When I was fifteen, my friend's father passed away. Upon entering her house, I recall being told that both she and her grieving mother were "indisposed" because the doctor (those were the days when doctors still made house calls) had "given them a little something to calm them down." I didn't understand why it wasn't okay to cry when someone you loved deeply died suddenly and unexpectedly and, frankly, I still don't.
Fast-forwarding to my college days, I'm reminded of times when one friend or another would laugh about being thrown out of a bar. Not so for me. I got tossed out of a doctor's office. Life was a bit dicey for a while and this man's best advice was for me to start taking Valium. I knew very little about Valium at the time, but I'd heard stories, and what I'd heard, I didn't like. I expressed my concerns.
"I'm not so sure I want to do that," I began, feeling wary.
His eyes went cold. "If you're not going to do what I say, then why did you bother coming to me?"
I really didn't want to fight with him. I certainly had never expected to challenge someone twice my age who was wearing a white coat and had a wall-full of credentials.
I shrugged and, hearing myself sound like Dorothy-the-meek-and-small, said, "But I've heard that stuff is addictive."
"That's absolutely ridiculous!" he answered, slapping his prescription pad on the counter and glaring at me as if I'd just cast aspersions on the sexual proclivities of his mother, "I've got patients that have been on Valium for years!"
I wonder if he ever caught the irony of his declaration? I'll never know. He threw me out.
Over the years, the trend has mutated from medicating the most extreme emotional disturbances to anesthetizing anyone who is not skipping down the street, whistling a happy tune. And in case you're blissfully unaware of how miserable your life truly is, just keep your eye on your television set -- sooner or later you're going to see an advertisement which will point it out for you.
Depressed? Have a pill. Feeling achy? Have another. Worried about something? Smoking too much? Hate your job? In love with your boss's wife? Insufficient funds in your checking account? We've got pills for all that, too. And now -- among the latest and greatest -- feeling shy. Feeling shy? When exactly did social awkwardness become a disease?
Concerned about any of that? It gets worse. Do you have a child who's energetic or exuberant? Well you'd best be sure he doesn't act like a normal, growing kid in school because if he does -- and if he lives in America -- he's now 700 times more likely than he would have been just twenty years ago to be diagnosed -- by his teacher, no less! -- as hyperactive and consequently given Ritalin. And you, Johnny's mom or dad, if you refuse the drug on Johnny's behalf, could find yourself facing charges -- and possibly even the loss of your parental rights -- from the local authorities.
These are not simply scare tactics; this happened to a friend of mine in Florida. He fought tooth and nail and finally prevailed, but at what cost? His son was branded and traumatized -- publicly.
Does it ever occur to these "authorities" that perhaps all those little Johnnies (and Janies) are bored to distraction because their classes are not keeping up with them? Or that, as immature human children whose physiological development requires a certain amount of physical exertion, perhaps they need a break out-of-doors so they can burn off some energy? When's the last time someone medicated a foal or a puppy simply because it needed to run? The young, no matter what they are, have short attention spans and a need to move. And there's nothing anyone's going to do to change that ... or is there??
"Finding Emmaus", published in October of 2009, examines, among other things, the deliberate and systematic inappropriate overmedication of millions of people the world over for no reason other than the enormous profit it generates. Though technically classified as fiction, because the book is historically and factually accurate, I felt compelled to learn everything I could about bipolar disorder. That's when I stumbled upon what goes on between the pharmaceutical industry and the US Food and Drug Administration.
Pouring through reams of personal accounts, congressional testimony, books, blogs, magazine articles and medical journals and learning what I did, did something to me. There is no single adjective which adequately describes what I felt. To say that I was "horrified" would be like saying "Noah ran into a bit of weather." I'm 57 years old and in all that time I have never come across anything that has gripped me so powerfully as what I learned about psychotropic drugs, the collusion between the pharmaceutical industry and the FDA and their callous indifference to the suffering they cause.
In the year 2004, there were 244.3 million prescriptions written for psychotropic drugs in America. I'm talking about new prescriptions only, not refills. In that same year the entire US population was 293 million. Think about that. Now think about this: in that same year, there were only about 25 million adults "diagnosed" (and I use that word lightly because there is no definitive diagnosis) with a mental disorder "requiring" (another term I use lightly) the administration of a psychotropic drug. You don't need to be a Rhodes Scholar -- you don't even have to be a ten-year-old with a number two pencil -- to see that there's something terribly wrong with those statistics.
Utilizing those same figures, you would have to conclude that either 80% of the all people you've met so far in your entire life are on psychotropic drugs, or doctors are having to continually write new prescriptions for the 25 million because the previous prescription(s) did not work.
Choose door number two -- trust me. Better yet, don't take my word for it. Go to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) website and read for yourself how nearly 100% of the time, people taking these drugs suffer side effects, some hideous, some permanent, while approximately 70-80% of the time, those same drugs have no more effect on the "condition" they are meant to be treating than a placebo does.
But don't despair -- all is not lost. There are amazing, committed people out there, such as Dr. Peter Breggin (a man whom I am proud to call associate and dear friend), Dr. Marcia Angell (Senior Lecturer at Harvard Medical School and former editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine), filmmaker Kevin P. Miller, author/spokesperson Gwen Olsen, and author/professor Christopher Lane PhD working overtime to make changes, to educate the public and to save lives. The best thing you can do right now -- for you as well as for everyone you love -- is educate yourself.
Pamela S. K. Glasner is an author, historian, public speaker and social advocate. Her website is www.lodestarre.com . She can also be found on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/2cn8bpo . Ms. Glasner is scheduled to be a featured speaker at Dr. Peter Breggin's national conference for The Center for The Study of Empathic Therapy in Syracuse, New York, to be held April 8-10, 2011.
Follow Pamela Glasner on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PamelaGlasner
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Why is it that drugging proponents seem so frightened when others offer a different view? One person posited that this was a “hysterical rant,” and excuse me, but I find THAT hysterical.
Whether others want to admit it, childhood suicides and deaths are a real danger from many of these psychiatric drugs. My film contained critical data that could help others make "a fully informed choice."
Why is that so radical? Haven't billions of dollars of drug advertising told us their version of what the positive outcomes are? Haven't they painted their case? But when we express our opinion we're somehow “close minded?”
We have the right to know more about how "mental illnesses" become part of the DSM—the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (which is considered 'The Bible' of Psychiatric medicines). We have the right to know whether the panel members — who vote on the approval of drugs are being paid by the drug companies. We have the right to know if the science is legitimate.
We have not been informed of the dangers by the FDA, APA, the AMA, or countless others, so I certainly wouldn't try to mute this HuffPost Blogger. In fact, more power to her.
The claim is false. I don't know where she got her information, but that information was false.
Now there is no doubt that people are overmedicated. I get disgusted with the drug commercials too. I, too, think that Ritalin and its derivatives are oversold and overused. There ought to be a way for children who are *that* active to be educated without medication, but it would require a whole new system and way of thinking. Teachers who "diagnose" children as ADHD are often lazy or frustrated and just want a calm docile student.
But to go from the idea that there are abuses to the idea that nearly no one benefits from psychotropic drugs is ridiculous, indicates faulty or nonexistent research, and possibly points to a closed mind on a complex subject.
There are times when such drugs are needed. In society past, people needing these drugs would have been hidden away, locked away, or conveniently helped to have "accidents". People didn't know what else to do with them. Today, with a larger population and a better understanding of human physiology, we can treat psychiatric difficulties with better effect.
No, our treatments are not perfect. But improvements often come over time, and we have improved.
I appreciate the author's zeal. We shouldn't medicate for just any reason. But she errs in her facts and her scope of application.
Yes, there are useful drugs for treating serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia, but those are obviously not the drugs the author is referring to.
No, we're a nation of the unnecessarily medicated, convinced by BigPharma that there's an easier way to cope with the dramas of life, and the medical and psychiatric professions are more than happy to write a script for us. It's no wonder we're so easily manipulated and controlled. We're too numbed-out to care.
If I had not already been taking antidepressants, I would most probably done away with myself when my LTR ended, since my ex made the ending as horrible as he could
That's where you're wrong. They are now commonly prescribing anti-psychotics to people with other "disorders". The psychiatric community is out of control.
Love that you're writing here now. This is my fave information source on the web. To anyone who hasn't read her book, I highly recommend it. It's fascinating.
Certainly there are many wonderful medications, but there are also many of them that are unnecessary and have become intrusive. Hey...I wonder if they have a pill for writer's block?
For all those who commented that there is a bias against the pharmaceutical companies, you are probably right to some degree. Let me explain. You too, have expressed an opinion based on anecdotal experience. I'm certain that Pamela agrees that there are many people who are properly medicated, and do well with their medications. I'm also certain Pamela is NOT advocating that they should not have been so prescribed, nor should they stop taking their meds!!! Her difficulty seems to be with the over prescriptive nature of the medical community to gather all patients with similar difficulties into the quick fix of pharmaceuticals. Let me be very clear, I AM SO GRATEFUL to be born in this generation as there are these medications to treat what ails me!!!!! I also know that it profits many to over prescribe to the masses, when potentially only a fraction of the patient population will truly benefit.
Pamela, I enjoyed the article, and reading the comments which followed. I can't wait to read your next one! Keep writing!
Been on psych meds for 15+ years now and wouldn't go back for any amount of money. I daily thank what ever gods there are for the pills I gladly swallow. My kid is on stimulants as well. His grades have improved dramatically and he doesn't get notes sent home every day.
Had I been born in the early 20th century, I would probably have hung myself in a stairwell or barn somewhere.
I flinch when I see a writer that uses anecdotal information in an article where you take a negative view of any medicine. If you feel so strongly about the possibility that authorities will step in, if a parent refuses a certain med for their child, post a link. Please.
Maybe you didn't consider what can happen when your words are "in print". Someone who has been thinking about seeing a physician can be scared by reading an article like yours. If you didn't take that into consideration this time, I surely hope you will the next time you write. .
I have been DXed with bipolar II. I take two meds and if I didn't have this medicine, I would be dead now. Please be mindful of the hundreds of thousands of patients who need their meds and are very grateful that we have them.
As for myself, if I was not taking an antidepressant, I would have ended it a couple of years ago, so due to medication, I will be around for my grandchild's 3rd birthday, that's a pretty postitive outcome
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQegsqYhuZE
And despite all the dangerous and useless drugs that are being peddled left and right in this country to anyone who has anything (restless leg syndrome....) marijuana remains illegal.