10-8-06 Medicated Nation
We can probably say that there was never a time in human history when drugs weren't used, for whatever reason. The twentieth century, however, changed the way drugs were used by people. Today, drugs are elevated in importance, way beyond anything that had ever been considered.
The reasons for this involve the advances of science, and the advances in how to generate wealth, among other things. I don't think anyone can point a finger in any particular direction and say, "this is the problem." There are too many directions to point, basically.
One direction we can point to regarding drugs, however, is that children are increasingly medicated, and this is described in an article today in the Washington Post. This article mentions that children are now beginning to outpace the elderly in prescription medication consumption. Even more disturbing is that 20% of pediatric office visits are for psycho-social problems, behavioral problems.
Washington Post Article
The idea of medicating someone to "straighten out their behavior" is so abhorrent to me, that it would be difficult to not go on a very long rant. But it's even worse when you're talking about medicating children to keep them from squirming in their seats at school.
Children are naturally ebullient, enthusiastic, energetic, and usually in great need of adult guidance regarding how to acquire social graces. An understanding, guiding hand that can be firm and impose some level of exemplary authority over children is needed for them to realize the goals of "growing up" and "becoming an adult".
But when "education" is no more than babysitting, when educators have no slightest authority for fear of litigation, and the curricula of schools are beyond boredom, the "solution" of medication to keep them from squirming in their seats is no less than the most oppressive ruination of future generations that could ever be imagined.
According to Elizabeth J. Roberts, the author of the Washington Post article, "There was a time in the profession of child psychiatry when doctors insisted on hours of evaluation of a child before making a diagnosis or prescribing a medication. Today some of my colleagues in psychiatry brag that they can make an initial assessment of a child and write a prescription in less than 20 minutes. Some parents tell me it took their pediatrician only five minutes. Who's the winner in this race?"
"Unfortunately, when a child is diagnosed with a mental illness, almost everyone benefits. The schools get more state funding for the education of a mentally handicapped student. Teachers have more subdued students in their already overcrowded classrooms. Finally, parents are not forced to examine their poor parenting practices, because they have the perfect excuse: Their child has a chemical imbalance."
It's sad to realize that the medication of children is today not only sanctioned and promoted, but it is full of rewards. This is the most insidious of mechanisms, to reward it so heavily.
And this is just one aspect of the drug culture that we now live in. It permeates every single corner of our society, now. From childhood through old age, medication is flourishing beyond imagination, with billions of tons of exotic chemicals being fed into the human gene pool on an annual basis.
Who benefits?
The reasons for this involve the advances of science, and the advances in how to generate wealth, among other things. I don't think anyone can point a finger in any particular direction and say, "this is the problem." There are too many directions to point, basically.
One direction we can point to regarding drugs, however, is that children are increasingly medicated, and this is described in an article today in the Washington Post. This article mentions that children are now beginning to outpace the elderly in prescription medication consumption. Even more disturbing is that 20% of pediatric office visits are for psycho-social problems, behavioral problems.
Washington Post Article
The idea of medicating someone to "straighten out their behavior" is so abhorrent to me, that it would be difficult to not go on a very long rant. But it's even worse when you're talking about medicating children to keep them from squirming in their seats at school.
Children are naturally ebullient, enthusiastic, energetic, and usually in great need of adult guidance regarding how to acquire social graces. An understanding, guiding hand that can be firm and impose some level of exemplary authority over children is needed for them to realize the goals of "growing up" and "becoming an adult".
But when "education" is no more than babysitting, when educators have no slightest authority for fear of litigation, and the curricula of schools are beyond boredom, the "solution" of medication to keep them from squirming in their seats is no less than the most oppressive ruination of future generations that could ever be imagined.
According to Elizabeth J. Roberts, the author of the Washington Post article, "There was a time in the profession of child psychiatry when doctors insisted on hours of evaluation of a child before making a diagnosis or prescribing a medication. Today some of my colleagues in psychiatry brag that they can make an initial assessment of a child and write a prescription in less than 20 minutes. Some parents tell me it took their pediatrician only five minutes. Who's the winner in this race?"
"Unfortunately, when a child is diagnosed with a mental illness, almost everyone benefits. The schools get more state funding for the education of a mentally handicapped student. Teachers have more subdued students in their already overcrowded classrooms. Finally, parents are not forced to examine their poor parenting practices, because they have the perfect excuse: Their child has a chemical imbalance."
It's sad to realize that the medication of children is today not only sanctioned and promoted, but it is full of rewards. This is the most insidious of mechanisms, to reward it so heavily.
And this is just one aspect of the drug culture that we now live in. It permeates every single corner of our society, now. From childhood through old age, medication is flourishing beyond imagination, with billions of tons of exotic chemicals being fed into the human gene pool on an annual basis.
Who benefits?
posted by Jeff Barnard at 12:36 PM
2 Comments:
Do you have a child that has three hour destructive rages a few times a week?
What qualifies you to question the medication of children diagnosed with mental disorders. The 20% percent makes sense when it has been shown that 1 in 5 children has ADHD.
How much research have you done on this subject? Are you just having a visceral reaction to an op-ed piece in the Washington Post? Because this was an op-ed piece NOT an article.
There is no blood test or skin test or any other sort of lab test to ascertain the so called "chemical imbalance" that is purported to be behind ADHD or ADD or any other popularly medicated psycho-social problem.
Having said that, however, I can hardly blame a parent for going the route of having their behaviorally challenged child given a lifetime prescription for some sort of medication. It's very popular, and it's done because the parents trust the authorities who recommend it to them. This, in my opinion, is the most horrific aspect of all...
Post a Comment
<< Home