A Prozac Nation
With every passing year, it becomes more and more common to meet people with some kind of problem. May it be depression, anxiety, or some other issue, in today's quick fix world, there is typically some form of over priced medication to help them deal with it. Children are given Ritalin to calm them down and keep them from shouting in class, and it is no secret that we are becoming known as the Prozac generation. However, is that really the only way out?
Over the years, I have seen many rely on prescription drugs to live their lives. I understand that there are circumstances where a chemical deficiency causes instability; however I like to believe that a lot of the cases in today’s society are more mental, and I believe that such problems do not always require medical attention, rather perhaps a psychiatric approach.
It was my dad that helped me realize that prescriptions are unnecessary most of the times, when he was prescribed anti-depressants. He was having a hard time at work, and with my mom working nights, he felt like there was no one around when he needed them. Arguments broke out, and we all hoped that these anti-depressants would help. He did change, but to our surprise the pills had nothing to do with it. It was enough for him to realize what was going on, and he was able to change his way with something as simple as will power.
As I have grown up, I too have been faced with difficult and stressful situations. I pride myself on the fact that I have been able to stay calm during hard times, be it a coming exam or my folks contemplating divorce. I credit this to my views that life moves on. Learn from your mistakes and take the situation head on. On the other side of the scale however, my sister seems to stress over the slightest thing. Family get-togethers seem to be as stressful for her as a major exam. At some points, she even turned to herbal supplements to help relieve her anxiety.
I like to believe that if anyone has the desire, that they can essentially control their emotions. In all essence, something like being able to talk in front of the class is nothing more than your views about yourself and how others look at you. I believe that such views can be adjusted to better suit a person, and this could be done more with logic rather than medication.
Not everyone has a close friend or family member that will help them with their problems. In fact, sometimes it is these people who may cause some of them. With such cases, I believe that psychiatry can be helpful. I have seen people use psychiatrists as mediators between parents and children. Likewise I have seen psychiatrists work much like many doctors do: Instead of finding the source of the problem, they simply prescribe medication to deal with the symptoms.
Psychiatrists tend to focus on understanding people, which may be helpful to them. The problem arises when they cannot teach their patients to understand themselves. If people were more aware of why they feel the way they do, they would much better be able to control their feelings and emotions. By no means would that fix the worlds problems, but it would make their lives better.
In today's world of diet pills, anti-depressants, it's common to try to get a quick fix for whatever the problem is. As with any crutch, one cannot live a normal life unless these crutches are pushed away. Instead of teaching people to take the easy way out, we should realize that a positive mindset and logical thinking can be a more affective solution.