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Planet Waves | June 08, 2005

This week we learn that, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, fully one half of Americans will be mentally ill at some point. [Oh my gawwd, there's a great political punch-line there ... but I will restrain myself; if you're thinking the same thing I am, I don't need to add it -- if you're not, you'd just be annoyed.]

This is a sort of companion piece to the report issued by the National Center for Health Statistics, released in Dec. '04, stating that "Ten percent of women 18 and older and 4 percent of men now take antidepressants."

And, according to the NIMH survey, "As expected, the researchers found that the most common problems were depression, affecting about 17 percent of the people at some point in their lives, and alcohol abuse, affecting 13 percent. Phobias were also common, including social phobia, a form of extreme anxiety that affected 12 percent. More than a quarter of those interviewed had had a mental disorder in the last year."

Anyhow, if all this is offered to explain why we are now a Prozac Nation -- it doesn't. If we need to be medicated until we're no longer stressed -- because until stress-related problems go away, we need the Happy Pills to keep our heads on -- the logical conclusion, then, is that we need to just keep popping those babies until ... well, until whenever. [Insert another political punch-line here _____ ]

It's not that simple, of course -- there's serotonin levels and there's nutrition issues and there's vitamin deficiencies and there's glandular activity and the bio-chemical wrinkles go on and on. One of my closest friends struggles with PTSS and panic attacks -- she is one who needs what the anti-depressants can offer; the pills [which she uses infrequently and with intention to cope] helps her to find the place WITHIN herself where she can deal with her causes of stress. That seems reasonable to me, for those who are suffering. It's not just the chemistry that's messing with us ... it's life, itself. It would be jim-dandy if we could find a majik bullet to cure all our ills, one swallow of water and down goes the relief for at least eight hours... but this much is clear -- Happy Pills do not a happy life, make. That's an Inside Job.

Of interest in this debate, Tom Cruise is in the headlines now, having bashed Brooke Shields on Oprah, and her use of anti-depressants during her "baby blues" period. My initial instinct is to snap his neck -- you know ... something like, "Well, Tom ... how many babies have YOU popped out and then rode the "hormonal changes" skyrocket to hell and back? Post-partum can give us dead babies in a bath tub -- ask the Texans!" There are times when med's are important and necessary.

On the other hand, I understand his viewpoint -- his belief in Scientology, and internal review and discovery, is the basis for his comments, I'd think. We are responsible for ourselves -- and no magic pill will change that. Too many of us are taking the Happy Pills simply because the doctor handed them to us -- several friends of mine have reported their physicians INSISTING they take them, although they declined to do so. So what part of all this is psychology, what part is sociology and what part is self-determinism? And ... oh, dear, it's dreadful to be so cynical ... what part is marketing and pharma-greed?

I liked Arianna Huffington's remarks on her blog, today:

"According to a new study by the National Institute of Mental Health, over half of Americans will, at some point in their lives, develop a mental illness. If you were ever wondering at what point these studies would become meaningless, this is probably that point (for me, that point actually arrived six years ago).

"In fact, here are a few other breathtaking findings the NIMH might come up with next: One hundred percent of Americans will, at some point in their lives, die. Well over half of Americans will, at some point in their lives, think almost everyone around them -- particularly their spouse -- has gone off the deep end. Two-thirds of Americans will, at some point in their lives, watch a reality show and feel bad about enjoying it... Thank God for mental health studies -- especially those at least partially funded by the drug industry."

Last year, pharmaceutical prices grew by over 16%, faster even than general medical care. An interesting website for this kind of information is http://www.newstarget.com -- today I found a nice little article [link below] about how half of a group of surveyed medical schools said they would let pharmaceutical companies and makers of medical devices draft articles that appear in medical journals, and a quarter would allow them to supply the actual results. A little corporate trade-off that bends the integrity rule, don't you think?

Alas, my distrust of mainstream medicine is no better than my abhorance of pharamaceutical companies. They are my last choice, when making medical decisions. They are expert at treating effect ... like -- offering a prescription rather than asking questions to get at actual Cause. There are some good medical practitioners out there, I'm sure. If I break my leg, or something similar, I hope to find one. Otherwise ... you'll find me depending on natural medical alternatives and looking for Cause. Here's an excellent article to send around to your friends who have given their power away to traditional medicine:

Ten Lies About Health Your Doctor Taught You -- http://www.newstarget.com/007348.html

Yes, we're an unhappy nation, these days -- some of us may well benefit from occasional medication, but too many of us have years of Prozac and the like under our belts, with no improvement in sight. Hell, there's so much Prozac being taken, it's found its way into our drinking water. I have no answers for this dilemma -- but I have a LOT of questions, and very little faith in medical professionals to impact this problem for us. Consider the last line of the NIMH article:

"Although people were more likely to find care than they were 10 years ago, only a third of the treatments met even minimal standards for effectiveness, said one co-author, Dr. Philip S.Wang, an assistant professor in the department of health care policy at Harvard."

It's time to think about this whole thing differently.

Peace ~

Jude

Most Will Be Mentally Ill at Some Point, Study Says -- http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/07/health/07mental.html

Survey: Many med schools let sponsors control research http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-05-25-medical-studies_x.htm

Jude, the editor of Political Waves, is currently standing in for Eric Franics on his daily blog. You can subscribe to Political Waves (our all-politics news distribution list) for free at the link below. You'll receive between five and 10 news articles each day. You may write to Jude with your responses to her commentaries at moderator@planetwaves.net.

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