Psychiatry Going All Monty Python!

It's been a strange week, for me at least. First, my beloved Aston Villa were relegated from the Premier League into the Championship ~ I was going to write my thoughts on it but so many have already done that, besides I've become disillusioned with modern day football over the years ~ inflated ego's kicking an inflated pig bladder over grass doesn't really appeal to me anymore. I'd rather watch a goldfish swimming around a fish bowl or, better still, use Canadian dwarfs as tenpins whilst bowling tennis balls down a shiny alley to knock them over. (that's a personal joke so, puhleeease, no hate-mail)

Next, I hear that Axl Rose has joined AC/DC and will take over vocal duties from Brian Johnson who is having problems with his hearing ~ I was going to offer my thoughts on this too, again, so many have already done that. Besides, despite being a fan since 1978 and seeing them perform live more times than I can remember, last year was my farewell to them. Wembley stadium was packed with fans, the majority of whom being there because it was "fashionable" to see AC/DC. I can't sit with those type of people anymore.

Then came along something that sent me into a state of apoplexy. It's the latest from the field of psychiatry that had me biting the leg of the chair in efforts to control my hysterical laughter, much to the bemusement of the old lady sitting next to me on the bus (I jest)

The headline comes from Medscape, an online magazine aimed at professionals in the field of medicine, it reads, "Undetected ADHD May Explain Poor SSRI Response in Depression."

Okay, okay, calm down folks. Sometimes headlines can be misleading. Let's just take a look at the article more closely.

The research cited in the article was  presented at the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) Conference 2016. (Plenty of chair leg biters present) and was, according to Tia Sternat, Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program, University of Toronto, the result of "collected data from 123 referrals to a single tertiary-care mood and anxiety clinic. The mean age of patients was 39.8 years; ages ranged from 17 to 71 years. A total of 105 patients were included in the final analysis."

The  diagnosis was performed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview Plus 5.0.0.

So, no brain scans, blood samples, urine tests?

Just an "interview"

Class.

It gets better. Here's Tia Sternat again...

"...symptoms of ADHD morph as people age, and what happens is that they'll end up with treatment-resistant depression or anxiety," she said.

The article finishes with...

"Tia Sternat has disclosed no relevant financial relationships."

So, not the same Tia Sternat who was once employed by Janssen Inc and who is a business learning manager at Pfizer then?

Honestly, what a load of codswallop!

Here we have a situation where antidepressants are not working so, let's not blame the antidepressant, let's blame the patient, furthermore, let's tell the patient that the reason the medication doesn't seem to be working is because they have an underlying mental illness that cannot be seen on any modern day scan or through blood or urine samples...but they have it because the answers they gave in a questionnaire proves this.

Talking snakes, fig leaves and apples, anyone?

Now, the majority of my Facebook and Twitter friends won't even read this when I post the link, they may leave a comment on social media and, in general, it will be something along the lines of "Crazy" or "Madness", even "Stupid morons" may even make comment sections?

What we have here is an apparent medical 'profession'  (I invert the word with comma's because to be professional you really should be good at something) who have had to come up with a reason why prescriptions they dish out don't work. It's not the drug, it's the patient, let's find a way that we can convince fellow professionals that ADHD is laying dormant in this particular group of patients and then let's show our findings to all those gathered (fellow psychiatrists) at the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) Conference 2016.

I'm wondering if the presentation was greeted with enthusiastic applause or if it was greeted by open-mouths and fellow 'professionals' staring into the abyss (Oops, first sign of ADHD folks)

It reminds me of the famous Monty Python parrot sketch. Customer buys parrot ~ takes parrot home ~ realises said parrot is dead ~ returns it to shop only to be told that it's not dead, it's sleeping. Not the purchase ~ it's the customer, which is, in essence, what we all are to the white-coated brigade.

Psychiatry really shoots itself in the foot with this kind of research, particularly when using pens and paper as a means to determine if someone has a disease in their brain. They may as well determine mental disorders by playing 'pick-up sticks with your butt cheeks.' One who picks the least sticks up has Bumpolar or Attention Buttcheek Disorder (ABCD)

What a clusterfuck!

Bob Fiddaman.