Medications

Disclaimer: All statements hereunder are only personal opinions and are not to be taken as final authority.

One of the things I am noticing, is the way doctors are prescribing mood altering drugs at an alarming rate of increase. If any illness is possible to be healed without medication it is the illnesses that relate to a persons thinking, and yet the medical professionals are now prescribing a single individual person a daily prescription of 5 or 6 different mood altering drugs to some of their patients. Without considering the fact that peoples livers are now at risk by having to process this amount of medication, is this the answer? I believe medication can help while a person is going through counseling, but to give people the idea that they can live the rest of their lives on mood enhancing medication could be doing them a great disservice.

The Bible teaches that many problems with peoples thinking start with merely a thought or doubt. To read a Biblical example of this, go to Genesis Chapter 3. The opening verse outlines a doubt that caused irreparable damage in a persons life.

To give you an idea of how doubts can cause problems in today's world, please consider the following scenario.

Let's say you are employed for 15 years, but your life starts getting stressful with family commitments and the various other situations in your life, and you notice that your life is becoming more of a juggling act. So much so, that you really aren't enjoying life as much, and you are finding yourself always tired. Then one day you're watching Dr. Phil, and you see him interview people who are confined to their home because of fear. You sympathize for them and think nothing more about it. A month down the road you get a cold or the flu, and you have to be bedridden for two weeks. Now you have become vulnerable to an 'attack'. Out of the blue, you get this bizarre thought "Can I hold down my job?" or "Can I carry on like everybody else?". Then a week later you get this thought. "Am I a little like those people on TV?"
It's just a question, so what could a harmless question do? Plenty. Because now you're on the 'hot seat'. 'Somebody'  or some 'thing' has just asked you a question, and you have to answer it. Now, if you don't have a strong faith or confidence in yourself, with which to answer the question with a resounding, "No!", you are headed down a slippery slope. You certainly don't want to answer it 'yes', but it feels like the answer is 'yes'. So now you carry on, but you've got this lingering question way at the back of your mind that is now eating away at your emotional reserves without you knowing it. Every day you put on your best face, because now you are operating in 'Fake it till you make it' mode. And every day seems to be getting just a little bit harder. You don't realize it, but by you not being able to resolve that nagging doubt, you develop a growing amount of anxiety. The anxiety taxes your already low level of stamina and soon you are in your doctors office. Your doctor recognizes the anxiety and prescribes medication. And if he doesn't tell you to go for counseling, you may find yourself becoming a slave to medication over time, and not anywhere nearer to the place of peace that you ultimately seek.

Nobody is knocking medication if it is absolutely necessary, but in the case of psychological problems, it is possible to resolve them without medication. Even some doctors are suggesting that we are too quick to use medication. Below is part of an article written by Dr. Gifford Jones, a writer of the newspaper column, The Doctor Game.

Excerpts from article:
Save the pills for those with bona-fide depression
By Dr. W. Gifford Jones

     ...What I find appalling today is the defeatism of those suffering from situational depression. Those who reach for Prozac, Valium, sleeping pills or other medication at the drop of a hat. No one would argue that 9/11 was not a horrendous day. But it's alarming that the number of people needing tranquilizers and other pacifiers jumped 35 % in the U.S. following this attack.

     The U.S. is unquestionably the world's military superpower. But one can also claim it's a nation of wimps when so many reach for billions of pills to soothe their nerves. I doubt that Osama Bin Laden, even if he's hiding in a cave, is reaching for Prozac.

     Pillitis has become an insidious cancer in our society and the Bin Ladens of the world are going to do us in if we don't toughen up. If a partner runs off with the local preacher, let time heal the wound, not Prozac, or other mind-numbing medication. Let's reserve the term depression for severe mental problems....

This information is not given to you to alarm you, but rather to let you know that there are options available for you. May you find helpful tips on this website and other websites that deal with recovery of emotional problems.

One Mother's Experience With Effexor

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