Let me get one thing straight before I proceed. There are many psychiatric illnesses that are quite severe, and require medication in order for the person to even be able to function normally.
I’m not going to talk about those situations.
In reality, the majority of people who end up being prescribed psychiatric drugs, including children, are probably diagnosed for their conditions in a very questionable manner.
How many children are put on drugs because they don’t pay attention to their teachers, or act spontaneously hyper? I tend to think it is naive to expect children to earnestly pay attention for long hours in school, or to sit still when they have such boundless energy. We’re medicating them for being children, just because they don’t fit into the rigid paradigm of modern western society.
There are however, much more serious and heartbreaking scenarios, like you will learn about if you watch the video I’m linking to below. So many people dabble with medications without giving a second thought to the potential side-effects. And even worse, if you might feel inclined to worry about side-effects, it’s hard to know if a drug has even been tested in good faith by the pharmaceutical company that produces it.
Personally, I tend to opt for pre-hab when it comes to illness. I strive to maintain a good diet, get some sunshine, adequate rest, and engage in vigorous exercise to keep my body operating in the manner which it was intended. That is the easiest and most effective way to preclude the need for medication. If medication is needed, I recommend expending a great deal of effort in researching and learning everything you can about the illness and the remedy.
Don’t blindly trust a pharmaceutical company to provide you with a cure to everything that ails you.
Here is a personal anecdote. A while back I was approached by a co-worker at my former job about some of the topics I wrote about. She was interested in my thoughts on why she had trouble sleeping. Apparently, she had trouble falling asleep every night and when she did it was of poor quality. I went through a laundry list of things which could affect one’s sleep patterns, like stress, over-training, stimulants, blue light, and I explained how many of those things disrupt one’s cortisol levels.
This piqued her interest, because she mentioned that she was taking a drug to replace her body’s cortisol due to permanent damage of her adrenal glands. If she didn’t take her pill everyday she would die. Apparently, her doctor neglected to tell her that she shouldn’t take her pills right before bed, because the heightened cortisol levels would keep her awake. Amazing.
There we have a case where medication is absolutely essential for life to continue, and yet the application of the pharmaceutical is still misapplied due to a lack of competence by the doctor. How many situations have you been in where you’ve taken a medication on a whim, and it could have a potentially dangerous reaction? It’s hard to say, but if you don’t know what’s at stake, is the gamble worth it?
Now, I’d hate for you to think that I believe all doctors or psychiatrists are shills and dolts. In fact, there is a particular psychiatrist which I hold in high esteem, due to her knowledge of evolutionary health and how good nutrition is in some cases a superior antidote for many neurological ailments.
If you don’t already read Dr. Emily Deans blog “Evolutionary Psychiatry“, I encourage you to check it out. She is a breath of fresh air in a field which, in my opinion, best exemplifies the problems which are created when health and profits are competing interests.
Finally, below is a link to a video which I think everyone should watch. It is a brief highlight of the story of Gwen Olson, a once successful pharmaceutical sales rep. now on a mission to stop the over-medication of our children. Let me know what you think.
If you enjoyed this article, get email updates (it's free).
9 Responses to The Overmedication of America
Want to Learn More?
If you are unfamiliar with some of the topics that I’m discussing, you should enroll in my free five part email tutorial.
You’ll receive a series of emails answering the main questions you probably have about natural diet and fitness.
David Recommends...
Great post. It’s amazing how much you can improve a child’s behavior just by changing the diet. Food dyes, trans fats, and sugar itself have been known for a while to be a cause of hyper activity in children. Amazingly enough Europe listened to the studies and food with synthetic colors aimed at children have warning labels on them. This of course led to products without synthetic food dyes..
There are endless stories of behavior improvements just by cleaning up the diet in a child’s life. It is so sad to see how they put them on ritalin instead of investigating if dietary changes would be enough.
My youngest son was bored in school when he was in first grade and second grade. I think that is a big problem today, that they expect everyone to be able to fit in to the teaching.
Digging deeper we discover how important gut health is for mental health. Have you heard of the book It’s Not Mental? A mom heals her daughter’s multiple mental disorders by removing gluten, processed foods, hormonal balancing etc..
http://itsnotmental.blogspot.com/
Jo at Jo’s Health Corner´s last [type] ..Essential Oils for the Garden
Jo, thank you – I’ve haven’t read that book before, I’ll be sure to check it out!
Hi David! Thanks for the vote of confidence – I think coming from the “inside” that most psychiatrists are really trying to help in the context of very chronic and debilitating disorders. There are a lot of forces, some corrupt, some not, but geared with conventional wisdom, leading us astray no matter what our good intentions are. I hope that modern medicine can come to terms with the body of literature of evolutionary medicine – as it is eminently sensible and helpful.
All best!
Emily
Great post David.
I wish more Doctors would search for the root cause of problems before prescribing meds, but I think in many cases the Physician is simply giving the patient what they want. People like yourself (and your readers) who search for the cause of the problem or a try life-style adjustment to relieve symptoms seem to be the exception rather than the rule. As you well know, modern society has been brainwashed to believe that a pill is the answer to everything.
Unfortunately this problem will probably only get worse as today’s young people mature. Check out this video about the disturbing trend for our young people to isolate themselves from the natural world. How can they even begin to look for natural cures or healthier outdoor habits, if they rarely step outside?
Chris´s last [type] ..Too Much- Too Soon
Thank you David. Thanks, Jo. I added a link to this to my: “We Have Sick Children” post. I watched the video with all-too much first-hand experience. She expressed some things that my own children have said – both about the chemical strait-jacket, and the diagnosing the “mental” illness without knowing the cause. One says she accepts using a psych med as an emergency “strait-jacket” while looking for the cause but that is not what happens. They get the label. They get the drugs, and that’s it. That’s where it ends. That should only be the beginning.
And getting off the psych meds even when they are not necessary, and no longer useful. It was very difficult for them to get off due to withdrawal symptoms! That’s another “Gotcha” by the pharmaceutical industry and something the psychiatrists did not tell us.
Jeanie´s last [type] ..Gut- Brain- Bacteria- and Behavior
I will defend doctors in that they are the only medical professionals legally allowed to prescribe drugs. So naturally it’s seems like that’s what they do a lot of. And, like Chris said, that’s often what people want them to do. For me, it’s always been logical to take the approach that first you control all the variables you can related to your health (diet, exercise, sunlight/vit D, sleep, reducing stressors, etc) and then, if that hasn’t worked, you seek medical attention/advice. Sadly, most people seem to go right to the perceived “quick fix” and end up masking their problems or giving themselves a bunch of new ones.
Oh and don’t even get me started on medicating children for having behaviours that adults have deemed problematic. The only thing problematic with our poor kids is their bad luck in being born into a society that sets them up for failure with a crappy diet and not enough physical freedom.
[...] Think twice before popping those pills… Prescriptions should be used only when natural methods aren’t enough. Read more in The Overmedication of America. [...]
[...] Think twice before popping those pills… Prescriptions should be used only when natural methods aren’t enough. Read more in The Overmedication of America. [...]