Dr Virgil Davis

Psychoactive Drugs: Use or Cruise?



Posted: Monday, July 25, 2005

by Dr Virgil Davis

Tom Cruise Created quite a turmoil with Matt Lauer on the Today Show When he criticized actress Brooke Shields for revealing that she went into therapy and took antidepressants to deal with her Postpartum Depression. As a Scientologist, Cruise doesn’t believe in psychiatric medicine and even went on to say that drugs are never the answer when it comes to psychological and behavioral problems, while also mentioning that these types of drugs are dangerous and should never be prescribed. Cruise also made a very controversial statement saying that there are no proven cases of chemical imbalances. So are his comments with or without merit? Let’s take a look, then you can decide.

The use of drugs to control symptoms of behavioral disorders became a primary strategy of psychiatric practice during the 1950s. Since then, therapy with psychoactive drugs has become by far the most common biomedical treatment. The use of psychoactive drugs has contributed both to a decline in the number of people hospitalized for behavioral disorders and to a significant reduction in the average duration of hospitalization. Now, hospitalization of the mentally ill is seldom measured in terms of years but is more often a matter of months or even weeks. Drugs are often so effective in controlling disruptive symptoms that many patients who might previously have required restraints or close observation in locked wards are now able to function reasonably effectively outside of a hospital setting. Even patients who still require hospitalization typically need less supervision than did their counterparts in the days before drugs were introduced. In other cases drug therapy has been successfully used to calm patients so that psychological therapies can be applied.

According to Dr. Joseph Glenmullen, professor of psychiatry at Harvard medical school, Cruise has done his research. Dr. Glenmullen agrees with Cruise’s statement that there is no such thing as a chemical imbalance. He maintains that research has not positively proven that there are proven cases of chemical imbalances as widely publicized. Even though Dr. Glenmullen may agree with Cruise’s statement he takes a somewhat different approach with regard to the effectiveness of psychoactive drugs and takes a moderate position in the drug debate saying that psychoactive drugs do tend to help many people, but they are also over prescribed, they have side effects that people often aren’t told about, they have dangers that people often aren’t aware of (can make people suicidal), and he feels there are alternatives.

Dr. Stephen Sharfskin, president of the American Psychiatric Association disagrees with Dr. Glenmullen and feels that chemical imbalances do exist and maintains that psychoactive drugs actually save lives. In treating patients for over 30 years Dr. Sharfskin says that he has seen how useful psychoactive drugs are and if a person needs them, taking them is critical.

The four major categories of psychoactive drugs that are used to control or alleviate symptoms of behavioral disorders are antipsychotics, antidepressants, antimanics, and antianxiety drugs. The various widely used psychoactive drugs differ considerably in their effects: Some calm, some energize, and some provide an emotional lift. However, they all share one common feature. Generally speaking, all psychoactive drugs merely help to control or manage symptoms rather than cure the disorder. When people cease taking these medications, symptoms tend to recur.

Besides dramatically enhancing the ability of psychiatrists to treat severely disordered patients, biomedical drug therapy has stimulated an abundance of research, resulting in some important new hypotheses linking many behavioral disorders to neurochemical factors.

Most individuals are more familiar with antidepressants. While it has been widely believed that antidepressant drugs act to increase the activity of the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and serotonin in certain areas of the brain, it is possible that their antidepressant effects may be related to increased sensitivity of the receptors for those two neurotransmitters. Hopefully, further research will clarify how and why the antidepressants are so effective. Perhaps Tom Cruise will research this further and enlighten us with some answers sometime in the near future.








Dr. Virgil Davis is currently a full professor of psychology. Davis has published several articles and is co-author of the books "Understanding Psychology". (4 editions) Dr. Davis is owner of Davis Karate Studios, holds a 7th degree black belt in karate and is also a Reiki Master.

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Top-level comments on this article: (6 total)
» left by James Ealey`
from Ashland Ky, United States 6 years 247 days ago.
I feel that women shouldnt take anything. In the biblical times nobody had anti-depressants to stop their pain and everything was natural. I think it is all in the mind because they are thinking about nothing but pain the whole nine months.
» left by Erika Mitchell from Hurricane, WV 6 years 246 days ago.
James, I believe that you are confusing the issue.The topic is not the physical pain of childbirth, it is the effects of postpartum depression.Next time you have a headache remember that Jesus did not have access to Tylenol. We call it progress.
» left by Amanda 6 years 163 days ago.
One thing Tom Cruise apparently didn't consider is that studies conducted with placebos and with actual psychoactive drugs have consistently proven that psychoactive drugs really do work for depressed individuals, including myself. After three years
» left by charletta smith
from sandy hook ky 5 years 254 days ago.
this is funny..i mean this is a good article good job dr. davis
» left by Queen Rene' Smith
 4 years 245 days ago.
YES ! This was a very informative article and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I saw the interview between Tom Cruise and Matt Lauer and initially paid it no attention. I just figured, when Tom Cruise bears a child, then he can tell us HIS personal experience with postpartum depression. This article helped me see the 'big picture' and understand the purpose of psychactive drugs.
» left by Brian P. Nolan
from Worthington, Ky 190 days 21 hours ago.
Great information Dr. Davis! I lived 18 years with a mentally ill father who could have been a different man had he been diagnosed and treated. He suffered and so did the people around him, due to his behavior. The day I take my medical advise from Tom Cruise is the day I need some meds!!!!
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