We have all since become numb to how incredibly dangerous these drugs are. However, the commercial I saw that night was actually advertising for a drug to be taken with other drugs. It claimed that if you are suffering from depression AND are already on anti-depressants, these pills would help you cope with depression.
Now I may not have no fancy degree, but if you need to take drugs, to improve the effects of drugs you're already taking, aren't you in a hell of a lot of trouble? I won't even make the obvious observation that if in fact two drugs are better than one when it comes to depression, why don't drug companies just combine the drugs into one super pill?
Somewhere along the line I can only assume it has something to do with money. And I'm not going to pull a Tom Cruise and claim there is no such thing as depression but I think we all need to take a long hard look at what drug companies are doing. Yes, it is possible that some people might need drugs to help some problem they might have. But it seems to me, if in fact depression was as widespread a mere 50 years ago as it is now, what did people do to cope then? Did they just keel over and die? Fifty years from now, will people ask, "What did people on anti-depressants in 2009 do to cope with depression if they didn't have anti-depressant repressants?"
Think about Ritalin, a drug given to kids to help them behave. Having worked at a summer camp I've seen children on ritalin. There is a chilling detachment in their eyes that seems like something out of an eerie science fiction story starring Haley Joel Osmont (ironically before his trouble with drugs).
All this to say, back in my day we had a drug to help children behave. It was called a beating. As always, I am wont to bring up how badly behaved I think kids are nowadays, having no kids of my own and in many ways being a kid myself. But man, kids are badly behaved. I am always amazed when I see a kid look their mothers right in the eyes and scream and swear at them. But today's liberal society will tell you, its wrong to spank them. Pump them full of drugs.
I reiterate, beat your kids. If not for their sake, then for the sake of the teacher's I saw recently, getting scolded by some punk 14 year old who wanted to smoke on school grounds. Do it for the crotchety old men like me on the bus who have utter contempt for 14 year olds who stagger onto the bus reeking of marijuana while they curse and swear at their equally unsavory friends over the cell phone. And if you don't have the hutzvah to kick your child's ass when they need it, send them to the army where someone will do it for you. I was speaking to a friend of mine who knows a psychiatrist for teens. I'm told the job often boils down to prescribing drugs for rich kids who have just gotten bored. Perhaps bored with a life that has become too easy and maybe even too pointless.
So now to cope with life, we need to turn our children into existential philosophers rambling to psychologists about their boredom or keep them stoned out of their mind? Isn't it just easier and more useful to beat them? I mean, what's the consequence? Hypothetically my child is going to call the cops and have me arrested for abuse? You know what, when I have kids, they're getting spanked, I don't care if it's illegal. "Yeah? What? You're going to call the cops? After I feed you, clothe you and put a roof over your head? Go ahead then. I'll go to jail I don't give a f**k! No rent! Free food! I don't have to buy drugs for spoiled children. Enjoy life in a foster home!" And as Russel Peters said, there's still plenty of time to beat the kids as the cops are en route!
Might I suggest that in many cases, depression and bad behaviour are the jails we make for ourselves when opulent society has deprived us of our boundaries. And perhaps perscription drugs are the guy in your neighbouring jail cell, wearing a doo rag, who manages to get you cigarettes from the outside world, a fickle pleasure to enjoy while in a jail cell that might kill you in the long run anyway.
Call me old fashionned, but I think this is one instance of capitalists creating a need where none existed previously. I fail to believe that evolution has failed us so badly that we have no natural ways to cope with depression and badly behaved kids. Please, tell me there's something in the food that's screwing us up. Tell me we need to play less X-box, watch less tv and do more chores in the yard. Tell me that we are trying to fullfill spiritual needs with shopping or some other vapid, materialistic diversions. But don't tell me that millions of people need drugs as badly as they need food. Or even need drugs to cure the effects of other drugs they may already be taking. Drugs to cure the effects of drugs? That certainly sounds like science fiction to me.
13 comments:
I couldn't agree more with ..beating your kids. That's how I grew up..my mom used tools though..including hangers, bamboo, sticks..
I gotta tell you the story of the time i started crying due to a bad mark i got on a test in THIRD grade..i started crying and the teacher took me to the side to ask me what's wrong. i told them my mom would hit me..ooohhh boy. haha Principal called my mom for a meeting..haha
You're making it sound like people with depression should be beaten. I think you're confusing depression with spoiledness, if I may use a made up term like that.
I agree that behaviour-modification drugs are probably way over-prescribed but there are legitimate cases of depression that are really sad and should be treated properly, not with the beats. Now kids who throw a fit because they're in the store and their parent won't buy them such and such a toy...
I disagree that kids nowadays are worse behaved than previous generations. It's all a relative thing. There is a famous quote I'm thinking of:
The children now love luxury.They have bad manners, contempt for authority, they show disrespect to their elders....They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and are tyrants over their teachers.
This quote is attributed to...Socrates, in the 5th century BC. Some things always remain the same. Kids are belligerent and will remain so.
Interesting story. I'm not confusing depression with spoiledness, it seems to be the same thing. At my convocation I had the good fortune to speak to a psychologist who was also getting his phd who studied depression and also has a private practice. I told him what I thought about depression. According to him there is more depression in affluent countries than in countries where people may starving, persecuted and going through things we would consider nightmarish. He said, we create unrealistic expectations of what our lives should be like such that no matter how much we achieve or get, we're always dissapointed. In other words we're spoiled, we always want more. Not to say there aren't people out there who have depression caused by something physiological, but these people are probably a startling minority. It would be an abnormality not the norm, and certainly not enough to fund our drug companies.
I don't know about kids though. But when I went back to Centennial, the teachers I spoke to seemed to think the kids had taken a turn for the worse. I've heard people say that in general, the kind of bad language we take for granted was only used in very seedy bars by very rough men, certainly not on the bus by 14 year old kids who reek of marijuana. I can believe that kids are worse now than in socrates day. His idea of bad manners includes not rising when elders enter the room.... ?? The only thing that kids raise when someone enters a room these days is the middle finger. I think our standards are lower than his.
You know what's crazy? We have many people at work from the UK and they seem amazed at how polite we are. Apparently in over there, foul language is ingrained in the culture, dropping rude words so often it would make us blush over here.
Anyway, people in desperate situations in poor countries don't have the leisure time to get depressed. They're too busy trying to eat something. I guess it's part and parcel of being in an affluent nation. We have so much spare time that we make ourselves nuts. I'd rather this then though.
I suppose there are those who are "depressed" for ridiculous reasons but still, there are others who are for real depressed, chemical imbalances and whatnot, that shouldn't be ignored and who need care. Punk-ass kids don't count.
Hi Chris,
I just read your post and was debating whether or not to comment. Now, let me start out by saying before drugs for depression I think people did what many today still do...they used a lot of illegal drugs and alcohol to cope with their pain...
Next, let me comment on depression itself. My mother for the last 15 years (although in hindsight I'm sure it was longer) has suffered from depression...I've seen it and lived with it firsthand and I know that without the drugs there is a very real possibility that my mother wouldn't be alive today. That being said I also agree that it's over prescribed (as it ritalin) because it's easier to get a prescription than it is to get proper therapy...I'm not sure why this is the case but unfortunately that's the way it is.
Finally let me comment on the kids nowadays!! As you may know I studied to be a teacher...I spent my first year teaching rich kids in a private school (grades 3-6), my second year teaching French second language in a relatively poor area (grades 1-6) and this year due to lack of full time jobs I'm working in a daycare teaching 3 and 4 year olds. I also volunteer with teens from all of the Riverside School Board High Schools. I'm not a mom but I've worked with hundreds of kids and I have to say that I agree children can be disrespectful but like Vrej mentioned every generation says this about the last.
I don't really think they are worse they are just different. I also think that many of the problems don't arise so much from a lack of discipline (although this does exist to a certain extent) but from a lack of true affection and proper role modeling. Society as a whole has placed emphasis on the wrong type of behaviour and nobody is telling the children why it's wrong.
The other main difference with this generation is that many more children live in families where either both parents work and they spend 10 hours+ in daycare from 6 months old on...or they come from divorce situations and are stuck between parents who can't agree on the consequences for their childrens misbehaviour. Parents also try to buy their children's love as you mentioned...many of them are spoiled...but that's a minority in my experience. I've noticed that if you gives kids a chance to truly express their feelings and provide alternative suggestion for how to deal with their anger they become attached...and when a child is attached he/she is generally much more respectful and happy.
OH and in regards to spanking...I guess because I never was I can't relate to it being an effective disciplinary tool...I just don't feel that it teaches children how to take responsibility for their actions. I won't lie...there are a few times when kids started having fist fights in my classroom, or when they told me they'd call the DPJ on me for giving them detention...I thought a good smack would do good but really it would only make me feel better or like I'm in control...when in reality I think if you spank a kid you've given up control...but that's just my opinion.
Hey Jen,
I know people who suffer from depression too. Certainly they need drugs. But it doesn't really cure them. I guess my point is we need to get to the root of the problem. Why is it that in our affluent countries, there is MORE depression than in poor countries? These are the questions no one really asks and I guess drug companies don't really care, they're too busy peddling drugs.
As for kids, I talk about beating them mostly to provoke people. All kids are different, beatings aren't a one size fits all solution. But I certainly don't think it should be outlawed. I can't imagine how hard it is to raise a kid, but I don't think those of us who were spanked suffered from it. But that's just me blabbing on. You work with kids and my hat goes off to you. I respect teachers and people who care for kids more than anyone.
Wow, Jen, that's a good post, but way too long to waste on Chris's sub-par blog.
That's right, Chris. SUB-PAR! I challenge you to a duel! Battlemasters at high noon, sir!
Ha...like I said I'm not against spanking (I don't consider this beating either) but feel that many other methods have proven themselves more effective.
I don't know that there really is MORE depression than in poor countries...I mean who would be treating and diagnosing them?
Actually the guy sitting next to me at convocation said there are studies about greater depression in affluent countries. He gave an interesting explanation for it. That certain stresses are external, running away from danger or trying to pay a bill. But depression is stress from inside, namely, trying to live up to unrealistic expectations. Always wanting a bigger house, always wanting a better car... No matter what level you attain you always look forward to something more. Though this is different from depression caused by some genetic condition.
Yes I remember learning that in psych class :)
Basically they are in a constant "survival" mode so no time to be "depressed". Ironically, some of the people who kill themselves in more affluent countries feel so much guilt over having "the good life" so to speak that they can't deal with it. If only they would channel that sadness into helping change the world...
With kids and teens the depression is often brought on by "not fitting in" as I'm sure you assumed. Kids are so mean.
Two Drugs vs One:
Remember - person A and person B won't react exactly the same to drug Z. In cases of prescription drugs these differences can be even more extreme.
That's why we can't make the "superpill" - unless you want to try and get one for every possible combination of side effects?
-Baz
Sure, people need drugs. Some people even need 2 drugs. But I highly doubt that people need enough drugs to justify the amount that these drug companies manage to sell. As a result I think many people are taking drugs that they don't need to take and are comppounding their problems.
I remember a Seinfeld joke about headache medicine. He says, there's extra strength and maximum strength... Strength is out. There is no regular strength. "I want the MAXIMUM strength. Find out what will kill me... Then take it down a notch."
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