Lately there has been an onslaught of articles and books written on the subject of the use of psychotropic drugs in our country and as Judith Warner states; "on the way the pharmaceutical industry is turning us into a nation of hypochondriacal pill-popping zombies"
Being a person who has participated in all types of psychotherapy for the better part of my adult life; and less significantly, has a degree in psychology, I feel I can shed some light on why so many people have started to rely on the "easy fix" rather than do the real work needed to become a functioning "whole' person with the ability to deal with this thing we call life.
The common belief is rather simple: it's just easier. But is it really?
I often find myself in conversations with family members and friends that involve repetitive problems, by which I mean issues in our lives that have been recurring in various degrees. No matter whether the names or places change, the problems are always essentially the same.
Some examples are; Sarah always ends up in a "bad" relationship with men that leave her, Brian always ends up hating his boss and thus his job, John always ends up broke even after making a good living in various careers, Linda always ends up gaining all her weight back plus some after years of trying every kind of diet...
When I hear they’re starting over again and I earnestly asked the question "What's different about this time?" What I often get in response are: long litanies of how the outside events or people have changed; how they’ve read a book or met someone; moved to a new location… inevitably to be told, by the same people, weeks, months or years later, that things are failing again.
Rarely, do I ever hear people talk about how they themselves have changed or how they have been working through issues around these recurring problems in their lives. Why? Because, the belief is, it takes too long to do that, it's too hard to look that deep at oneself, having to face the possibility that you have been off track all these years. Realizing that you have been under a false belief(s) most of your life, and facing that your childhood was devoid of at least good enough parenting, and that you have been chasing after an illusion your entire life would be devastating.
I have seen many of these people decide to take drugs for their "depression" and I can tell you that the only real difference is now they don't care as much. "The lows are not so low and the highs are not so high." They haven't really cleaned their houses; they just stopped looking at the mess.
Yes, it's sometimes extremely difficult to face these things, but isn't it much more difficult to live a life NOT facing it? Having half a life, where you've resigned yourself to not being fully gratified in love and work; to not feeling vibrant in your body, not feeling like you're expressing yourself creatively, not being who you came here to be? Living a life that is only deteriorating as we get older?
That half-life, compared to one that is working towards self-truth, no matter how painful, is one of the biggest ongoing crimes we are committing, a crime against ourselves. Someday, when you've opened your eyes to the mess again, it will be much worse, realizing it doesn't ever go away on it's own, only now you have less time to do anything about it.
By taking these drugs you have succeeded in numbing yourself of feelings, yet the pills don't erase the pain or the impetus beneath the repetition compulsions that exist in our daily lives, they don't make up for bad parenting, and they don't allow us to feel the feelings that are a vital part of the human condition, the feelings that could heal us. Feelings are what alert us to what is really happening in our lives, they are our compasses; if we remove them we are lost.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Drugs vs. Therapy
Posted by Mary at 10:01 AM
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4 Comments:
In most cases I don't think that there ever is a "Drugs vs. Therapy" situation. Assuming that you were prescribed the drugs by your therapist's recommendation you would be taking them in conjunction with therapy.
In my case my strong "feelings" brought on by my situation inhibited my being able to function and think about anything other than suicide and depression. Unfortunately 1 hour of therapy a week was unable to help me focus and function on what I needed to do to help myself. By taking medication it greatly aided my ability to shift my focus and not be consumed by depression and fear. It allowed me function better, laugh when before I was consumed by sadness and just take life a little easier.
Now taking medication to completely avoid and issue I don't even think is possible. But taking it to help a person cope with an issue I see nothing wrong with. I resisted taking meds for a long time but now when I see myself without them and I see myself with them I have to say they have helped.
I appreciate your concern for the general population taking medications without working on their issues. I am a therapist who works with a high risk population. Some are young women who have been sexually abused. Many are addicts who have symptoms of PTSD. These symptoms are debilitating such as flash backs and nightmares. I have seen medication as being a valuable part of their therapy. It has allowed them to work through these painful issues and take more from therapy then if they weren't taking these medications. You need to be careful about generalizing your ideas to all the populations which may view your article. There is value in medication if patients are overwhelmed with symptoms of their pathology which make it difficult to function in everyday life and in therapy. Are you going to deny patients that are suffering these debilitating symptoms the relief that medications may give to help them function in order to make progress on their core issues and live a more fulling life.
Regarding the comment by the "Anonymous" therapist, I would like to respond as a therapist myself for 30 years. I agree that one shouldn't be dogmatic about the effects and applications of psychotropic medications, positive or negative, and certainly not in the case of emergencies in the short-run, where one may be suicidal or homocidal and need to be momentarily relieved of life-threatening impulses. But beyond those extreme cases, most such drugs are "penny-wise and pound-foolish," alleviating pain in the moment in exchange for truly debilitating limitations in quality of life in the long run.
"Making progress on one's core issues in order to have a more fulfilling life" is not a luxury or an option, like something that one may or may not to add to an automobile when purchasing it. Fulfillment is the very purpose of life. And at the end of a life, few people take heart in looking back at their years of living to proclaim that they "functioned." Most people on their deathbeds would rather be able to say that they struggled, suffered somewhat, had ups and downs, but they went for it, strove towards their own fulfillment, and stayed conscious and fully feeling through the best and the worst of times. The basic effect of every drug for depression and anxiety is to inhibit feelings and alter consciousness. "Functioning," after all, may be found to be a bit overrated when evaluating a life. As the master poet Robert Frost said: "The best way out is always through."
Peter
I would like to add this beautiful quote by Thomas Moore (author of Care of the Soul) for consideration:
"The Greeks told the story of the minotaur, the bull-headed flesh-eating man who lived in the center of the labyrinth. He was a threatening beast, and yet his name was Asterion - Star. I often think of this paradox as I sit with someone with tears in her eyes, searching for some way to deal with a death, a divorce, or a depression. It is a beast, this thing that stirs in the core of her being, but it is also the star of her innermost nature. We have to care for this suffering with extreme reverence so that, in our fear and anger at the beast, we do not overlook the star."
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