No idea, but every time over the last 3 months when I've stopped taking them my health nose dives. So I will deal with any side effects as they come up, and keep assuring the doctor that if she stops them again I will just go elsewhere. Its not a major thing, its not life-threatening, but it does stop me having much quality of life, and if taking pills changes that, I'm all for it.

The moralities of you or I (both in or near our 50s), self medicating with mind altering drugs is somewhat different to teenagers (or less!) being given them against their will by so-called professionals with the consent of their trusting parents. Kids that get put on these drugs rarely come off them. Ever. Parents need to know this and be given the opportunities to consider all alternatives - something that the mainstream mental health "professionals" never give - all they do is label and "medicate" and as window dressing they send the dumbed down children on pointless visits to psychologists. Imagine going to see a psychologist when you are stoned because it must be a bit like that.

And mind altering drugs as you call them do work effectively on a large majority - and do not need to be lifelong medications in a lot of cases.

Depends what is meant by effectively. Do you mean enough to suppress the mental disorder? Given that suppression of the mental disorder is likely to include the suppression of other more normal thoughts and feelings, is this not the same as sedating them? Would be good to know how many is a lot in terms of percentages within mental disorder, age of original diagnosis, age or recovery, etc.

There's some shocking figures here.

Personally - yes - worked for me and not had to take any thing in many years. For my son - also true with different issue.

I don't find those figures shocking - given the range of the survey. I do wonder if there has been an increase in mental health issues - or if it is just better recognised - couldn't say really. If alternative treatments work for you that's great - but the best advice to anyone who is suffering a mental health issue, or has a family member who is, is to seek medical advice at the earliest time rather than hoping it will go away.

Brains get sick just like any other organ.

Millions of people being successfully treated for bodily parts not working properly.

Shocking statistics http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]&num=&view=

Errrm I am not self-medicating, I am being prescribed these drugs by a GP, and they are not "mind-altering drugs" they are steroids for a physical ailment.
Assuming by "mind-altering drugs" you mean something like cannabis, please note I have never taken anyting of that kind. Not my sort of thing.

Exactly, Polly. As if we CHOOSE to have something wrong and gobble pills for the sake of it The choice I have is steroids and self-injected methotrexate, or the rest of my life in great pain with all my joints becoming damaged and useless. No contest And - thank God for advances in medical science that allow people to live a decent life

How do you get on with the methotrexate injection? I am weaning down on my injection now - doctor hopes to stop it soon.

My RA diagnosis is fairly new Cheetah (8 months) so my rheumy is still trying to get my meds right. Couldn't tolerate the oral MTX and am doing better on the injectable, less side effects. But my inflammatory markers are still high so looks like they're going to add another drug - I don't think I'll be off the MTX anytime soon. Best of luck with reducing your dose and wishing you good health!

I always say with methotrexate that I lose a day from tiredness and nausea but gain 6.

I have started on Cellcept so they are running them together, but reducing the methotrex slowly and then they may start on the steroids. But the Cellcept so far has been brilliant.

Thank god for modern medicine.

It takes me 3 days to get over the tiredness from methotrexate, but no nausea since I stopped the oral.

You've had a rough time, I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that the Cellcept keeps on doing a great job for you

I have kind of depression...just feel like be outside of others people life....and its bad !

Have you spoken to anyone?

20% of survey's respondents reported mental illness in the last months. Given it is a Australian survey meaning it is in peacetime in one of the kindest societies on earth, I find the figure to be very high indeed.

Agreed with seeking help at the earliest opportunity but medical help usually results in "medication" which should be the last resort - not the first. Especially for kids and young people.

You're a mental health nurse aren't you?

Mental unwellness is mostly linked to experience or perception traumas, stress and even by high intellect and creativity. Examples of the latter two include: Ludwig van Beethoven, Vincent Van Gogh and Isaac Newton. Imagine if their treatments included the chemically lobotomisations such as those applied to modern day sufferers. Dumbing them down would have rendered these people incapable of their greatest works.

Australians who reported having a mental and behavioural condition:

9.6% in 2001
11.2% in 2007-08
13.6% In 2011-12

Sure, for those who don't like the cold hard figures they can be explained away but it has more to do with the growing list of "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM) - the label and medicate guide, if you like.

Errrm as you said earlier: "I will deal with any side effects as they come up, and keep assuring the doctor that if she stops them again I will just go elsewhere". That sounds like self medicating to me. You are grown up, your choice, you have assessed and balanced the pain versus the risks. And actually, given we are on the Depression/Anxiety thread, I understood you were taking the steroids to deal with depression or anxiety. There seems to be a brigade here who are muddying the discussion with non-mental health treatments and therapies. Nice try though

Likewise with the cannabis pot shot

Ditto, this is the Depression/Anxiety thread.

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I've just discovered this organisation. They look like they have the right approach. If I had a mental health concern, these are the people who I would be turning to for help first.

And at the abovementioned site is one member's opinion of the way that mental health treatments should be.