Why are we a society that has a drug for everything?

Question

We have a drug for everything. A pill if you poop too little, a pill if you poop too much. A pill if you can not get an erection and a pill if you can not have a female orgam. You name it, there is a drug for it. But here I am talking paticularly about mood stabilizing drugs.

Now don't get me wrong, there are many people who truly need some medication.

But, there are even more people who take mood stabilizers and DO NOT need them, they just take them because they are not "feeling up to par lately" and because thier doctor scribbles an RX and sends them on thier way.

Anger, confusion, depression, sadness, mourning....these are all NATURAL FEELINGS OF LIFE.

Why do so many doctors try to mask them with chemicals?? Furthermore, why do so many people act like sheep and take whatever a doctor tells them to?

For instance, A while back I was "not feeling up to par" and I went to a doc to talk about it. Not to get meds, but to talk about it. You know what he did?? I was not there more then 10 mintues before he had wrote a Rx for zoloft and was telling me who to write the check out to!!!!

Now, Luckily I know not to trust something just because a doctor spews it out of his mouth. But imagine if I did, I would be another poor, sorry person becoming another victim to these harsh drugs.

Answer 1

Mmmmmmmmmmmm......... some people do need medication.





























































































Best Answer - Chosen By Voters

Lectio Divina is Latin for “spiritual reading” and represents an early monastic technique of prayer which continues in practice though less widely, intended to achieve communion with God as well as providing special spiritual insights and peace from that experience. It is a way of praying with Scripture that calls one to study, ponder, listen and, finally, pray from God's Word.



History
Lectio Divina was first expressed in the year 220 AD. It was found that to read the Bible profitably it is necessary to do so with attention, consistency and prayer. The systematization of “spiritual reading” into four steps dates back to the 12th century. Around 1150, Guigo II, a Carthusian monk, wrote a book entitled “The Monk’s Ladder” (Scala Claustralium) wherein he set out the theory of the four rungs: reading, meditation, prayer and contemplation. In 2005, Pope Benedict XVI stated, “This is the ladder by which the monks ascend from earth to heaven.”

Method
Lectio is typically practiced daily for one continuous hour. A selection from the Holy Scriptures is chosen ahead of time, often as a daily progression through a particular book of the Bible.

Time
Selecting a time for lectio divina is important. Typical methods are to pray for one hour in the morning, or to divide it into two half-hour periods, one in the morning and one in the evening. The key is to pre-select the time that will be devoted to the prayer, and to keep it. Using the same time every day leads to a daily habit of prayer that becomes highly effective.

Place
The place for prayer is to be free from distractions. This means it should be isolated from other people, telephones, visual distractions, etc. Some find a religious icon to be helpful. The same place should be used for lectio if possible, especially as one first begins to practice it. Familiarity with a location reduces the possibility of distraction away from the prayer. Some practitioners conduct other devotions, such as praying before the Catholic Eucharist, as a preparation for Lectio Divina.

Preparation
Prior to reading, it is important to engage in a transitional activity that takes one from the normal state of mind to a more contemplative and prayerful state. A few moments of deep, regular breathing and a short prayer inviting the Holy Spirit to guide the prayer time helps to set the tone and improve the effectiveness of the lectio.

Once the stage is set it is time to begin the prayer. There are four phases of the prayer, which do not necessarily progress in an ordered fashion. One may move between different phases of the prayer very freely as the Spirit guides.

The Four Moments
Lectio
Read the passage several times.

Meditatio
Reflect on the text of the passage, thinking about how to apply to one's own life. Gravitate to any particular phrase or word that seems to be of particular import. This should not be confused with exegesis, but is a very personal reading of the Scripture and application to one's own life.

Oratio
Respond to the passage by opening the heart to God. This is not primarily an intellectual exercise, but more of the beginning of a conversation with God.

Contemplatio
Listen to God. This is a freeing oneself from one's own thoughts, both mundane and holy. It is about hearing God talk to us. Opening our mind, heart and soul to the influence of God. Any conversation must allow for both sides to communicate, and this most unfamiliar act is allowing oneself to be open to hearing God speak.

Answer 2

I too think it is becoming a problem. Sure there are people who need medications, and they should have them.

but with pill commercials on TV, people run to the doctor and ask for these, all from hearing an ad they think they are qualified to self-diagnose.

If you believe the media, and all the advertisers, you have to wonder if anyone is OK and could live without pills.

Doctors are very busy , overbooked, and tied up in paperwork. Also, patients are busy with their lives, and don't take the time to solve problems. Or else they just feel that they can not. The media advertises a "perfect world" and when people can't have it all, they think something is wrong with them. And they might want to fix a "mood disorder" even if it is just a temporary feeling of being "off" or stressed or overtired.

I think the best thing to do if you are experiencing depression or other symptoms is to talk to a therapist, and sort it out, they can help you see if it is something that you can solve on your own, maybe even do some cognitive therapy to change your thinking and help with coping skills. Medication should be reserved for those who need it, and other methods should be tried first.

Answer 3

You are right, our society has become chemically dependent for any and or reasons. As a RN I know this to be a fact, but there are instances where a person has to find the best help for their medical problem. And Yes, the general public does not asks questions of the medical profession that are treating them. They forget that a medical profession is just a person who had to go to school and learn all they know and because they are human like the rest of us, and make mistake. Some depression are natural feelings but some are not. Depression that last for an extended period of time needs medical attention. But, you have to be careful what to take and who is prescribing it to you. You can research any medication these days on the internet. And don't be afraid of asking question, if the doctor seems annoyed at you for asking, then find another, if the shoe does not fit you don't buy.

Answer 4

Well the simple answer is money. You are correct in saying that some people truely need the medicine and some people really don't need it at all. The one's that need the meds also should be going through therapy. For example the meds for depression is to give a bit of relief of symptoms, therapy is the treatment.

People don't fully understand the side affects of anti-depressents. One of the side affects is sexual dysfunction and changes in dreams or no dreams at all. These meds change our chemical makeup. It is scary that there are so many childern on medicine and we have no idea what the long term affect is going to be.

Some disorders such as phonological which is a communication disorder may be treated with thearpy alone. The child with phonological disorder has difficulities in speech. They substitute, omit or incorrectly articulate speech. For instance, they will sound out a t in place of the k. Tiss instead of kiss. These childern should have therapy first before we start shoving pills down there throat.

Some things like obessive compulsive disorder in childern doesn't nec. need meds. They are very likely to grow out of it.

My personal experience... A doctor tried to put me on zoloft because I was haveing a horrible experience at work. All I wanted was time off so I could re coop and find a new job. This was the only job that affected me the way it did. I still functioned in work, soical life, no risk of sucide. I had distress (emotional pain) I worked in a group home with people who suffer from psychological disorders. The one client was the problem for me. She has bi-polar and I knew nothing of that disorder at the time and didn't know how to handle her. Very smart girl and she really knew how to get me upset.

I opted not to take the medicine. I got my time off and found a new job and I am very happy. My problem was situational. I had two good options. I could learn to cope, learn the disorder and then possibly have a better relationship with this client, or I could remove myself from the situation. I took the easy way out and now I am also in college so I can get a degree and go back into the mental health field with education and better copeing methods. I believe it is easier to cope with someones disorder if one is educated about it.

Yes too many people are walking around on meds when they don't need to be. Money Money Money. That statement came straight from my psychology professor.

Answer 5

Because we are spiritually bankrupt. We rely on drugs when our trust in G-d is deteriorated. I'm not a bible thumper, but we all have one thing in common and that is that we all share the same G-d who is there to help in our private times of need.

True, there are some people who need medication for whatever reasons, but how did they get that way in the first place? They suffered without dealing with their negative feelings or expose themselves to carcinogens that cause cancer and other diseases. We watch too much TV, don't exercise enough, eat really bad food from animals that have been treated very badly, and believe alcohol and tobacco will cure our emotional ailments.
Then we wonder why our bodies and minds are sick!

Sometimes an RX is not the answer, but, rather, a good look at how one is dealing with life and negative emotions from it.

That's my opinion!

Answer 6

I think meds are good in their place. As a society, we try to medicate everything to ease the pain/difficulty. Sometimes the only way to get thru something is to experience some pain and come out on top! Also, we have to stop looking to doctors to fix our emotional problems. Therapy is great, but we need to remember that doctors are in the drug business. We shouldn't be surprised when they give us a Rx. Let's try looking to our families, friends, religious leaders & counselors for help and use meds only when absolutely necessary.

Answer 7

I agree. Medications can help, but if you don't follow up with counseling the problem is NEVER going to get better. Never. The whole point is to take the meds (if it's that bad) get counseling, figure out what's wrong and how to change things and then stop taking the meds. I know lots of people who have been on antidepressants for YEARS and still complain about the same things wrong in their life. Well...HELLO. They aren't getting help. Yeah, it ticks me off. If nothing changes.....nothing changes.

Answer 8

It;s your choice to take meds or not. And if you don't want them, try a Homeopathic Doctor, or HOlistic medicine - then you won't have an MD trying to pop pills in your mouth, but someone who will work with lifestyle changes, nutritional changes and other techniques to help you.

IT IS YOUR CHOICE

but our society is full of lazya$$ people who want the quickest solution to their problem, and they don't want to take responsibility. They just want to hear that there is an easy fix. They don't want to hear about how eating french fries every day is killing their liver, or sitting on their butt watching TV is slowly deteriorating their heart, they don't want to hear it. They want a pill and hope that it makes all their problems disappear.

Answer 9

I think we live in a society that trusts human understanding of science and chemicals more than we trust nature.

Our ego's are too large and we, as humans and doctors, think we can control everything and that nature is "bad". Scientists wanting to be God is my explanation. Science is a good thing but too much ego isn't.

Answer 10

It's a result of our "instant gratification" society. We want things to be the way we want them when we want them. If we don't feel how we want, we take a pill to fix it. Add that attitude to the greed of the pharmaceutical industry, and you've got the situation you've described.