The Man in Room 117

Thank you for this link. It’s refreshing to see this issue approached with nuance and humanity. I’m a clinical social worker with ten years of experience and even I learned several things through this story.

throughout the story there’s a false dichotomy presented as if it is natural: meds or madness. Other options do exist. I know first hand through lived experience and also my professional work.

I work in a correctional facility and also an outpatient clinic. In both situations I see the profound impact of dietary choices, as well as exercise and avoidance of cannabis. For example, ketogenic diets are clinically proven as effective in the management of psychotic and episodic mood disorders, as well as autism and ADHD. If a pill were as effective in reducing severity of symptoms and impairment as strict ketogenesis it would be deemed a breakthrough therapy and covered by Medicaid immediately. Pharma reps wouldn’t even have to visit psych offices to drop off donuts and lattes.

See: https://youtu.be/Qcv_CPdPsPc?si=-LB2OEXtgeCptpPq

I’ve also worked in emergency psychiatric medicine as well as residential treatment facilities and a homeless shelter. So basically every part of the continuum of care with the exception of “rehab”, which is a money grab. I often wonder how outcomes would differ if we didn’t adhere to the ideological fixation on medications. If we can sell people on adherence to a ketogenic diet in the brief period of lucidity after the intramuscular Haldol takes hold, how much wasted money and suffering could we avoid?