Psych Drugs Gaining Widespread Acceptance - By Serena Gordon
July 31, 2009
A growing number of Americans now have a positive opinion on psychiatric medications, a new study contends. About five out of six people surveyed felt psychiatric medications could help people control psychiatric symptoms, but many also expected the medications could help people deal with day-to-day stresses, help them feel better about themselves and make things easier with family and friends. Dr. Norman Sussman, interim chairman of the psychiatry department at NYU Langone Medical Center, said that advertising has definitely played a role in people's perceptions of these drugs, noting that many people now ask him for medications by name. He added that another reason may be word-of-mouth endorsements from people who are taking these medications and have been helped by them. "These drugs have become a part of our culture," Sussman said. "Fifty years ago, psychiatric drugs were something you'd take only if psychotherapy failed. Today, psychotherapy often isn't affordable, and the nature of treating symptoms has shifted toward medications. When these drugs work -- for anxiety, insomnia, depression, mania -- they can be miraculous for that person. But, none of them work universally."
- Norman Sussman, MD, professor of psychiatry/interim chairman, psychiatry department
Learn more: http://health.msn.com/health-topics/anxiety/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100242627
