors, therapists, researchers on this earth to help you...take advantage of it. 

Rant over...

stepping off soapbox

[Lisafer]

4 hours ago, feministxtian said:

Lexapro 20mg here. Trazadone 100mg for sleep. 

Take 'em away and we gonna fight...I LIKE feeling like me again. 

Lexapro 20mg for me too. Lately it hasn't been working as well as it used to--I'm having tons of irritability and anger, which is sometimes how depression and anxiety manifest for me.  

In the last few years of being a Christian, I couldn't even read the Bible as it was too triggering. I'd look up references or stuff, but I grew up reading it and it didn't do a darn thing for my depression.

I love how FJ members can take the misguided things fundies say and turn them into a helpful, meaningful discussion!

I just clicked this Dale Partridge's FB page. Omg. That piece about Anthony Bourdain is fucking bullshit. He's homophobic as well. Sounds like a real winner...

 

[feministxtian]

50 minutes ago, Lisafer said:

Lexapro 20mg for me too. Lately it hasn't been working as well as it used to--I'm having tons of irritability and anger, which is sometimes how depression and anxiety manifest for me.

Talk to your doc...like NOW!! It might be time to change meds or add something. 

[Lisafer]

1 minute ago, feministxtian said:

Talk to your doc...like NOW!! It might be time to change meds or add something. 

I want to...but psychiatrists are so dang expensive! My family doc is well-meaning but she just doesn't have the expertise. I know, I know, I need to go talk to someone. I'm tired of snapping at everyone because I just. can't. deal. with the messy house and the noisy kids and the endless laundry...

Also it's horribly difficult to concentrate on stuff anymore. I have no attention span.

I think I just talked myself into calling the doctor...

[feministxtian]

1 minute ago, Lisafer said:

I think I just talked myself into calling the doctor...

You may be able to find a psychiatrist through your county/city health department that charges on a sliding scale. If you want some help looking up info, PM me with your location and I'll see what I can find...

Just offering...I know how overwhelming it can be. 

[Lisafer]

1 minute ago, feministxtian said:

You may be able to find a psychiatrist through your county/city health department that charges on a sliding scale. If you want some help looking up info, PM me with your location and I'll see what I can find...

Just offering...I know how overwhelming it can be. 

You're so kind! I appreciate you offering to help. Actually the local mental health clinic probably has me listed as an existing patient from when I had pregnancy Medicaid, so I'll call them first and probably get a lower self-pay fee than from a private practice. 

[feministxtian]

1 minute ago, Lisafer said:

You're so kind! I appreciate you offering to help. Actually the local mental health clinic probably has me listed as an existing patient from when I had pregnancy Medicaid, so I'll call them first and probably get a lower self-pay fee than from a private practice. 

Please let me know what happens...sending you love, light, warmth and hugs

[FloraKitty35]

I have been on Zoloft for 19 years.  I tried going off them (I was pressured by my then boyfriend and his mother to do so).  "You don't needs medication.  You need Jesus." I will stick with my meds, they help me to help myself function.  

[feministxtian]

2 hours ago, FloraKitty35 said:

I have been on Zoloft for 19 years.  I tried going off them (I was pressured by my then boyfriend and his mother to do so).  "You don't needs medication.  You need Jesus." I will stick with my meds, they help me to help myself function.  

I was on Zoloft for awhile. It helped some but not as well as the Lexapro. 

Humblebrag...

I have enough meds on board to be able to sustain efforts to organize and purge things! I sorted ALL my clothes today and managed to alphabetize all our DVDs after the fucking cat knocked it over and they spilled ALL over the fucking place.

YAY ME!

[RosyDaisy]

I talk to my minister all the time. She has helped me tremendously. However, she would never tell me to not follow advice from my therapist or stop taking my meds. Having said that, I am very leery of "Christian counselors". I had a bad experience with one, and now, I make it very clear that religion is not and will not be up for discussion. Mental illness isn't a spiritual matter, it's a medical one.

[Anonymousguest]

I read through some of his other parts. He seems to be just a more polite Matt Walsh. At least he allows those posts that disagree with him to stand.

[Alisamer]

I have my living room about 90% clean! One corner is sill a disaster, and I need to vacuum and dust, but you can actually walk in here now, the couch has nothing on it but pillows, and I vacuumed out the crevices between the cushions. It’s crazy how long it’s been since I had the house clean, and there’s still a long way to go, but wow this is better than it’s been in ages. 

[feministxtian]

19 minutes ago, Alisamer said:

I have my living room about 90% clean! One corner is sill a disaster, and I need to vacuum and dust, but you can actually walk in here now, the couch has nothing on it but pillows, and I vacuumed out the crevices between the cushions. It’s crazy how long it’s been since I had the house clean, and there’s still a long way to go, but wow this is better than it’s been in ages. 

YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY YOU! 

[ADoyle90815]

The way I view it, if reading the Bible and prayer was all that was needed, medication and therapies wouldn't work at all. It's like telling someone with type 1 diabetes to stop taking insulin and to rely on God.

[feministxtian]

59 minutes ago, ADoyle90815 said:

The way I view it, if reading the Bible and prayer was all that was needed, medication and therapies wouldn't work at all. It's like telling someone with type 1 diabetes to stop taking insulin and to rely on God.

That is the analogy I use. Nobody in their right minds would tell my husband, a surgically induced type 1 diabetic (technically a type 3 but...) to throw away his insulin pump and he just needs more faith. Well, it's the same for me. I have a biochemical disorder that manifests itself as mental illness. So, I can't just toss my meds and "have more faith" either. 

Unfortunately, many people don't get what mental illnesses are like...they think it's a sign of weakness. 

[danvillebelle]

I read the Bible every morning and night, every single day.

I also take my Lexapro and Remeron (and Seroquel back in the day), because they were prescribed to me, and I don't think I know better than a board-certified psych and therapist with 50+ years of combined experience treating mental illness.

My meds don't cancel out my faith.  They enhance it.  I will never understand these black or white dimwits who insist it has to be one or the other.

I love Jesus AND my meds.  And coffee.