Alchemy or witchcraft?

The modern day achemist has been likened to our local GP – he/she takes a blood sample – analyzes the results and prescribes a pill. The modern day witchdoctor – the psychologist says – I don’t need to take a blood sample and analyze your chemistry – just look into my eyes and I will fix you [or words to that effect]. And there lies the crux – do we believe our doc or the witchcrock?

The body of course if you hadn’t notice is one big bag of chemicals from the brain to the feet. We mess it up a bit ourselves of course with drugs, alcohol and bad food but seem to survive all the same.

But I came across a bit of research the other day which highlighted the above and this was an experiment to ‘fix’ OCD – obsessive compulsive disorder – which is not an easy thing to fix.

The experiment involved giving OCD sufferers intravenous drugs [ketamine].results showed that 50% of participants reported significant improvement in obsessions 7 days after receiving the ketamine infusion and that this persisted in 40% of the participants after 2 weeks.

Further studies are ongoing with other drugs of similar effects.

Psychological treatments can take much longer and rely upon no body chemistry at all just trying to change the participants mind set.

We all know that drugs can go wrong and drug companies are not always totally ethical but I don’t think we should discount the ability to fix the mind and the body with the chemistry that it is made up of!

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/...5954MR&spon=12

Re: Alchemy or witchcraft?

Oh I think drugs are definitely needed. As you know I have had a bit of a strange life. I have also run my own experiments with alcohol for instance. For a long time I suffered from an over excited brain. I could not stop it from doing all sorts of things. I found though that heavy doses of alcohol would stop it for a while. Deaden it. I drank a lot of whisky and so on using it as a control substance. Too much whisky and the next day you can hardly remember your name never mind anything else. It helped. I will do the same now if I feel I have a need for it.

Another interesting time for me was when I met this girl in a local pub. A real stunner. I mean this girl was dressed in black leather and was as pretty as they come with a body that very few women are lucky to have. Ok that was enough to get my attention but what was of more interest to me was that she was a schizophrenic. I don't mean a joking one or a pretend one but a fully fledged drug controlled one.

I stayed with her for a while as a boyfriend and was amazed to see her deteriorate before my eyes if she didn't take her drugs. Schizophrenics are very reluctant to take their drugs so a constant watch has to be kept on them. During the time I was with her she was up and down like a yoyo. With drugs a beautiful girl who looked after herself and her appearance. Without drugs a messed up crazy person who looked awful. The transformation was incredible and very disturbing. She was sectioned for a while owing to the drug problem - or lack of - but she got out. She would just walk into shops and take things and walk back out again, strip off without a care in the world, dance and dance in complete abandon, but the most scary part was the look in her eyes. Pitch black with huge pupils. When you looked in her eyes you were looking at madness. And when you see it believe me it is frightening. Totally different to say going to fight someone and the look in their eye. Far beyond that. With drugs a nice girl - without wow.

Re: Alchemy or witchcraft?

Trouble is the drugs Schizophrenic or Psychotic people take, they say make their minds dull, as some are very creative people they find they can't "create" as they can't think clearly and get depressed. So they stop, it's a no-win situation.

Re: Alchemy or witchcraft?

Exactly. Awful really.

Re: Alchemy or witchcraft?

Mind you I will say something. If you are bored you won't go far wrong with picking up a schizophrenic in a bar. Just get em off the meds and you will have 'live' entertainment in the extreme .

Re: Alchemy or witchcraft?

Makes my life with an aspergers husband seem dull in comparison, lots of counting things and checking things, lots of cooking separate meals and making sure nothing touches each other on his plate or it goes in the dog and we have to start again. Lots of phobia about crowds and generally meeting other people. But all quite predictable as routine is extremely important to him.

Try to avoid long roads with flag stone paving and lampposts and also big carparks as the counting goes off the scale and we can be stuck there for ages while he counts and recounts.

Nothing has ever worked drug wise and many drugs make it worse as we lose the lovely guy he is and find instead someone who has no personality at all.

Re: Alchemy or witchcraft?

Well better not try him on the whisky solution as he might end up fixated on counting the empties .

Re: Alchemy or witchcraft?

We learned early on never to mix alcohol with apsergers the sight is really not a pretty one, ten times worse counting and the social phobia just goes crazy.

Re: Alchemy or witchcraft?

Quite a story you have there and one I'm quite interested in. Some questions that would be interesting to know the answers to. For instance - without prying too deeply - were you aware of his condition when you first met him?

If you don't want to discuss this I can well understand.

Re: Alchemy or witchcraft?

Oh yes I knew as soon as I met him he was a very special person, it didn't have a name at the time he wasn't properly diagnosed until after we were married. By then we had learned how to live around it and with it. I don't know if it would have made a difference if he had been diagnosed earlier but by the time he was the doctors pretty much said if he was able to hold down a job and was married then he would be able to cope without any additional help.

So we were cast adrift on this raft to find our own solutions.