Sir - Dr John Owen (July 16th) cites "emotional distress" as a common factor in suicide and continues by saying that "psychological autopsies" prove that "psychiatric disorders of one sort or another" are also generally present.
It is estimated that about 25 per cent of our population suffer from what psychiatry terms "mental illness". This label covers conditions such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, eating disorders, addiction to drugs or alcohol, any self-destructive behaviour or behaviour deemed "abnormal" by society.
The diagnosis of "mental illness" is based on behaviour analysis rather than on medical or scientific tests which are the case in other areas of medicine. Labels loaded with stigma and shame are placed on vulnerable people whose behaviour is indicative of their emotional distress and vulnerability. These labels merely intensify the shame and add to the distress.
Psychiatrists' answer is to treat the symptom rather than what is behind the symptom. Rather than focusing on the person, they focus on the behaviour in an attempt to find a biological or genetic explanation for which medication can be prescribed.
Dr Owens says there is a "definite entity of clinical depression for which biological factors are always present and medication is of proven value".
Why do the symptoms of depression recur time and time again if that medication is of such value? The medication merely suppresses the symptoms rather than curing the condition. Anti-depressant medication has also been known to be addictive, thus adding "addiction to prescribed medication" to the original diagnosis!
In my opinion, any treatment which focuses on the symptoms and behaviours of the so-called "mental illness" and uses labels which raise the levels of stigma within society will not be successful but rather will result in further increases, not only in the numbers of people in distress, but also in the incidences of suicide. For people who are already vulnerable and feeling unable to handle what life is throwing at them to be faced with the possibility of a "mental illness" label and the stigma and possible ostracism that can go with it, suicide may seem the better option - the ultimate avoidance strategy.
Dr Owens is right when he says that psychiatric services need to be radically improved. They must begin to focus on the person who comes desperately seeking help, rather than on the behaviour they display. They must be sensitive to people's vulnerability rather than insensitively labelling them. Perhaps they could become ready to accept that symptoms are not necessarily biological or genetic in origin but may be symptoms of an underlying emotional distress which the suffering individual needs time to explore and somebody who is willing and able to connect with them on that journey of exploration.
What is needed is a humanitarian approach to a human problem, which will not be cured by medication but perhaps might respond to compassion, understanding and acceptance. - Yours, etc.,
Orla Farrell, Loreto Avenue, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14.