Severe mental illness is a tragedy, not an excuse. Congress isn't a participation trophy. Kean vanished for months while being hospitalized for depression. He shouldn't run for reelection.
This probably won't be a popular opinion, but here goes: our society's awareness and tolerance of mental illness has gone too far. As Alex writes, mental illness should not be a get out of jail free card. It may be an explanation for behavior, but not an excuse for it.
Even worse, it's become another prong in our victim culture. Words like "trauma," "survivor," "boundaries," and the like get thrown around way too often. If we don't like somebody, we immediately brand them a "narcissist." If somebody ever tries to persuade, they're accused of "gaslighting."
At some point, we have to realize that overcoming obstacles and achieving is far more admirable than cowering and hiding while claiming some sort of victim status.
I am continually amazed at how often I hear about people at my place of work, or counterparts at similar institutions, going out on medical leave for mental health reasons. And I recently heard some shocking statistic on how what % of working age Americans are on long-term disability for such reasons. Maybe I’m biased, but it feels like GenX was the last generation who knew how to “suck in up, Buttercup” and “play through the pain.”
I realize that sounds horribly unsympathetic and dismissive of those who are truly suffering from a legitimate mental illness. But it does seem like the diagnoses are getting more and more expansive, and people’s tolerance for emotional discomfort (a normal and unavoidable aspect of life!) is plummeting.
When you look behind the curtain you will find big PHARMA behind much-most of the RISE in the perceived NEED for many medications, and especially the well marketed indoctrination of mental illness. Those they have bought off in the swamp (government administrative state-politicians), and media push to the agenda upon the SHEEP who fall for the bait. Rinse and repeat. Look what has been done the past year alone with weight loss DRUGS!
The people who wind up in DC think they are set for life… at the public trough…
Hey folks, here’s a thought: maybe, just maybe start thinking who these “people” really are, and then wonder are you really voting for a human, or, just a letter.
But, George Carlin was right. It’s not the politicians who suck, but the public.
40% will vote for “D” and 40% will vote for “R” even if the “candidate” is a pile of feces on a plate, or an earthworm just flailing around on hot sidewalk.
Sociopaths and cowards, that is the Demoncrap party and Repugnocant party respectively…
And THAT IS THE REAL 80/ 20 rule there for ya, public failures!
We have become a country of wimps and weasels. I think of Normandy and what it took that generation to endure. We would fold like a house of cards. Guys like this should be expelled, not given the chance to run. Sickening.
Unfortunately, Kean's situation has nothing to do with wimpishness and/or weaseling, and it has everything to do with the legal method of expelling a member of Congress. To my knowledge, no standards exist for competency in our legislature. There IS a punishment for corruption, which is expulsion, and requires a 2/3 majority vote of the legislative body of which he or she is a member.
So if he was a truck driver with this history, he would have a one year waiting period before being allowed to return after stabilization due to safety concerns. Other professions have similar guidelines. The safety and welfare of the country? Not so much of a concern apparently.
I worked on Congressional staff for years. The job of a Congressman is ridiculously demanding and the clock is always ticking. Voting can’t be delegated to staff. Showing up in the flesh is a big part of the job. Even the healthy ones skirt a lot of their duties. He should endorse a successor and bow out. Then again Fetterman recovered and is better than ever.
It’s not about mental illness or physical illness. It’s about trust. And yes, “the pussification” of the citizenry. Also, “balls.” Why would he think he could gain admirers or attention or votes by doing this? It is antithetical to a candidate. Not the illness. The lack of trust. You cannot just disappear.
I'm somewhat hesitant to go too hard on the guy. The effing donkeys are all half crazy and at least a dozen of them are clearly going senile. I would love to see the whole Congress toughen up the standards. I myself would insist on a minimum IQ of 120 and a "B" grade on a high school US History exam. We desperately need term limits for sure on all these punks in DC.
I have always told my children I prefer they be wise rather than smart. Your criteria of 120 IQ being "superior". Smart is a dime a dozen. Wise is a higher order altogether. I don't see much wisdom from any of our elected leaders.
Have to start somewhere. Wise is very hard to measure. My point being that we have nothing in the way of standards now and we are definitely getting what we aim for.
Did you write this about Fetterman too? I’ve lived in NJ for 56 years and Kean is actually my congressman. In his 2 terms he hasn’t done shit anyway but the Dem that’s running against him is a lunatic. I’d rather have him voting with the party than risk the chance that we will be dealing with impeachment after impeachment for the next 2 years. His old man was a statesman and was one of the best Governor’s the state ever had (back when NJ would elect a Republican Gov). He retired from politics after two terms when he could have gone onto greater things at the DC level. Junior here is nothing like his old man. I knew his campaign manager when he was in state politics and he sucked there too. I guess it shouldn’t matter as far as NJ is concerned but I’m thinking about the federal level here. Just numbers wise. The problem also is we didn’t have a choice in the primary to get rid of him. He did us dirty here and he needs to offer more than depression. I feel there’s more to the story here. It’ll come out sooner or later I’m sure.
Indeed. I recently moved out of his district and over to PA. I found the elusiveness and secrecy over all this a little disturbing, not to mention that he was unavailable to vote on behalf of his constituents for MONTHS.
You may or may not have been wrong; but I’ve said from day one, he doesn’t belong in The Senate since he was incapable during the campaign and he proved he was incapable when he was elected. Just because he may have been more capable than ol’ 💩 💩 🧠 46 at the time doesn’t give him a hall pass. We don’t elect people based on a fuzzy idea that they may be capable at some time in their tenure, we elect "leaders" capable of hitting the ground running Day 1. Fetterman only prevailed because of his ‘d’ affiliation and Democrat manipulation (cheating) of the election process.
Strangely enough, when Fetterman hit the national scene I thought he was a zero in every way. I'm originally from the Pittsburgh area, and I'm telling you that "Mayor of Braddock" is not a title any thinking person would be eager to advertise. Then he had a stroke and suddenly became a stand-up guy with morals and common sense. I can't explain it, but somewhere in there a debilitating illness became a miracle blessing.
Some might argue that coming face2face with the great beyond can change a person’s perspective. Don’t believe Fetterman had a full on Come2Jesus moment, but, perhaps enough that he shifted a little bit.
Thing is, he still votes D 91% of the time AND in some measures 26% for POTUS Trump in some issues.
True enough, although he may be teetering on the brink. I heard him say tonight that if the Dems added a statement to their next national platform that was anti-Israel in any way, it would be enough for him to leave the party.
We actually have NO IDEA what he may be experiencing. Lengthy hospitalization for depressive disorders is uncommon ……something else is going on that he does not want us to know about.
Probably; but, once an elected official misses a single vote, at least a few, the electorate needs to be informed. If the elected official cannot do the job at that time, not some fuzzy point in the future, they need to be replaced.
Okay. If mental illness disqualifies people from Congress, all Democrats needs to resign from Congress immediately. They are obviously mentally ill. Carville seems to thinks most of them are and he should know considering the condition he is in.
This is a valid issue to raise. Nevertheless, there is a bigger picture. It's tough for anyone in a position of responsibility to recognize that he isn't currently up to the task of performing his office and doesn't foresee when he will recover. Tom Kean isn't the only one in this position. Fetterman has been in this position. Biden was certainly in this position. And the list is probably too long to attempt to recite.
If a Republican CongressCritter is from a Red state with a Red governor (or a Democrat from a Blue state with a Blue governor) then a good option is to consider resigning and letting the governor fill the vacancy with someone who would maintain the balance of power in the corresponding chamber. That's not always the case and it isn't the case with Kean.
What comes up for me is the failure of psychiatry to deal effectively with depression, PTSD and similar illnesses. First and foremost, there is a legal drug with double the efficacy of conventional drugs, i.e., ketamine. But psychiatrists are loath to prescribe it. There are other drugs such as psilocybin and MDMA that are also promising. But these are prohibited Schedule I drugs. Psychiatrists can't use them even if they wanted to. This is a failure of psychiatry, the FDA, the DEA, and Congress. And NONE of the foregoing will step up to the plate and see to it that these drugs are approved and therefore considered legitimate treatments for these devastating diseases.
Special elections are required to fill vacancies in Congress and that is typically at least a three month process though it varies by state. The governor does not fill a vacancy in the House. At least his staff was in place and could address constituent’s needs. Given the slim margin of the GOP majority, his resignation would have jeopardized control of the House. I imagine his reelection is already in doubt, but NJ law may not allow him to be replaced on the ballot.
Thank you. I didn't recall the difference between Senate and House vacancies.
In any case, I'm less bothered by his decision - or anyone else's decision - not to resign when the office holder is a member of a larger body.
If the body is, for example, a 3-member commission, then that's a problem. If it's a 7 or 9 member commission, it's less of a problem. If it's the President it's an acute problem.
I'm much more interested in promoting effective therapies for mental illness as I explained in a comment on another poster's response to my posting.
Thank you. And, this is to say nothing of the fact that ketamine has a 60% probability of successfully treating suicidal ideation. Think about that statistic.
We lament the gunshot homicides in America. Likewise, the 25,000 annual gunshot suicides. To say nothing about the 25,000 annual suicides by means other than gunshot. Think about these figures: 25,000 + 25,000 = 50,000.
Suppose 60% of these suicides had ready access to ketamine. 50,000 * 0.6 = 30,000 suicides prevented.
I don't imagine all 50,000 people who would commit suicide this year could be reached to be offered a trial of ketamine. Suppose only 5,000 of those were reached. Suppose only 5,000 * 0.6 = 3,000 were successfully treated.
Suppose 3,000 were successfully treated each year for 10 years, that's 30,000 suicides prevented.
But psychiatry doesn't want to think about this. FDA, CDC, DEA, Congress and American voters don't want to think about this. Nor do any of the foregoing want to think about the potential of doubling the efficacy of drug treatment of depression. Nor finding an effective treatment for PTSD.
(Oh, by the way. Annual ketamine production is on the order of 100 tons. The pharmaceutical industry has achieved economies of scale in production. A dose of ketamine is in the vicinity of 100 mg. The cost of that dose is in the vicinity of $1.00. Do the math. It's a generic drug that is cheap to produce. It's been used in enormous volumes since 1970. There isn't much left to be learned about its safety. It's been used with outstanding success to treat depression since 1999. The bottom line here is that there is no money to be made by anyone in promoting ketamine. Therefore, no one will advocate for ketamine therapy.)
Big Pharma, one again, at your service… but only for the new expensive drugs. There is however another potential angle….are depression rates sky high, or have they never really changed, we have just been coerced into chemical control of our emotions? Another possibility...Is the general loss of faith, and the rise in immorality creating some of this angst in the population? Do people still have hope in a higher power? I know nothing about Kean. I feel bad for the guy, but there is a part of me that laughs when I see the new Caplyta commercials… if your first antidepressant isn’t working, add another new wonder drug to alter your mind! I wonder if sometimes the answer is simply get back to confession and /or go back to church. Obviously that won’t work for athiests or agnostics. Just thinkin outloud.
From my perspective as an economist, I presume that the primary motivation for any vested interest is whatever it perceives as it's reason for being. In the case of BIG-Pharma, you are absolutely right. They are only interested in patenting and trademarking a drug with the potential to become a blockbuster ($1 billion in annual sales). You can work out for yourself what the primary motivation might be for government, professional associations, professional practitioners, journals and others.
Depression rates are sky high. Yet, depression and other mental illnesses have been observed for decades, centuries and longer. We need not debate the direction or rate of change. Mental illnesses are an issue that deserves our attention.
As to the possibility of a general loss of faith or rise in immortality, etc. From my perspective as a mental patient of long duration, I am much less interested in the countless causes, most of which are not readily within our ability to influence. I am vastly more interested in: what works? What works better? What also works? When those in charge lack interest in these questions and refuse to do anything to move the ball forward, I despair.
Conventional antidepressants work. Every one I have tried has worked for ME. It's just that they don't work very well. And they don't work for a large percentage of the patients who try them. And they have side effects that many do not tolerate.
I assure you that most patients who suffer significantly (not merely mildly) from mental illnesses will NOT achieve satisfactory results without an effective drug. You may not agree.
If a reader is a psychotherapist, she is apt to believe that enough hours on her couch will have wondrous effects. I have invested well over 1,000 hours in psychotherapy with mixed results. But even with the best of the dozen therapists I've used, the results were marginal and very slow going. I don't regret my investment. But at the rate of $100+ per hour, this is NOT a cost-effective solution even when it works well.
If a reader is an author of self-help books, he is apt to believe that enough hours following the best ideas out there will have wondrous effects. I've invested thousands of hours reading. But this avenue is of marginal effect.
If a reader is a clergyman, . . . you get the idea.
Now, on the other hand, suppose a ketamine patient walks into a psychiatrist's office complaining that he is plagued by suicidal ideation. Imagine the psychiatrist administers a dose of ketamine and tells him to come back in the morning. He returns and reports he is LESS motivated to kill himself. The psychiatrist administers a second dose with instructions to report back in the morning. He returns; he feels better. A third dose. He returns in the morning to report no interest at all in killing himself.
Such a patient might undergo another dozen or two doses over the forthcoming weeks and realize complete remission. He might need an occasional dose thereafter. If so, he will probably never kill himself. Can you show that level of efficacy through prayer, self-help books or psychotherapy? Well, if not, why wouldn't you be interested in seeing to it that people with suicidal ideation have ready access to ketamine?
Results are less dramatic for people suffering from depression alone, or PTSD alone. But they are nonetheless impressive. It takes longer for the results to manifest. Psychotherapy, self-help, and spiritual practices are all very helpful as complementary therapies. But they don't deliver as reliably, as quickly and as clearly as does ketamine therapy.
I do not mean to suggest that ketamine is the ONLY drug capable of such quick and clear-cut results. Probably psilocybin (magic mushrooms) and MDMA are competitive. But these are prohibited Schedule I drugs. Ketamine is moderately regulated under Schedule III. It is proven to be both safe and effective.
If you can show me competitive results from ANY other therapy, I'm all ears. If you can't, then the burden of persuasion is on the opponent of these CHEAP SAFE GENERIC drugs to explain WHY EXACTLY you oppose them.
I, for one, am unwilling to wait for the skeptical psychiatrists and government bureaucrats and naysayers of all stripes to articulate their rationales.
Totally agree with you, Alex. There’s no ‘get out of the asylum free’ card available for anyone of us still working. I feel for his apparent depression but serving in Congress should be a no-no. No re-election for him. He needs to get his head straight.
This probably won't be a popular opinion, but here goes: our society's awareness and tolerance of mental illness has gone too far. As Alex writes, mental illness should not be a get out of jail free card. It may be an explanation for behavior, but not an excuse for it.
Even worse, it's become another prong in our victim culture. Words like "trauma," "survivor," "boundaries," and the like get thrown around way too often. If we don't like somebody, we immediately brand them a "narcissist." If somebody ever tries to persuade, they're accused of "gaslighting."
At some point, we have to realize that overcoming obstacles and achieving is far more admirable than cowering and hiding while claiming some sort of victim status.
I am continually amazed at how often I hear about people at my place of work, or counterparts at similar institutions, going out on medical leave for mental health reasons. And I recently heard some shocking statistic on how what % of working age Americans are on long-term disability for such reasons. Maybe I’m biased, but it feels like GenX was the last generation who knew how to “suck in up, Buttercup” and “play through the pain.”
I realize that sounds horribly unsympathetic and dismissive of those who are truly suffering from a legitimate mental illness. But it does seem like the diagnoses are getting more and more expansive, and people’s tolerance for emotional discomfort (a normal and unavoidable aspect of life!) is plummeting.
When you look behind the curtain you will find big PHARMA behind much-most of the RISE in the perceived NEED for many medications, and especially the well marketed indoctrination of mental illness. Those they have bought off in the swamp (government administrative state-politicians), and media push to the agenda upon the SHEEP who fall for the bait. Rinse and repeat. Look what has been done the past year alone with weight loss DRUGS!
The people who wind up in DC think they are set for life… at the public trough…
Hey folks, here’s a thought: maybe, just maybe start thinking who these “people” really are, and then wonder are you really voting for a human, or, just a letter.
But, George Carlin was right. It’s not the politicians who suck, but the public.
40% will vote for “D” and 40% will vote for “R” even if the “candidate” is a pile of feces on a plate, or an earthworm just flailing around on hot sidewalk.
Sociopaths and cowards, that is the Demoncrap party and Repugnocant party respectively…
And THAT IS THE REAL 80/ 20 rule there for ya, public failures!
Oh, and make ALL POLITICIANS and candidates for public office take the MMPI when running for election.
It has a lie scale built in, wow, will that light up like a jet plane headlight…
100% Bravo...wouldn't change a word !
We have become a country of wimps and weasels. I think of Normandy and what it took that generation to endure. We would fold like a house of cards. Guys like this should be expelled, not given the chance to run. Sickening.
But he wasn't too wimpy to day trade stocks.
I have relative who has suffered depression. Its real, but she can't even brush her teeth when its bad, let alone trade stocks.
I wonder what would happen if any of us peasants tried to take off 4 months, without explanation, while getting paid, for being sad?
Walk a mile in his shoes before you start bragging on Normandy
Yes, because then he'll be barefoot and a mile away.
But, you will have his shoes...
Unfortunately, Kean's situation has nothing to do with wimpishness and/or weaseling, and it has everything to do with the legal method of expelling a member of Congress. To my knowledge, no standards exist for competency in our legislature. There IS a punishment for corruption, which is expulsion, and requires a 2/3 majority vote of the legislative body of which he or she is a member.
Our culture's acceptance of endless excuses and justifications for irresponsibility encourages more of the same.
I concur. Most Democrats are mentally ill and should resign.
So if he was a truck driver with this history, he would have a one year waiting period before being allowed to return after stabilization due to safety concerns. Other professions have similar guidelines. The safety and welfare of the country? Not so much of a concern apparently.
i personally think congress is more dangerous when they are actively trying to spend money than when they are off doing who knows what.
unlimited vacations for all of them is fine with me.
Would not have a Class 1 medical cert...
I worked on Congressional staff for years. The job of a Congressman is ridiculously demanding and the clock is always ticking. Voting can’t be delegated to staff. Showing up in the flesh is a big part of the job. Even the healthy ones skirt a lot of their duties. He should endorse a successor and bow out. Then again Fetterman recovered and is better than ever.
It’s not about mental illness or physical illness. It’s about trust. And yes, “the pussification” of the citizenry. Also, “balls.” Why would he think he could gain admirers or attention or votes by doing this? It is antithetical to a candidate. Not the illness. The lack of trust. You cannot just disappear.
I'm somewhat hesitant to go too hard on the guy. The effing donkeys are all half crazy and at least a dozen of them are clearly going senile. I would love to see the whole Congress toughen up the standards. I myself would insist on a minimum IQ of 120 and a "B" grade on a high school US History exam. We desperately need term limits for sure on all these punks in DC.
I have always told my children I prefer they be wise rather than smart. Your criteria of 120 IQ being "superior". Smart is a dime a dozen. Wise is a higher order altogether. I don't see much wisdom from any of our elected leaders.
I would rather be lucky than smart
Have to start somewhere. Wise is very hard to measure. My point being that we have nothing in the way of standards now and we are definitely getting what we aim for.
Don't disagree. However, like mass shooting suspects, we seem to know their problems before hand, but they get elected anyway.
Mental illness? In Congress?
Thanks for the laugh out loud!!!
Did you write this about Fetterman too? I’ve lived in NJ for 56 years and Kean is actually my congressman. In his 2 terms he hasn’t done shit anyway but the Dem that’s running against him is a lunatic. I’d rather have him voting with the party than risk the chance that we will be dealing with impeachment after impeachment for the next 2 years. His old man was a statesman and was one of the best Governor’s the state ever had (back when NJ would elect a Republican Gov). He retired from politics after two terms when he could have gone onto greater things at the DC level. Junior here is nothing like his old man. I knew his campaign manager when he was in state politics and he sucked there too. I guess it shouldn’t matter as far as NJ is concerned but I’m thinking about the federal level here. Just numbers wise. The problem also is we didn’t have a choice in the primary to get rid of him. He did us dirty here and he needs to offer more than depression. I feel there’s more to the story here. It’ll come out sooner or later I’m sure.
Indeed. I recently moved out of his district and over to PA. I found the elusiveness and secrecy over all this a little disturbing, not to mention that he was unavailable to vote on behalf of his constituents for MONTHS.
Buy that raw milk! It is really good for you. Don’t listen to the idiots saying it’ll cause disease.
I do, in fact partake of the raw milk.
I said the same about Fetterman, but I was proved wrong.
You may or may not have been wrong; but I’ve said from day one, he doesn’t belong in The Senate since he was incapable during the campaign and he proved he was incapable when he was elected. Just because he may have been more capable than ol’ 💩 💩 🧠 46 at the time doesn’t give him a hall pass. We don’t elect people based on a fuzzy idea that they may be capable at some time in their tenure, we elect "leaders" capable of hitting the ground running Day 1. Fetterman only prevailed because of his ‘d’ affiliation and Democrat manipulation (cheating) of the election process.
Strangely enough, when Fetterman hit the national scene I thought he was a zero in every way. I'm originally from the Pittsburgh area, and I'm telling you that "Mayor of Braddock" is not a title any thinking person would be eager to advertise. Then he had a stroke and suddenly became a stand-up guy with morals and common sense. I can't explain it, but somewhere in there a debilitating illness became a miracle blessing.
Some might argue that coming face2face with the great beyond can change a person’s perspective. Don’t believe Fetterman had a full on Come2Jesus moment, but, perhaps enough that he shifted a little bit.
Thing is, he still votes D 91% of the time AND in some measures 26% for POTUS Trump in some issues.
He’s still a Democrat.
True enough, although he may be teetering on the brink. I heard him say tonight that if the Dems added a statement to their next national platform that was anti-Israel in any way, it would be enough for him to leave the party.
We actually have NO IDEA what he may be experiencing. Lengthy hospitalization for depressive disorders is uncommon ……something else is going on that he does not want us to know about.
Probably; but, once an elected official misses a single vote, at least a few, the electorate needs to be informed. If the elected official cannot do the job at that time, not some fuzzy point in the future, they need to be replaced.
Exactly. This is totally exploitative on his part. Insulting and unacceptable. But nothing will be done until reelection comes round.
drug addiction perhaps.
Okay. If mental illness disqualifies people from Congress, all Democrats needs to resign from Congress immediately. They are obviously mentally ill. Carville seems to thinks most of them are and he should know considering the condition he is in.
This is a valid issue to raise. Nevertheless, there is a bigger picture. It's tough for anyone in a position of responsibility to recognize that he isn't currently up to the task of performing his office and doesn't foresee when he will recover. Tom Kean isn't the only one in this position. Fetterman has been in this position. Biden was certainly in this position. And the list is probably too long to attempt to recite.
If a Republican CongressCritter is from a Red state with a Red governor (or a Democrat from a Blue state with a Blue governor) then a good option is to consider resigning and letting the governor fill the vacancy with someone who would maintain the balance of power in the corresponding chamber. That's not always the case and it isn't the case with Kean.
What comes up for me is the failure of psychiatry to deal effectively with depression, PTSD and similar illnesses. First and foremost, there is a legal drug with double the efficacy of conventional drugs, i.e., ketamine. But psychiatrists are loath to prescribe it. There are other drugs such as psilocybin and MDMA that are also promising. But these are prohibited Schedule I drugs. Psychiatrists can't use them even if they wanted to. This is a failure of psychiatry, the FDA, the DEA, and Congress. And NONE of the foregoing will step up to the plate and see to it that these drugs are approved and therefore considered legitimate treatments for these devastating diseases.
Special elections are required to fill vacancies in Congress and that is typically at least a three month process though it varies by state. The governor does not fill a vacancy in the House. At least his staff was in place and could address constituent’s needs. Given the slim margin of the GOP majority, his resignation would have jeopardized control of the House. I imagine his reelection is already in doubt, but NJ law may not allow him to be replaced on the ballot.
Not at all reassuring that a bunch of bureaucrats may have stepped in to help.
Thank you. I didn't recall the difference between Senate and House vacancies.
In any case, I'm less bothered by his decision - or anyone else's decision - not to resign when the office holder is a member of a larger body.
If the body is, for example, a 3-member commission, then that's a problem. If it's a 7 or 9 member commission, it's less of a problem. If it's the President it's an acute problem.
I'm much more interested in promoting effective therapies for mental illness as I explained in a comment on another poster's response to my posting.
said like a politician
Now, there is an educational post!
Thank you. And, this is to say nothing of the fact that ketamine has a 60% probability of successfully treating suicidal ideation. Think about that statistic.
We lament the gunshot homicides in America. Likewise, the 25,000 annual gunshot suicides. To say nothing about the 25,000 annual suicides by means other than gunshot. Think about these figures: 25,000 + 25,000 = 50,000.
Suppose 60% of these suicides had ready access to ketamine. 50,000 * 0.6 = 30,000 suicides prevented.
I don't imagine all 50,000 people who would commit suicide this year could be reached to be offered a trial of ketamine. Suppose only 5,000 of those were reached. Suppose only 5,000 * 0.6 = 3,000 were successfully treated.
Suppose 3,000 were successfully treated each year for 10 years, that's 30,000 suicides prevented.
But psychiatry doesn't want to think about this. FDA, CDC, DEA, Congress and American voters don't want to think about this. Nor do any of the foregoing want to think about the potential of doubling the efficacy of drug treatment of depression. Nor finding an effective treatment for PTSD.
(Oh, by the way. Annual ketamine production is on the order of 100 tons. The pharmaceutical industry has achieved economies of scale in production. A dose of ketamine is in the vicinity of 100 mg. The cost of that dose is in the vicinity of $1.00. Do the math. It's a generic drug that is cheap to produce. It's been used in enormous volumes since 1970. There isn't much left to be learned about its safety. It's been used with outstanding success to treat depression since 1999. The bottom line here is that there is no money to be made by anyone in promoting ketamine. Therefore, no one will advocate for ketamine therapy.)
We are all stuck with our heads in the sand.
Big Pharma, one again, at your service… but only for the new expensive drugs. There is however another potential angle….are depression rates sky high, or have they never really changed, we have just been coerced into chemical control of our emotions? Another possibility...Is the general loss of faith, and the rise in immorality creating some of this angst in the population? Do people still have hope in a higher power? I know nothing about Kean. I feel bad for the guy, but there is a part of me that laughs when I see the new Caplyta commercials… if your first antidepressant isn’t working, add another new wonder drug to alter your mind! I wonder if sometimes the answer is simply get back to confession and /or go back to church. Obviously that won’t work for athiests or agnostics. Just thinkin outloud.
Thank you for your comments Andrew.
From my perspective as an economist, I presume that the primary motivation for any vested interest is whatever it perceives as it's reason for being. In the case of BIG-Pharma, you are absolutely right. They are only interested in patenting and trademarking a drug with the potential to become a blockbuster ($1 billion in annual sales). You can work out for yourself what the primary motivation might be for government, professional associations, professional practitioners, journals and others.
Depression rates are sky high. Yet, depression and other mental illnesses have been observed for decades, centuries and longer. We need not debate the direction or rate of change. Mental illnesses are an issue that deserves our attention.
As to the possibility of a general loss of faith or rise in immortality, etc. From my perspective as a mental patient of long duration, I am much less interested in the countless causes, most of which are not readily within our ability to influence. I am vastly more interested in: what works? What works better? What also works? When those in charge lack interest in these questions and refuse to do anything to move the ball forward, I despair.
Conventional antidepressants work. Every one I have tried has worked for ME. It's just that they don't work very well. And they don't work for a large percentage of the patients who try them. And they have side effects that many do not tolerate.
I assure you that most patients who suffer significantly (not merely mildly) from mental illnesses will NOT achieve satisfactory results without an effective drug. You may not agree.
If a reader is a psychotherapist, she is apt to believe that enough hours on her couch will have wondrous effects. I have invested well over 1,000 hours in psychotherapy with mixed results. But even with the best of the dozen therapists I've used, the results were marginal and very slow going. I don't regret my investment. But at the rate of $100+ per hour, this is NOT a cost-effective solution even when it works well.
If a reader is an author of self-help books, he is apt to believe that enough hours following the best ideas out there will have wondrous effects. I've invested thousands of hours reading. But this avenue is of marginal effect.
If a reader is a clergyman, . . . you get the idea.
Now, on the other hand, suppose a ketamine patient walks into a psychiatrist's office complaining that he is plagued by suicidal ideation. Imagine the psychiatrist administers a dose of ketamine and tells him to come back in the morning. He returns and reports he is LESS motivated to kill himself. The psychiatrist administers a second dose with instructions to report back in the morning. He returns; he feels better. A third dose. He returns in the morning to report no interest at all in killing himself.
Such a patient might undergo another dozen or two doses over the forthcoming weeks and realize complete remission. He might need an occasional dose thereafter. If so, he will probably never kill himself. Can you show that level of efficacy through prayer, self-help books or psychotherapy? Well, if not, why wouldn't you be interested in seeing to it that people with suicidal ideation have ready access to ketamine?
Results are less dramatic for people suffering from depression alone, or PTSD alone. But they are nonetheless impressive. It takes longer for the results to manifest. Psychotherapy, self-help, and spiritual practices are all very helpful as complementary therapies. But they don't deliver as reliably, as quickly and as clearly as does ketamine therapy.
I do not mean to suggest that ketamine is the ONLY drug capable of such quick and clear-cut results. Probably psilocybin (magic mushrooms) and MDMA are competitive. But these are prohibited Schedule I drugs. Ketamine is moderately regulated under Schedule III. It is proven to be both safe and effective.
If you can show me competitive results from ANY other therapy, I'm all ears. If you can't, then the burden of persuasion is on the opponent of these CHEAP SAFE GENERIC drugs to explain WHY EXACTLY you oppose them.
I, for one, am unwilling to wait for the skeptical psychiatrists and government bureaucrats and naysayers of all stripes to articulate their rationales.
Pharma is rarely the solution. Often it is the problem.
and lets not forget that he says it was depression. We don't know why he played hockey for months.
Totally agree with you, Alex. There’s no ‘get out of the asylum free’ card available for anyone of us still working. I feel for his apparent depression but serving in Congress should be a no-no. No re-election for him. He needs to get his head straight.
I agree. And on that note, where is Mitch McConnell?
Wow Alex. Not the perspective I expect from you.