Well, my day was good I guess. We (Daniel and I) went to Target to pick up Cars, which came out on DVD today. Daniel LOVES this movie. So far, we're half way through, and it looks pretty cute. What I did find at Target was two new pairs of jeans, both clearanced for less than $7! I'm on a role this week! They also have some cute vintage mickey mouse stuff in the dollar spot. I picked up my prescription....for those of you who don't know, Walmart has that big deal about $4 generic prescriptions. Here's the thing...Target will match that. So you get better service, and still the cheap price (I really hate Walmart!).
I was watching TV today, and of course, tons of commercials for antidepressants come on. Ok, here's the thing. I DO think that antidepressants are a good thing, and they do have their place within a treatment regimen. HOWEVER, the problem with these commercials is that they are really screwing people up more! And the docs who are handing these things out like candy are even worse!
Take your average Zoloft commercial. Cute little sad lump. Then he takes a pill, and he's happy! Of course the whole time the voice over is telling you what depression is all about right? Wrong. First, the chemical imbalance thing is a myth, according to a lot of research, and in other countries, it's now illegal to advertise depression as a chemical imbalance.
These commercials are giving people an unrealistic view of what real depression is. It's not just the blues, because your life isn't going perfect right now. It's not a bad day. It's a never ending dark pit that you can't seem to crawl out of! Then, they give people an unrealistic expectation of what their pill should do, and what happy IS. These people don't realize that these pills aren't going to make you HAPPY, they are mood STABILIZERS. They should balance you out to some sense of normalcy, but there's no pill (legal one at least) that's going to instantly make you happy. So these people take the meds, they aren't happy, and they want something else. The thing is, the side effects of the pill are now mimicking another disorder, such as Bipolar. So now you need another medication. Now the problem is that the combo of meds for these disorders that probable aren't even existent in this patient has caused them to be sluggish all day, and anxious at night. They can't wake up when they should, and they can't sleep when they should. Add some Ritalin (aka SPEED for adults) and a sedative for night time. Then add some adult A.D.D. meds, since all those drugs racing through their system makes them unable to concentrate on anything for anything longer than a millisecond.
It's a vicious circle...that patients can't get out of, because they believe their doctor, who is actually quite irresponsible in even prescribing all this crap.
Moral of the rant....don't take meds that mess with your brain unless you REALLY need them. Don't see a family doc for emotional/mental problems. You wouldn't see a proctologist if you have cardiac problems would you? You wouldn't take your toddler to a geriatric specialist would you? See the APPROPRIATE specialist for the problem. A good doctor will nearly ALWAYS recommend therapy along with meds for treatment....in fact, most will insist on it. It's an important part of things. These meds alleviate symptoms, they don't cure the illness. It's like expecting Nyquil to cure your flu. It doesn't work like that.
No comments:
Post a Comment