I remember being miserable in my dorm room many years ago with my first experience with the stomach flu living away from home. I called my mom, of course, to see what I should do, to ask what pill I should take to make it all go away. My mom of course told me my only hope was to let it run its course and eat some saltines and drink Sprite. WHAT?!?! There was no magic pill that would make it all go away? I had to be miserable for how long? Turns out it was probably the work of some questionable food I ate in the dining hall that was making me pray for a VERY speedy recovery, as the bathroom was reallllly far away down the hall!
Guess you are wondering what my point is here? We live in an age when we have whatever we want, when we want it, all at our fingertips. We really don’t have to wait for much anymore. This is true for when we don’t feel good, we want that quick fix, that magic pill to make it all go away. And at times, there is that magic pill available to us. I thank the makers of antibiotics every time my daughter gets an ear infection, as it usually goes away pretty quickly! However, what about those times we are anxious or depressed and want that quick fix to make it all go away? Not that easy unfortunately.
When we are looking at something like anxiety or depression, there is usually some underlying cause. Are you anxious over finances, your job, your current relationship, driving in the snow, being in a plane and the list goes on…And yes, at times, anxiety medication is very beneficial to ease the symptoms. However, is it treating the cause? That pill will not make money appear in your checking account or make your co-worker act exactly the way you want them to. That pill might make you relax or to sleep better and make it easier to take on another day. But do you want to have to rely on a pill forever? For instance, a diabetic can take medications for diabetes to lessen the symptoms. However, making changes as well like diet and exercise can alleviate the need for that medication. The same with anxiety and depression can be true. Talking with a professional and getting to the root of the problem could be the trick to not having to rely on those medications. A counselor can help you find that cause, to discover the tools that you already have inside you in order to deal with things head on. No, it’s not an overnight process, but it is possible to work through these things and get your life under YOUR control, not under the control of medications.
Now here comes the disclaimer…..as I used to work closely with psychiatrists, who might argue some of the above points…I completely agree that medications ARE needed and beneficial to many people with mental illness. I pointed out above that medications are there to assist and work to help you better cope with things. Yes, some people truly NEED the medications to function on a day to day basis. However, the purpose of this post is to shed a little different light on things and maybe get some to think about things a little differently. Back in college I wanted that magic pill and if it was available, I would have been the first in line for it, however, I just had to give it time for that questionable food to get out of my system.
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