Pop that pill
I did my internship at a very ambitious university. This is the kind of school where if you're not getting top grades, you might as well have failed in the eyes of many teachers and co-students. The material was tough, too. This university is renowned internationally for being one of the top schools in its field. My job there was too counsel students, and it was not uncommon for students to just flat-out ask whether they couldn't just take some pill. After all, they were doing a high-profile study, which they needed to excel at. They didn't have time to be unwell. Pop a pill, get back to work.
My mother is in psychology as well, and works with a primary and highschool students, with a focus on problems they're experiencing at school. Of course, the most popular diagnosis in those cases is ADHD, and schools are of course very aware of that diagnosis. So if a kid is being extremely disruptive in class, they're likely to start calling ADHD. And, how convenient, you can pop a pill for that! Mom has had multiple cases where, before a diagnosis was even made, school was calling for the kid to be put on Ritalin. She's had cases where the child was put on Ritalin in spite of her objections. Sometimes, it worked out okay. She's also had crisis calls where a child that was put on Ritalin in spite of her advice to the contrary had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance because they went acutely psychotic as a consequence of completely wrong medication for the child's problems.
I remember being in the US, and being astounded at the fact that there are commercials on TV for prescription medication. There is a reason these medicines are prescription only - it is not safe for non-medically-trained persons to decide about these. So why put doctors in the situation where they have to turn down the request for a certain drug time and time again, for perfectly valid reasons that patients might or might not understand? Why give these people false hope? Why advertise something people can't buy?
Here's the thing about medication for mental health problems: for some people, it's a life-saver. I know people who are able to function by grace of their Prozac (or substitute other brand name) or Ritalin (likewise) or haldol. However, that is true for a limited number of cases, and only if you actually have the chenical imbalance the drug in question corrects. If you don't have that imbalance, that's where problems come in. It is perfectly possible to be a busy child and disruptive in class without having ADHD and the underlying neurochemical problems. Give that child Ritalin, and you might end up with a child that completely loses touch with reality. Give haldol to a person who's not actually psychotic, and you'll introduce a syndrom that very closely mimic Parkinson.
Of course, not every case of mismedication is that dramatic. In 99% of cases, Prozac does actually make people feel a bit happier. However, it does have side effects - including such fun things as sexual dysfunction, gastrointestinal problems, headaches, nightmares, insomnia and seizures. Also, SSRIs, the drug class Prozac belongs to, are a relatively new drug, having been found in the 1980s. There's no way of knowing what the long term effects of taking in over decades might be. Also, the jury is still out on whether Prozac might not actually cause extreme violence or suicide in a small percentage of those who take it. Prozac manufacturer Eli Lily says not. Eli Lily also hid research results that might point to the contrary. Also, the nasty thing about SSRIs is that the symptoms you get from weaning your body off them look a lot like depression, making it hard to stop taking them.
Now as I said, there are people with a chemical imbalance underlying their depression that have little choice in the matter. However, a lot of the time, depression can be caused my circumstances and thought processes. That can be solved by changing circumstances and getting into talk therapy. Talk therapy can be pretty quick and easy. Cognitive behavioral therapy often brings significant improvements in 5-10 45 minute sessions. Weigh that against years, or even just months, of side effects and taking pills - and the knowledge that you learn things that will last even after you quit therapy, whereas when you quit the drugs, the effect is over.
You still sure that the pill is the easy solution?
My mother is in psychology as well, and works with a primary and highschool students, with a focus on problems they're experiencing at school. Of course, the most popular diagnosis in those cases is ADHD, and schools are of course very aware of that diagnosis. So if a kid is being extremely disruptive in class, they're likely to start calling ADHD. And, how convenient, you can pop a pill for that! Mom has had multiple cases where, before a diagnosis was even made, school was calling for the kid to be put on Ritalin. She's had cases where the child was put on Ritalin in spite of her objections. Sometimes, it worked out okay. She's also had crisis calls where a child that was put on Ritalin in spite of her advice to the contrary had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance because they went acutely psychotic as a consequence of completely wrong medication for the child's problems.
I remember being in the US, and being astounded at the fact that there are commercials on TV for prescription medication. There is a reason these medicines are prescription only - it is not safe for non-medically-trained persons to decide about these. So why put doctors in the situation where they have to turn down the request for a certain drug time and time again, for perfectly valid reasons that patients might or might not understand? Why give these people false hope? Why advertise something people can't buy?
Here's the thing about medication for mental health problems: for some people, it's a life-saver. I know people who are able to function by grace of their Prozac (or substitute other brand name) or Ritalin (likewise) or haldol. However, that is true for a limited number of cases, and only if you actually have the chenical imbalance the drug in question corrects. If you don't have that imbalance, that's where problems come in. It is perfectly possible to be a busy child and disruptive in class without having ADHD and the underlying neurochemical problems. Give that child Ritalin, and you might end up with a child that completely loses touch with reality. Give haldol to a person who's not actually psychotic, and you'll introduce a syndrom that very closely mimic Parkinson.
Of course, not every case of mismedication is that dramatic. In 99% of cases, Prozac does actually make people feel a bit happier. However, it does have side effects - including such fun things as sexual dysfunction, gastrointestinal problems, headaches, nightmares, insomnia and seizures. Also, SSRIs, the drug class Prozac belongs to, are a relatively new drug, having been found in the 1980s. There's no way of knowing what the long term effects of taking in over decades might be. Also, the jury is still out on whether Prozac might not actually cause extreme violence or suicide in a small percentage of those who take it. Prozac manufacturer Eli Lily says not. Eli Lily also hid research results that might point to the contrary. Also, the nasty thing about SSRIs is that the symptoms you get from weaning your body off them look a lot like depression, making it hard to stop taking them.
Now as I said, there are people with a chemical imbalance underlying their depression that have little choice in the matter. However, a lot of the time, depression can be caused my circumstances and thought processes. That can be solved by changing circumstances and getting into talk therapy. Talk therapy can be pretty quick and easy. Cognitive behavioral therapy often brings significant improvements in 5-10 45 minute sessions. Weigh that against years, or even just months, of side effects and taking pills - and the knowledge that you learn things that will last even after you quit therapy, whereas when you quit the drugs, the effect is over.
You still sure that the pill is the easy solution?
posted by Geerte at 12:55 PM
3 Comments:
This is why I refuse to go back on SSRIs for my depression- they were so hard to get off of, and unless I absolutely need to, I don't want to take a pill the rest of my life. I'd rather learn how to function with an imbalance.
I think the reliance on medication is also coming from our consumption-based society, and the fact that we live in a world of instant communication and near instant gratification. We don't want to work to get rid of our problems. We want a quick fix, and we don't care if it causes problems down the road. If we wait long enough, they'll have a pill for that too.
Dude, if we start getting pills for cultural problems, I'll get really worried. :)
And I can definitely see why you'd be less than eager to get back on meds. At the same time, I can think of some people who I wish would get on SSRIs, because they're miserable, and after several years of trying, it's rather clear that non-medical options just aren't cutting it. But it's definitely a hard decision to make, and much asm I might like to be in charge of the world, my say-so isn't the best thing to base it on.
Finally, the instant gratification thing bothers me. I see the same thing in relationships. People expecting to find The One (tm) and never have to work on their relationship, and when they hit a bump in the road, they give up, because clearly, s/he's not the one, or it would be easy. I've hit plenty of bumps in the road with the partners I've had - after all, they're their own person! The response to that is to *work it out*, not to give it up as a lost cause without a second thought!
yeah, the worst problem with anti-depressants is that people that actually NEED them frequently don't want to take them (Because, duh, they're depressed) but people with regular life-issues and ups and downs decide they're depressed and demand medication.
And I'm one of those people for whom the prozac has been a life-saver. At least now I can consider therapy (yeah, I know, gotta do it) and function as a mom again. But it wasn't my first choice.
I fear the idea that medication is the first option. It's a good option for some people, and it makes a HELL of a difference when it's right. But when it's wrong? ugggggggggh.
(I've also had bad side effects to medication. NOT FUN!)
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