My mother feels strongly that psychiatric medication was invented by Satan himself to create an endless source of money for greedy bastards, off the "so called problems" of others. Therapy, that's what you need. Talk about your problems and they will go away. Woosh!
She is not alone. Lots of folks believe that the act of buying prescribed medication puts cash directly into the hands of terrorists. Particularly when it comes to medication for children, there are tons of people out there who believe that a good spanking and some structure will cure all emotional and behavioral disorders. There is the Holier Than Thou group that says "I would NEVER drug my child, I will LOVE my child". Then there is the You are a Lazy Parent group. Parents who put their children on meds just don't want to discipline. They want to watch Real Housewives of Idaho without having to get up to pour water on the fire the child just started in the carpet.
Here is what irritates me..... I am consistently hearing or reading statements like "everyone agrees medications are over-perscribed" or "we all know these meds are over used" etc, and where I find these statements are directly following a persons explanation of why they are using psych meds themselves or with their children. It has become the common disclaimer. "Well, I use them but I agree that too many people rely on them".
Really?
Who?
As much as I love and adore the Motherlode blog at the New York Times, I found similar comments in a blog post there. It seems every time an article is written about the over use of medication or the (pseudo) reasons they really don't work, the people who rush to defend the use feel compelled to say it. Meds saved my life but are given out too quickly.
Again, who exactly are those others?
Not you of course.
Clearly there are people out there who abuse medications. There are people who abuse cough syrup. There are people who abuse spray paint. There are people who abuse the dusting stuff in a can for your computer keyboard. There is the abomination of people who trick doctors into diagnosing their child with a mental or physical illness in order to obtain cash in the form of SSI. It happens. It is child abuse. Wherever there is a system to help people there will always be jackasses who take advantage in ugly ways.
So for the people who believe that all doctors do is prescribe medication, I have this to say. That's their job. You go to a doctor for a problem, who has spent a thousand years getting that degree, and if there is a medication to help that problem, you will probably get a prescription to take home with you.
Here is the problem as I see it. You hired the wrong person to consult with.
If you are looking for a treatment for your child's symptoms of mental illness, see a therapist.
If you are looking for help with your child's behavior, see a Behavior Management professional.
If you are looking for information about the effects of food on your child, see a nutritionist.
If you want information on vitamin supplements for your child, go into any vitamin store and the staff will talk the ears right off your head.
If you want to know about alternatives such as acupuncture, find an acupuncturist!
If you think your child is over-medicated, tell the doctor NO. NO more meds, NO more of this med. NO thank you I don't want meds.
If you want to complain that too many children are diagnosed with a mental illness, behavior/emotional issues etc, I will absolutely agree with you. However, to attribute the issue to the doctor who identified the disorder is just pure jackassery. If you feel the need to complain about the rate of occurrence look around you.
What the hell is causing our children so many problems?
Did you know that fruit pesticides are known to cause ADHD? Did you know that those pesticides are in the bodies of over 90% of all children in this country? Of course if you take that child with ADHD symptoms to a psychiatrist you will probably get a script. If you take that child to a nutritionist you will likely get a recommendation to buy only organic fruit and use and Omega 3-6-9 supplement. If you take the child to a Behavior Specialist you will get a list of things to do such as keep a quiet, dimly lit area with minimal decor for your child to decompress when hyper.
100 years ago, children were not diagnosed with ADHD. 100 years ago, mothers did not have jet fuel show up in their breast milk. 100 years ago you could walk out to just about any body of water in this country and swim in it. You could fish in it and then eat the fish. Pink Slime was not yet invented.
I guess in previous generations people believed that doctors knew everything. In the year 2012, it has become so incredibly complex and multifaceted, no single person or profession is going to have expertise on all of it. Tremendous leaps happen every day in all domains of human biology. We have to stop expecting to be told. We also have to stop blaming the person we can see and start thinking about the gargantuan environmental mess we have made.
("YOU" refers to all the complainers, blamers, diminishers, people who do not take responsibility for their health care, or wait to be told what to do. "YOU" does not refer to the reader here) .
