How sad it is to read this article Staying In The Crucible, and many of the comments attaching blame to a child in distress. Patient Q experienced hurt in and from relationships where she should have been protected and nurtured.
A question for Ms Peterson, and everyone one of us who has navigated through struggle, “who was with you?”
We heal in community. I pray the hurting will find their way to people that are willing to offer acceptance and love rather than assumptions and judgments.
The hyper focus on medication is a distraction.
I’m very thankful the author is only a proofreader and not pursuing a counselor role. Ms Peterson would benefit from developing a skill to ask questions to understand what’s it like to be Q.
Maybe you should read the actual case study? I bet Ms Peterson is also thankful she is not a counselor. Since that is what she is not. Her talents and expertise are directed elsewhere. And she is superb!
GSMI3827
This is dangerous and irresponsible. I think it is also inappropriate for Ms Peterson to use this information she came upon when asked to proofread to comment and even "prescribe" for a situation which is obviously traumatic, tragic, and complicated. I hope that World editors will use better judgement in guiding their writers.
It seems to me you are over-reacting. Where does she "prescribe"? Patient Q would not be someone she knows. Thus the "Q".
Her article is neither dangerous nor irresponsible.
Leroy Young
This is all so true! We are medicating ourselves into numbness rather than seeking God's wisdom to deal with the struggles common to all of us - All of it, every bit, is common to man!
There are no doubt people who are “medicating themselves into numbness” rather than seeking God’s wisdom to deal with the struggles common to man. But there are also people-people I know personally who are seeking God’s will-who could die without psychiatric meds.
To give a few examples of committed Christans I know personally who wound up taking psychiatric meds in addition to seeking God’s wisdom: 1/ someone with bipolar disorder who will go into full blown psychosis without meds (full blown psychosis can lead to extremely dangerous and deadly behavior like a person believing they can fly and jumping off a roof or out a window), 2/ a person who was seeking God’s wisdom and getting Christian counseling who became so depressed they were psychotic (there is a period of days they don’t remember at all between becoming psychotic and receiving the right meds and coming out of it), 3/ a person who had anorexia and was in danger of dying who was told by people at their Bible believing church how great they looked and asked how they lost the weight (no one was trying to hurt them-the average person doesn’t understand anorexia and eating disorders), 4/ a person who was severely abused and had a hard time dealing with it as an adult who was told not to come to Bible study if they were depressed and who was silenced if they ever brought up anything they were dealing with (this was at a church with Christian counselors on staff).
My point is this: all struggles may be technically “common to man,” but that doesn’t mean they can’t or won’t be helped with medical intervention…or that a person won’t die without medical intervention. God can heal miraculously. I know at least one person who was miraculously healed from mental illness. I know others who could die without meds but who faithfully serve the Lord and are productive members of society (instead of being psychotic and institutionalized) because of taking psychiatric meds.
DMCC4804
Powerful! Well done!
RudyB
Very good. There is a lot of truth here. As a society we are certainly captivated, enthralled and enamored by psychotropic drugs. Hands down. No denying it. That some might be helped by these is possible. How many? Hard to tell from what I've seen over the last 50 years. It is clear that these drugs in general are too quickly prescribed. Too quickly swallowed. And too hard to stop. Also anecdotal stories are also just that, anecdotal. No strong evidence for future guidance.
When admitting patients to the cardiology unit I was always struck by how few there were who had 3 or less meds on their list. As well as how many easily had 5, 10 or more. These included the cardiac meds one would expect. Also these patients would have co-morbidities which would add to the total. But then there would be nootropics, psychotropics, supplements of all sorts, and vitamins. There is next to none, if any at all, clinical evidence for these OTC and mail order pills and capsules and lotions and syrups.
However, I wonder if this article stands or falls on this paragraph:
"A widespread misimpression (that Big Pharma is in no hurry to correct) is the mythology that mental sufferings are caused by a “chemical imbalance” in the brain. In fact, no such biomarkers have been found. Delano decided in the end that she would rather feel the pain and be alive than dull the pain and not..."
If what she writes is true and I agree that it is. And if the truths of our human condition and that God is our ultimate resource. Then that should be our starting place and not an Rx. And likely not weekly psychiatric appointments.
Thomas Szasz though castigated and maligned had some clear insights into this back in the 60s & 70s. Healthy skepticism can be good.
TIM MILLER
The subtitle of this column -- "Normal human struggles are not pathologies to be numbed with meds" -- doesn't match the article. Peterson, my favorite columnist in World, doesn't begin by describing "normal human struggles." She describes someone who experience extreme trauma within and from her own family members from a very early age -- community violence, sexual abuse, and mental illness are hardly "normal human struggles," even in our very-fallen world.
Let me tell you about someone I know. He has been a believer since he was a teenager. He grew up in a Christian home. He had a disciplined devotional life. He married a Christian woman and raised a Christian family. He suffers from a diagnosed mental condition, and without medication, he would be institutionalized. His children believe in his religion; nearly all of them are in full-time ministry. But he has a mental illness. A mental illness. Unless his life is total hypocrisy so persuasive it convinced his wife and children, his is not a spiritual problem masquerading as a disease. It is a disease that, thanks be to God, is being treated with modern medicine. I'm sure there are many such cases.
Suppose this same man had been born into an abusive, violent environment, with his genetic predisposition to mental illness? I don't think getting him into a quiet spot would have solved all of his problems then, either.
TIM MILLER
As a thought experiment, what if we applied this logic to someone with diabetes that was largely caused by a combination of genetic predisposition ("life is hard"), and poor diet ("she made some bad choices")? Would we ask someone with Type 2 diabetes to "stay in the crucible" and avoid medical treatment until "meaning is forged and growth is attained"? Would we advise them to lose a leg or go blind rather than seek available treatment?
Tim that is really a straw man argument. Her 9th paragraph about the "misimpression" about the "chemical balance" is what drives a lot of her reasoning. This is not true about diabetes where there are mountains of evidence about cause, effect and clinically based effective therapies. This, per her article, cannot be said about these psychological/emotional human struggles.
Thanks. I appreciate you responding RudyB! We've known three males who committed suicide this year. Two were from our church. One was 11 years old. The other two men were leaders in our church (deacons). All were on Prozak and Abilify. Add to that two of them had activity on their laptops considered "dark web." I'm not an expert, but I do have a PhD in a cognitive science field. The Church, at least where I attend, does not seem to teach the importance of sanctifying our minds, imaginations, and so-called entertainment. I don't know, there just has to be a way to live in victory over these chains!
Yes and like diabetes, we can blame the individual for poor choices but that wouldn’t mean asking them to rely solely on self improvement strategies, eat better, lose weight, get more sleep, and skip the medical intervention.
I'm not sure what your point is, in that it doesn't address what I wrote. In reality the cornerstone of medical therapy for diabetes actually is to lose weight and eat a better more appropriate diet. The last 2 are more straw men that neither I nor Ms Peterson indicated or would recommend. Though the diet, exercise and losing weight often can keep people off medications. Nor is diabetes always the result of poor life choices. Sometimes yes sometimes no.
Mike A
I enjoyed this column very much. You’re always a pleasure to read. Very thoughtful and Biblically sound.
DEBI
Your words are always a Blessing ...
but are more so this time because you reminded me
of what is important. Thank you !
Laura G
While there are certainly a lot of people on psychiatric medications who would be better served without them (never go off a medication without a competent doctor overseeing the process), sometimes things really do go wrong on the physical level that a medication can help. Or at least it might provide enough stability and safety for the person taking it to have the capacity to deal with whatever the underlying issues may be. I applaud all the Christian mental health professionals who work to integrate their understanding of medical science with a Biblical worldview to care for the whole person.
Thanks. I know people personally who are believers, who know there was a God in heaven who loves them (and who know that God personally)…and who might be dead today without psychiatric meds. One of them came from a family which had multiple suicides in prior generations and other family members who expressed suicidal feelings. Only a few, like my friend, ever sought psychiatric treatment. I don’t know if the problem was genetic or generational-or both-but I’m pretty sure it was not just “normal human struggles.”
It’s fair to note that meds aren’t a cure-all and aren’t necessary for everyone who experiences distress. But…there are people who benefit from meds in addition to non medication treatments. And…there are people who don’t survive without treatment.
KCOS
"elects to stay in the crucible, enduring the heat, trusting in the process, until meaning is forged and growth is attained"...
Many people elect to stay in the crucible (or can't afford to get care), and ultimately the heat becomes unendurable. This advice is dangerous.
Of course there are doctors who overprescribe and patients who end up on unhelpful cocktails of meds; and some people do suffer from pharmaceutical trauma. That problem should be addressed. But the overall response from mental health care services should NOT be a pivot to prescribing "a good night’s sleep, and...sit quietly and think." That trivializes and invalidates the experiences of a depressed person and has the potential for disastrous results.
With regard to the story of Patient Q: to sum up family sexual abuse and community violence as "life is hard" is --wow! Callous, to put it nicely? To sum up the tragic years that followed, containing a suicide attempt, difficulty following through with responsibilities, and substance abuse as "bad choices" on her part that made her situation worse? Aren't we talking about a 16yo child? She does not need to be told that her sins will be forgiven so that she can live with a clean conscience. Her "sins" are not the issue and her "choices" are not what made her life harder. She needs the regimen outlined by her care team--that plus extensive trauma care to help her understand and process the horrible things that happened to her AS A CHILD. Poor girl.
I understand the author experienced depression herself, in college. I hope I'm not trivializing or invalidating that experience by pointing out that many (most?) diagnosed cased of depression cannot be treated by switching up one's conversation to talk about boys and parties.
I know people who see medication as a "fix-all" for mental illness and depression; it isn't. But it is a valuable tool when used correctly, and I know people in that category too.
This article could be very unhelpful to people struggling with severe mental illness.
MinnieKins
Creating a false dichtonomy between medication and the Holy Spirit infuriates me. Any good gift can be misused; that does not make the gift itself evil. As an autistic woman with multiple disorders, I have made much progress in my life through both spiritual and medicinal means. I still have more progress left to make, but I may not have ever reached the point I am at today without the help of medication, which I am convinced was and is an act of God's mercy towards me and others plagued by mental illnesses.
It is easy to judge Patient Q's condition from staring at a sheet of paper, but you don't KNOW her.
How sad it is to read this article Staying In The Crucible, and many of the comments attaching blame to a child in distress. Patient Q experienced hurt in and from relationships where she should have been protected and nurtured.
A question for Ms Peterson, and everyone one of us who has navigated through struggle, “who was with you?”
We heal in community. I pray the hurting will find their way to people that are willing to offer acceptance and love rather than assumptions and judgments.
The hyper focus on medication is a distraction.
I’m very thankful the author is only a proofreader and not pursuing a counselor role. Ms Peterson would benefit from developing a skill to ask questions to understand what’s it like to be Q.
Maybe you should read the actual case study? I bet Ms Peterson is also thankful she is not a counselor. Since that is what she is not. Her talents and expertise are directed elsewhere. And she is superb!
This is dangerous and irresponsible. I think it is also inappropriate for Ms Peterson to use this information she came upon when asked to proofread to comment and even "prescribe" for a situation which is obviously traumatic, tragic, and complicated. I hope that World editors will use better judgement in guiding their writers.
It seems to me you are over-reacting. Where does she "prescribe"? Patient Q would not be someone she knows. Thus the "Q".
Her article is neither dangerous nor irresponsible.
This is all so true! We are medicating ourselves into numbness rather than seeking God's wisdom to deal with the struggles common to all of us - All of it, every bit, is common to man!
There are no doubt people who are “medicating themselves into numbness” rather than seeking God’s wisdom to deal with the struggles common to man. But there are also people-people I know personally who are seeking God’s will-who could die without psychiatric meds.
To give a few examples of committed Christans I know personally who wound up taking psychiatric meds in addition to seeking God’s wisdom: 1/ someone with bipolar disorder who will go into full blown psychosis without meds (full blown psychosis can lead to extremely dangerous and deadly behavior like a person believing they can fly and jumping off a roof or out a window), 2/ a person who was seeking God’s wisdom and getting Christian counseling who became so depressed they were psychotic (there is a period of days they don’t remember at all between becoming psychotic and receiving the right meds and coming out of it), 3/ a person who had anorexia and was in danger of dying who was told by people at their Bible believing church how great they looked and asked how they lost the weight (no one was trying to hurt them-the average person doesn’t understand anorexia and eating disorders), 4/ a person who was severely abused and had a hard time dealing with it as an adult who was told not to come to Bible study if they were depressed and who was silenced if they ever brought up anything they were dealing with (this was at a church with Christian counselors on staff).
My point is this: all struggles may be technically “common to man,” but that doesn’t mean they can’t or won’t be helped with medical intervention…or that a person won’t die without medical intervention. God can heal miraculously. I know at least one person who was miraculously healed from mental illness. I know others who could die without meds but who faithfully serve the Lord and are productive members of society (instead of being psychotic and institutionalized) because of taking psychiatric meds.
Powerful! Well done!
Very good. There is a lot of truth here. As a society we are certainly captivated, enthralled and enamored by psychotropic drugs. Hands down. No denying it. That some might be helped by these is possible. How many? Hard to tell from what I've seen over the last 50 years. It is clear that these drugs in general are too quickly prescribed. Too quickly swallowed. And too hard to stop. Also anecdotal stories are also just that, anecdotal. No strong evidence for future guidance.
When admitting patients to the cardiology unit I was always struck by how few there were who had 3 or less meds on their list. As well as how many easily had 5, 10 or more. These included the cardiac meds one would expect. Also these patients would have co-morbidities which would add to the total. But then there would be nootropics, psychotropics, supplements of all sorts, and vitamins. There is next to none, if any at all, clinical evidence for these OTC and mail order pills and capsules and lotions and syrups.
However, I wonder if this article stands or falls on this paragraph:
"A widespread misimpression (that Big Pharma is in no hurry to correct) is the mythology that mental sufferings are caused by a “chemical imbalance” in the brain. In fact, no such biomarkers have been found. Delano decided in the end that she would rather feel the pain and be alive than dull the pain and not..."
If what she writes is true and I agree that it is. And if the truths of our human condition and that God is our ultimate resource. Then that should be our starting place and not an Rx. And likely not weekly psychiatric appointments.
Thomas Szasz though castigated and maligned had some clear insights into this back in the 60s & 70s. Healthy skepticism can be good.
The subtitle of this column -- "Normal human struggles are not pathologies to be numbed with meds" -- doesn't match the article. Peterson, my favorite columnist in World, doesn't begin by describing "normal human struggles." She describes someone who experience extreme trauma within and from her own family members from a very early age -- community violence, sexual abuse, and mental illness are hardly "normal human struggles," even in our very-fallen world.
Let me tell you about someone I know. He has been a believer since he was a teenager. He grew up in a Christian home. He had a disciplined devotional life. He married a Christian woman and raised a Christian family. He suffers from a diagnosed mental condition, and without medication, he would be institutionalized. His children believe in his religion; nearly all of them are in full-time ministry. But he has a mental illness. A mental illness. Unless his life is total hypocrisy so persuasive it convinced his wife and children, his is not a spiritual problem masquerading as a disease. It is a disease that, thanks be to God, is being treated with modern medicine. I'm sure there are many such cases.
Suppose this same man had been born into an abusive, violent environment, with his genetic predisposition to mental illness? I don't think getting him into a quiet spot would have solved all of his problems then, either.
As a thought experiment, what if we applied this logic to someone with diabetes that was largely caused by a combination of genetic predisposition ("life is hard"), and poor diet ("she made some bad choices")? Would we ask someone with Type 2 diabetes to "stay in the crucible" and avoid medical treatment until "meaning is forged and growth is attained"? Would we advise them to lose a leg or go blind rather than seek available treatment?
Tim that is really a straw man argument. Her 9th paragraph about the "misimpression" about the "chemical balance" is what drives a lot of her reasoning. This is not true about diabetes where there are mountains of evidence about cause, effect and clinically based effective therapies. This, per her article, cannot be said about these psychological/emotional human struggles.
Thanks. I appreciate you responding RudyB! We've known three males who committed suicide this year. Two were from our church. One was 11 years old. The other two men were leaders in our church (deacons). All were on Prozak and Abilify. Add to that two of them had activity on their laptops considered "dark web." I'm not an expert, but I do have a PhD in a cognitive science field. The Church, at least where I attend, does not seem to teach the importance of sanctifying our minds, imaginations, and so-called entertainment. I don't know, there just has to be a way to live in victory over these chains!
Yes and like diabetes, we can blame the individual for poor choices but that wouldn’t mean asking them to rely solely on self improvement strategies, eat better, lose weight, get more sleep, and skip the medical intervention.
I'm not sure what your point is, in that it doesn't address what I wrote. In reality the cornerstone of medical therapy for diabetes actually is to lose weight and eat a better more appropriate diet. The last 2 are more straw men that neither I nor Ms Peterson indicated or would recommend. Though the diet, exercise and losing weight often can keep people off medications. Nor is diabetes always the result of poor life choices. Sometimes yes sometimes no.
I enjoyed this column very much. You’re always a pleasure to read. Very thoughtful and Biblically sound.
Your words are always a Blessing ...
but are more so this time because you reminded me
of what is important. Thank you !
While there are certainly a lot of people on psychiatric medications who would be better served without them (never go off a medication without a competent doctor overseeing the process), sometimes things really do go wrong on the physical level that a medication can help. Or at least it might provide enough stability and safety for the person taking it to have the capacity to deal with whatever the underlying issues may be. I applaud all the Christian mental health professionals who work to integrate their understanding of medical science with a Biblical worldview to care for the whole person.
Thanks. I know people personally who are believers, who know there was a God in heaven who loves them (and who know that God personally)…and who might be dead today without psychiatric meds. One of them came from a family which had multiple suicides in prior generations and other family members who expressed suicidal feelings. Only a few, like my friend, ever sought psychiatric treatment. I don’t know if the problem was genetic or generational-or both-but I’m pretty sure it was not just “normal human struggles.”
It’s fair to note that meds aren’t a cure-all and aren’t necessary for everyone who experiences distress. But…there are people who benefit from meds in addition to non medication treatments. And…there are people who don’t survive without treatment.
"elects to stay in the crucible, enduring the heat, trusting in the process, until meaning is forged and growth is attained"...
Many people elect to stay in the crucible (or can't afford to get care), and ultimately the heat becomes unendurable. This advice is dangerous.
Of course there are doctors who overprescribe and patients who end up on unhelpful cocktails of meds; and some people do suffer from pharmaceutical trauma. That problem should be addressed. But the overall response from mental health care services should NOT be a pivot to prescribing "a good night’s sleep, and...sit quietly and think." That trivializes and invalidates the experiences of a depressed person and has the potential for disastrous results.
With regard to the story of Patient Q: to sum up family sexual abuse and community violence as "life is hard" is --wow! Callous, to put it nicely? To sum up the tragic years that followed, containing a suicide attempt, difficulty following through with responsibilities, and substance abuse as "bad choices" on her part that made her situation worse? Aren't we talking about a 16yo child? She does not need to be told that her sins will be forgiven so that she can live with a clean conscience. Her "sins" are not the issue and her "choices" are not what made her life harder. She needs the regimen outlined by her care team--that plus extensive trauma care to help her understand and process the horrible things that happened to her AS A CHILD. Poor girl.
I understand the author experienced depression herself, in college. I hope I'm not trivializing or invalidating that experience by pointing out that many (most?) diagnosed cased of depression cannot be treated by switching up one's conversation to talk about boys and parties.
Thank you. See my comment above.
Thank YOU.
Love this, thank you!
I know people who see medication as a "fix-all" for mental illness and depression; it isn't. But it is a valuable tool when used correctly, and I know people in that category too.
This article could be very unhelpful to people struggling with severe mental illness.
Creating a false dichtonomy between medication and the Holy Spirit infuriates me. Any good gift can be misused; that does not make the gift itself evil. As an autistic woman with multiple disorders, I have made much progress in my life through both spiritual and medicinal means. I still have more progress left to make, but I may not have ever reached the point I am at today without the help of medication, which I am convinced was and is an act of God's mercy towards me and others plagued by mental illnesses.
It is easy to judge Patient Q's condition from staring at a sheet of paper, but you don't KNOW her.