Often clinical trials of stimulants are tried to determine if these can help a child function more effectively at school. If a clear bipolar disorder emerges, then it is important to add mood stabilizers such as depakote, lamictal, neurontin, or lithium. The need you mention for a greater level of stability is often helped greatly by one of the above mood stabilizers. From personal experience, I've felt handicapped by anxiety and in turn have been led to feel somewhat ashamed of this problem, especially of the fact that I take medication to help control my anxiety. Taking medication for any physical or mental disorder is often resisted by many people.
Medications complicate people's lives and sometimes lead to feelings of failure.
The key point that every doctor has to make with his patients is that compliance with these medication recommendations can greatly improve their lives. At the White House Conference yesterday, Mike Wallace mentioned that he had gone off his antidepressant medication after he recovered from the acute stages of his depression, and then suffered a severe relapse. The message he wanted to convey was that some of these illnesses are chronic, like diabetes, and require lifelong medication. I hope we can have another Health Talk on this subject. Thank you all for getting in touch with us.