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I think Liz brought up a great point about what's "trendy". Today it's organic foods and "going green". Maybe in the future, talk therapy will be replaced completely by the idea of a quick fix, at least that's where it seems society is heading. It's almost as if taking prescribed medicines coulds become the next trend. But one thing we didn't discuss was the dangers of having a physical pill compared to talk therapy and CBT with respect to street drugs and even patients sharing with others. I'll admit I'm guilty of this; my mom allowed me to take some of her Xanex, prescribed to her to ease her on a plane ride, when I was taking a long plane ride of my own. Was the doctor wrong in the first place for prescribing xanex to a woman with no mental illness (except maybe neuroticism towards planes?)? That could be up for discussion another time, and this doesn't seem like a dangerous situation, but one can imagine a similar situation in which the drug of choice was meant for the patient, and it got into the wrong hands. The effects of CBT, because they are not physical entities, cannot be misused (or even abused), and, like Dr. Yadin stressed using "what we have", perhaps CBT is actually more valuable a tool than introducing new chemicals via external means. Another question of food for thought, what about the idea of accomplishment? Many people feel they have actually changed themselves and accomplished something after sitting through 20-30 sessions of therapy; they put in effort and see results based on the work they put in. With something like OCD, this can be more effective and maybe even lead to lower relapse rates than someone who just popped some pills. Some might consider this to be cheating, almost, and with no sense of accomplishment, not feel like they are really changed within, only superficially. Of course this is all just conjecture, but I think the main idea here, which I'm echoing from many other previous posts, is that CBT & drugs need to be administered simultaneously. I am just curious to see how either (or both) may affect the view of the self.

I also was wondering if there were many findings of patients becoming addicted to therapy; if the same chemical changes are occurring in CBT as in drug administration, and many people seem to become dependent on prescribed drugs, have there been findings of therapy addictions? If the reward pathways are enacted in both processes, I don't see why this wouldn't occur, although I've never heard of it.

We talked briefly about OCD and post partem depression, and how OCD mothers are the least likely to inflict harm upon their babies, which I found to be incredibly interesting. This made me think about possible attachment styles and how the baby develops. While the mother is keeping her baby from harm, she might become overbearing and cause unecessary anxiety in the baby. In addition, I'm wondering, then, if the effects that OCD has on a person (heightened anxiety & fears) could be induced on mothers with post-partem as a treatment? It seems strange, but the effects could be huge, if only to be used as a temporary remedy to keep the baby safe from harm. I also wonder what other positive affects having a disorder like OCD might have on someone. Maybe someone can help me brainstorm, but to think of induction of a disorder in order to cure another is not so far fetched, I don't think.