Posted by chujoe on May 17, 2010, at 15:50:07
In reply to Re: Lou's response-phatahmoarghanna, posted by MrTook on May 17, 2010, at 14:20:41
Right, I'll grant that. But that doesn't mean there is a difference in principle. As I've said elsewhere, I don't think psych meds are "miracle drugs" or "silver bullets," but I also don't get how thewy are supposed to be so some other category altogether that is somehow unnatural. Humans have been running experiments since they climbed down from the trees by putting stuff in their bodies: "Hmm, I feel good when I eat that," Hmm, I feel bad when I eat that." "Hmm, what did he eat just before he dropped dead?" And it wasn't too long after we climbed down from the trees that we began brewing beer & smoking various things & fermenting fruit to make wine, and so on. In a society that's functioning reasonably well, such substances are a boon to life -- despite the fact that some people will abuse or misuse whatever substance they are attracted to. Same with psych meds -- we ought to be as careful as possible, but it just seems unproductive to demonize them.
As I write this I'm a couple of months into taking Cymbalta & a couple of weeks into taking Ritalin. I haven't felt this focused, this happy & productive, for years. Could it all go south in a hurry? Sure. Could it stop working or lead to further complications later? Could be. But what I have is today, with a reasonable chance of being this way into the foreseeable future, I'll take the gamble. Better than the wasted state I was in previously.
poster:chujoe
thread:947486
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100514/msgs/947704.html