1 August 2007

Musings on "Anti-psychotic" Drugs

"Anti-psychotic" drugs?

Can there be such a thing as an "anti-psychotic" drug?
Psychosis means "a break with reality".
This involves mistaken beliefs.
Therefore the effect of an anti-psychotic drug must surely include the changing of beliefs.
Is there a drug that can actually change a belief?
Surely there cannot be any drug that can actually in and of itself change a belief.

"The mode of action of olanzapine's antipsychotic activity is unknown.
It may involve antagonism at serotonin receptors."
Wikipedia.

This is not science!

Even if Olanzapine did cause suppression of serotonin, how would this actually affect the ideas of the person?

It has no direct effect on ideas or behaviour or distress.

It may have the effect of calming the patient (victim) a great deal and this may hence calm the intensity of the patient (victim)'s thoughts and behaviour but surely it cannot in any way affect the content of his/her thoughts.

It is effectively poisoning.