Opinions: Prescription Drugs?

[MoralLibertarian]

There are some that believe that all personal flaws (for example social anxiety) can be solved with prescription drugs. There are others who believe that all aliments can be cured naturally, like Christian Scientists and Kevin Trudeau.

What do you think about prescription drugs? Are they ever necessary? Are they just a ploy for the greedy healthcare companies to make more money? Can social anxiety be beat by other means, like prayer or spirituality? What do the holy books say about such drugs?

[Jimsween]

I'm curious, how is a depression 'cured' by prayer or spirituality any different than a depression 'cured' by prescription drugs, or even illegal drugs or alcohol?

[AapoJoki]

I think it's the shrinks getting lazy. Instead of trying to figure out people's problems they'll just prescribe stuff.

Imagine Dr. Phil doing it. "Y'all just need to get some pills."

[fahrenheit]

Prescription drugs just numb the pain, it doesnt stop it.
And I am not going to pay 200 bucks a month because my phyciatrist doesnt have the energy to find out what my problems are.

[drDAK]

At 10/22/05 08:14 PM, MoralLibertarian wrote: There are some that believe that all personal flaws (for example social anxiety) can be solved with prescription drugs.

Let us not confuse mental and physical problems with emotional problems. The soul cannot be "cured" as you say, the choice to do eveything involving the soul lies in the soul's power itself.

What do you think about prescription drugs? Are they ever necessary?

Of course, we all know medicine works with phycial and mental concerns, but no proof has ever been cited about it "healing the soul".

[IllustriousPotentate]

Are some prescriptions necessary? Of course.

However, in terms of mood, anxiety, and behavioral change, I think many prescriptions are wrongly prescribed, or could be treated other ways, through adaptation and change of lifestyle.

[fli]

Prescription drugs for pshycological problems are necessary, however they shouldn't be viewed as a cure to problems.

They need work in conjuction with thereapy, otherwise being dependent on prescription drugs adds even more problems.

[jmaster306]

It swings both ways really. On one end some psychological problems cannot exactly be dealt with just therapy (like schizophrenia) no matter how good the psychologist is. On the other you have your run of the mill depression that is best treated through therapy so that the problems get solved. I would agree that many psychiatrists are too ready to prescribe drugs to their patients, but that is in no way saying that prescribing drugs in the first place is a bad thing.

Then again, I have a slight bias to the usefulness of drugs since I hope to make a career our of developing new and better ones.

[Coldmetaldeath]

At 10/22/05 08:19 PM, Jimsween wrote: I'm curious, how is a depression 'cured' by prayer or spirituality any different than a depression 'cured' by prescription drugs, or even illegal drugs or alcohol?

I have to take a powerful dosage of Luvox or i will feel like shit and be basicaly an asshole to everyone. Luvox and Aderol are the only drugs i take. I find it angering when these Naturalists say depression can be cured by "St. John's Wart". That is bullshit.
I need a PILL DAMNIT!!

[smith916]

Spritual healing can work if you beleive that it can work, similar to hypnosis, which is a slight flaw.

Kevins ideas about healing are more focused on untampered foods and natural cures for sicknessess that are alot more acsessable then a prescription pill. Not all pills are deliberatly uneffective, or uneffective at all, not all health problems can be cured with simple stuff you find in your refrigerator.

How do you think people managed to stay alive when there weren't pills and medications, they used other things. The government (house of Rep, more so) is trying to get him to shut up but unfortunatly unless they can proove him wrong, he can say whatever he likes, and he's not

[DMXRoid]

Reliance on prescription drugs is a crutch that we increasingly prescribe to ourselves to make it less necessary to deal with reality. The wide range of symptoms that qualify you for such catch-all conditions like "depression", "hyperactivity", and "anxiety" have started the process of turning us into a nation of medicated zombies. If they gave you acid, or DMT, or 2ci or something, drugs that would help you expand your consciousness, instead of things like Prozac, Zoloft, Ritalin, and Lithium, which impose a permanent haze on an individual, decreasing their humanity.

More importantly, it's a sign of weakness. Except for in a very small number of cases, like schizophrenia, pills are just what whiny bitches who listen to a lot of Goth music and cut themselves, and then go to the all-night coffee shops and compare scars take to try to be different, and front their "diseases".

We'd be a lot better off if they'd all just hurry up and get AIDS.

[smith916]

Please dont call yourself a rightist if your going to tell people you prey for mass genocide through apadameia...

Acording to kevin, people have the capasaty to heal themselfs, and make themselfs amune to the worst kinds of diseases through the releiving of stress and anxiety, sounds similar to what you said.

He also says somthing that cought me by surprize, Aids is a disease, man made desined to get people sick, (it might have been cancer, it's been a long time since i've heard of him) if somone invented a pill that could cure it, they would make billions, and they are even now.

[Elfer]

Err, I think prescription drugs are pretty good for things like physical ailments.

Also, I think that while overprescribed, they are useful in certain cases. For example, I had a friend with ADD before I moved. ADD is generally a bullshit diagnosis, but he had a legitimate case. He was fairly normal when he took the medication, but one day he forgot about it and let it slide, and ended up jumping off of his roof. He was fine, but he decided to stick to the medication from then on.

However, I think there are also cases where it's better that problems like that be solved personally rather than by drugs. For example, I used to have depression and occasional anxiety attacks. Rather than going to see a psychiatrist about this and get doped up, I decided that I'd do some lengthy thinking and reflection on things, and about what was the cause behind my problems. And you know what, I came up with perfect, elegant solutions to everything. It was all just about thought patterns for me.

I'd say that now, while perhaps not well-adjusted, I am intensely happy.

[Samuel-HALL]

At 10/22/05 08:14 PM, MoralLibertarian wrote: Are they ever necessary?

Yes. Quite often, actually.

Can social anxiety be beat by other means, like prayer or spirituality?

Depends. If the anxiety is an issue of a certain mindset, or mental conditioning...prayer, and such, may work.
But, if it's a chemical imbalance of some sort (as many anxiety/depression cases are), nothing but drugs can alleviate it.

At 10/22/05 11:47 PM, Velocitom wrote: Prescription drugs just numb the pain, it doesnt stop it.
And I am not going to pay 200 bucks a month because my phyciatrist doesnt have the energy to find out what my problems are.

You're missing the point.
Many anxiety and depression cases are a result of a chemical imbalance in the brain.
Therapy cannot cure a chemical imbalance. A change in enviroment does not correct a chemical imbalance. Praying, and church, do not correct a chemical imbalance. 'Talking about it' does nothing for a chemical imabalance.
The only way to alleviate a chemical imbalance is to balance the body's receptors, and such. And the only current way our society has to do that is prescription drugs.

Stop being so afraid of medicine.

[DirtySyko]

I'm a lot more for herbal treatments, a healthy diet, and just talking to somebody. But as a lot of people have said already, some times you do need it. People with very high levels of ADD or adults with severe, dangerous depression. Also though, if you're depressed and on some pills, you should still be seeing a therapist.

When it comes to teenagers I'm more against pills for depression. It seems people have forgotten teenagers go through emotional stages. Maybe it's just my stupid opinion, but I don't think you should be giving a teenager pills for depression when it's natural for him/her to be feeling depressed. Sounds like a good way to cause long term affects.

From what I saw in highschool, I'd say 80% of people on pills shouldn't have been taking them. And I believe our diets really play a vital role in this. You eat like shit you'll feel like shit. If people started eating better they wouldn't feel so fucking depressed. The only reason some of these people have a chemical imbalance is because they keep eating Big Macs.

I used to be depressed, and have my ups and downs like anyone else, but I decided at one point to see a therapist. We had our sessions for a while, and by the 5th one he wanted to give me medication. He also knew I had a physical problem with my heart and had had surgery, and still insisted on giving me meds. I have my doubts that he checked with doctors if it was okay to give me the pills, though I didn't even take them. I stopped going after that day.

All you need is a little bit of pot and booze, and you'll be fine.

[IllustriousPotentate]

At 11/5/05 12:24 AM, DirtySyko wrote: I'm a lot more for herbal treatments, a healthy diet, and just talking to somebody. But as a lot of people have said already, some times you do need it. People with very high levels of ADD or adults with severe, dangerous depression. Also though, if you're depressed and on some pills, you should still be seeing a therapist.

When it comes to teenagers I'm more against pills for depression. It seems people have forgotten teenagers go through emotional stages. Maybe it's just my stupid opinion, but I don't think you should be giving a teenager pills for depression when it's natural for him/her to be feeling depressed. Sounds like a good way to cause long term affects.

Well, there is a difference between clinical depression and just being depressed. Being depressed is one of the symptoms of clinical depression, along with anxiety, mood swings, insomnia, etc., and clinical depression is actually a medical problem that may require medication and medical treatment.

Now, the problem is, so many people just get in a funk for a while, and go to their doctor to get a pill to make it feel better. Those are the people that need to be treated through counseling, etc.

From what I saw in highschool, I'd say 80% of people on pills shouldn't have been taking them.

That sounds about right.

And I believe our diets really play a vital role in this. You eat like shit you'll feel like shit. If people started eating better they wouldn't feel so fucking depressed. The only reason some of these people have a chemical imbalance is because they keep eating Big Macs.

While it's hard to say if, and what, changes in a diet can have a curative affect on disease and physical and mental conditions, I agree wholeheartedly that a well balanced diet is much healthier and energetic.

[thetootoo]

wtf is all this soul bs?? before you start talking "facts" you should get them straight.

[Tri-Nitro-Toluene]

At 11/4/05 10:17 PM, Coldmetaldeath wrote: Naturalists say depression can be cured by "St. John's Wart". That is bullshit.
I need a PILL DAMNIT!!

St Johns wart has been meidcally proven to cure depression. My mom is a pharmacist and when she was diagnosed with depression she took St Johns Wart as part of her medication,and my mom hates taking medicine so she's not likely to take soemthing that doesn't work.

[Samuel-HALL]

At 11/5/05 12:24 AM, DirtySyko wrote: When it comes to teenagers I'm more against pills for depression. It seems people have forgotten teenagers go through emotional stages. Maybe it's just my stupid opinion, but I don't think you should be giving a teenager pills for depression when it's natural for him/her to be feeling depressed. Sounds like a good way to cause long term affects.

I'll conceed that too many parents feed their teenagers drugs, for normal stages of maturing. However, I have to say that there's a difference from 'normal' teenage angst/depression...and a full blown, obvious case of depression.

A fine line needs to be walked.
While our society should refrain from taking an anti-depressant every time we're feeling down, we also need to make sure that true cases of depression are not discredited.

You eat like shit you'll feel like shit. If people started eating better they wouldn't feel so fucking depressed.

Eh. I refute that with my own case scenario: I eat like shit, and feel great.

I actually live a very unhealthy lifestyle. I mean, I get loads of excercise on a daily basis, from working construction...but my diet is shit.
I eat fast-food/restaurant-food for two meals a day. I, like many Americans, do not have it in my schedule to prepare many of my own meals. That, and I don't dig a wheat-bagel and a handful of raisins, for breakfast.
I smoke two packs a day, drink beer on a daily basis, and smoke loads of pot.
I go through a bottle of pepto-bismal a week, due to my nerves making my stomache eat itself. Literally, apparantly.

And, despite all of that...I'm one of the happiest guys you'll ever meet. And if came down with clinical/enviromental depression, tomorrow...I'd be pretty fucking offended if someone brushed away my ailment, because of my 'diet and lifestyle'.

But that's just me.

All you need is a little bit of pot and booze, and you'll be fine.

So you support self-medicating, as oppossing to clinical-medicating?

Six to one, half a dozen to another. Salems ease my nerves. That don't work for everyone. Some people need the pills.

And even if they don't need them, so the fuck what? If taking the pills makes whatever their ailment is go away, then the ends justify the means. If the pills make them feel better...the need has been met.

Do you think beer and pot really fix anything? 'Course not. They just make us feel better...just like anti-depressants do, for others..

[FreezerBorn]

I think for the most part its the fact that people don't want to seek help or take the time to help themselves that makes them so depressed. Yes, there are people that have real disorders, but from my own experiences I've noticed that people just don't care to analyze their situtations and improve them. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there has been any group or label that has been associated with being depressed other than maybe grumpy mcgrumpster before goth. I mean not every gothic person out there is depressed, but from what I've seen most of them are. Who knows maybe its this whole idea of goth that doesn't nessicarily cause depression, but makes it more easily acceptable. Gives them a reason to be depressed because they're part of some group. Maybe I'm just being an idiot but here's an example, say this normally happy young man takes an interest in heavy metal, and meets people into the same music that wear black clothes and talk about their problems all day. Hes going to find that interest in common with them, the music, and create other common interests to be accepted.

Emo seems to be the newest craze of angst filled teens. I've had a few friends that turned 'emo' and my nephew is one of them. It's impossible to talk these people into doing anything fun, all they want to do is sit in a circle with their friends, complain and try to top each others sad stories. They choose to surround themselves with sadness.

Therapists can sometimes work against you. I saw one and its like instead of helping me he explained that I was depressed and needed to be on medication and I really believed it. I even tried some meds for 3 weeks and I felt so much worst during that time. I stopped seeing him soon after I stopped taking the meds. Then I stopped eating junk like McDonalds and now I make sure I MAKE time to cook myself something healthy. I also walk alot, drink alot of water, and stopped talking to my depressed friends. I rarely get depressed now and if I do its nothing a drive in my car or walk can't fix. I wish my therapist would have explained the alternative ways first.

If all else failed alcohol and pot work great just like Syko said!

[velocitom]

At 11/4/05 11:29 PM, _FLAGG wrote: Many anxiety and depression cases are a result of a chemical imbalance in the brain.

I know four people with what you would consider a chemical imbalance in the brain, and all four of them became that way because of chemical treatment. Either by physical reactions or bad medicine.
And not all medicines are bad, I agree that some people do need medicine to survive. But when your whole life is about making money to buy your drugs so you can make some more money, than you dont have much of a life do you?

Stop being so afraid of medicine.

I am not afraid of medicine, its that most people abuse it or dont need it.

[Samuel-HALL]

At 11/6/05 03:48 AM, -Raptor- wrote:

At 11/4/05 11:29 PM, _FLAGG wrote: Many anxiety and depression cases are a result of a chemical imbalance in the brain.

I know four people with what you would consider a chemical imbalance in the brain, and all four of them became that way because of chemical treatment. Either by physical reactions or bad medicine.

That's nothing but heresay. Obviously, they were put on the medicine for some reason.
Saying that the medicine caused the disorder is like saying incarceration caused the criminals violent mentality.

And not all medicines are bad, I agree that some people do need medicine to survive. But when your whole life is about making money to buy your drugs so you can make some more money, than you dont have much of a life do you?

It depends on if you value a stable, non-chemically-unbalanced existance.
Why don't you respect people's right to treat their own disorders?
If praying works for some people, awesome. If therapy is your bag, go for it.
If prozac makes you feel better, buy as much as you can.

It's just America, man.

Stop being so afraid of medicine.

I am not afraid of medicine, its that most people abuse it or dont need it.

That's your rightfully entitled opinion. Just don't press that ideal on other people.

[velocitom]

At 11/6/05 10:08 PM, _FLAGG wrote: Saying that the medicine caused the disorder is like saying incarceration caused the criminals violent mentality.

No, saying that when someone was ordered some depressants and there mind reacted bad to it and now its screwed up and they have to take a shit load of medicine and sell a lot of there belongings to afford it, is more like it.

Why don't you respect people's right to treat their own disorders?

What would lead you to that conclusion? Its not that I think less of a person because they use prescription medicine, its just if I had the option I would avoid using it myself.

If prozac makes you feel better, buy as much as you can.

I could care less if someone buys a lot of medicine to make them feel better, infact I would just tell them to go buy some weed because its cheaper. I am just saying that I personally wouldnt use drugs if I didnt need it.

Just don't press that ideal on other people.

Did I ever give off anything that I would?

[ShitstormLX]

At 10/22/05 08:14 PM, MoralLibertarian wrote: There are some that believe that all personal flaws (for example social anxiety) can be solved with prescription drugs. There are others who believe that all aliments can be cured naturally, like Christian Scientists and Kevin Trudeau.

What do you think about prescription drugs? Are they ever necessary? Are they just a ploy for the greedy healthcare companies to make more money? Can social anxiety be beat by other means, like prayer or spirituality? What do the holy books say about such drugs?

Of course we need prescription drugs but when you're talking about those anti-depressants like prozac there they just want your money right now a lot of feelings like being sad (aka Social Anxiety Disorder) are now medical conditions somethingg gotta give

[JoS]

Ok here is my take. I think that in some cases prescription drugs are neccisary, but should be complemented by changes in ones lifestyle (excersize, spirtatulity, finding a purpose). Some people like me do need the assitance of drugs, but we seem to look at them as the whole solution, when they should only be seen as aprt of it. Would you give a diabetic insulin and tell them to eat whatever they want and not excercize?