My father, after suffering from schizophrenia for years, eventually took his own life.
At various points he had been prescribed a cocktail of drugs, locked in mental institutions, and given electric shock therapy. So, although I claim no expertise in the subject, I've been following, with a degree of personal interest, a row that has recently broken out regarding mental-health care.
On one side we have the PDs' Tim O'Malley, the Minister of State at the Department of Health with responsibility for mental health. In an interview with Irish Medical News recently he said: "I think it's very welcome that there is a debate about the whole treatment of people with mental health difficulties. For far too long we had the situation where people just went to the doctor and accepted whatever the doctor said as being gospel. I think there is a school of thought now, especially in the mental health area, that there should be a much greater involvement of counsellors and psychotherapists and psychological methods of dealing with people with mental health difficulties." The Minister went on to put forward the controversial view that "depression and mental illness is not a medical condition", that "it's part of life's events that people get depressed or get unhappy".
On the other side are the big guns in psychiatry who responded to the Minister with a letter to this newspaper declaring that his comments had "re-stigmatised" those suffering from mental illness. "The man in charge does not believe that mental illness exists and reckons all that is needed is a buddy," concluded the six leading professors of psychiatry, calling for O'Malley's resignation.
I found their letter surprising. O'Malley's assertion that depression is not a medical condition was always going to leave him open to criticism, but he should be applauded for encouraging a debate. He has simply asked whether the treatment of the thousands in this country who suffer from mental illness could be improved. Anyone who cares about ending suffering and stigma should be big enough to speculate about whether the current practice is the right one. In some cases drugs will help, of course, but in others they can make things worse. Is it so outrageous to suggest that a more holistic approach, including talking therapy, could provide a better way?
The psychiatrists' indignation reminded me of another row, this one played out on The Late Late Show a few weeks ago. The psychologist and nutritionist Patrick Holford was on to talk about his book Food Is Better Medicine than Drugs, in which he explains his belief that inexpensive substances such as chromium and cinnamon can control the blood sugar levels of people with type 2 diabetes. He also claims that taking niacin, the vitamin B3, combined with a change in diet and lifestyle, can be effective for patients with high cholesterol.
On the show with him was a GP who gave Holford about as much time as you might a quack selling miracle cures off the back of a wagon. Holford was suggesting that doctors begin to prescribe the kind of inexpensive substances you can find in your local health store instead of drugs supplied by a multibillion-euro industry. When Holford suggested doctors be given information about things such as chromium, the GP was dismissive. She said she already knew this information because "Kellogg's provide it on the back of a packet". "So nutrition is what you read on the back of a packet?," asked Holford
His main point was that if it is possible to reduce, say, the pain of arthritis, to stabilise blood sugar and to improve your mood by using certain foods and nutrients - and changing your lifestyle - then we should be encouraging sick people to do that. Who, especially in the healing professions, could disagree?
Both these rows have worried me. Could professional egos and the powerful drug companies be a cocktail of interests that is bad for our health? When the likes of Holford and O'Malley are castigated for suggesting alternatives, you can only wonder. Still, it's been heartening to see some psychiatrists and, more importantly, some of those who suffer from mental illness coming out in support of O'Malley in recent days.
I can't help thinking of my father - robbed of his spirit by all the pills and electric shock therapy - making that terrible decision to end his life. Perhaps with a more enlightened, holistic approach to his condition, he might still be here. A brother of mine who has done much research into alternative therapies and mental illness has been saying this for years. For the first time, I'm starting to believe him. It's too late for my father but an agenda-free debate might yet help save the lives of others. So thank you, Mr O'Malley.