Better Living Through Chemistry?

The last half-century and, in particular, the last 20 years have witnessed the marketing of scores of psychiatric drugs. It seems there's now a pill for every human dilemma and difficulty. Are you shy? You must suffer from the disease of Social Anxiety Disorder! Zoloft will help that! Your anti-depressant not improving your satisfaction with life? Well, have no fear! The anti-psychotic Abilify will do the trick! Your marriage, finances, kids, and job got you worried? You have Generalized Anxiety Disorder! Take Xanax and all your worries will go away!  Have difficulty getting things done? You must have the disease of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and, you guessed it, you need Ritalin, Concerta, Strattera, or Adderall for that! Moody, irritable, and angry some of the time (especially while female all of the time?) You must have Bipolar Disorder and need Abilify, Risperdal, Zyprexa, or Geodon for that! Experiencing side effects from all your meds? Not to worry, there are other meds to counteract the side effects!

Here's the question. Has the widespread promotion and use of these medications been beneficial? Or, have they caused as much or more harm than benefit? This is a complicated issue and I will be writing about it a lot on this blog. My basic position is as follows. In some instances and usually for the short term, some of these medications can be very helpful. In most instances and for the long term, they are more likely to harm than help, both psychologically and physically. The expansion of psychiatric diagnostic categories to cover just about every discomfort encourages the belief that every problem is a disease and the only solution is a drug. It also disempowers people and discourages them from taking control of their own lives. 

This is not in any way to minimize the suffering caused by emotional and behavioral problems! My argument is that people, if they know how, can often solve these problems themselves or with professional help. And they can do so without perturbing their brains. Much more to come.