Godless Mom in the Bible Belt

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Running for the shelter of her Mother's little helper.

Liz and I belong to two playgroups.

We met the first group of ladies through the hospital where Liz was born. The education department of the hospital has a class/discussion group for new mothers. We all met shortly after the birth of our children (all of the kids in the group were born within three weeks of each other) and we have continued to get together for playtime ever since.

The second group of ladies all live in my neighborhood. The kids are much more diverse in age but we have geography in common and it is nice to network with other parents in the area.

In total there are 16 women with whom I regularly hang. Of those 16, 7 of them are on prescription antidepressants.

Now, I'm not Tom Cruise. I have no problem with medication and psychotherapy but the fact that almost half of the women I associate with take drugs in order to deal with their lives REALLY scares me.

I asked one of the ladies whether she ever considered getting off the medication. She told me that she feels like she is a better mom when she takes the drugs. She feels that she is more patient and more forgiving when she is doped up. I can't help but wonder where this will all lead. We convince ourselves that we are better when we are on drugs and we teach our children that drugs are necessary if you want to get through life. It's a dangerous trend.
posted by GodlessMom, 5:47 AM

15 Comments:

Blogger BarbaraFromCalifornia said:

Excellent points. Medications can and are over used by many, and some are over-prescribed to children especially. There have been many articles written on this subject on the misuse of say, Ritlin and other drugs, which can, ultimately cause more damage than harm.
Posted at 9:12 AM  

Blogger Zeppellina said:

Barbara is right.
In the Uk, doctors were handing out anti-depressents to so many people...they are, of course addictive.. now they have been told by the govt. to stop handing them out so freely.
Some people do genuinely need anti-depressants, but many have just been prescribed them somewhere down the line, and now can`t get through their day without them.
Posted at 12:08 PM  

Blogger United We Lay said:

I agree that we are overmedicated, btu I also believe that there are people who have chemical imbalances. They don't have to be treated, but I can't image not wanting to be if you're crying all the time and easily angered and horribly depressed. If you've been through therapy and know it's all in your head but you still can't stop crying, why shouldn't you be able to take a pill to make that stop?
Posted at 1:38 PM  

Blogger dAAve said:

Good observation. It's very dangerous and most likely not necessary. The addictive mind can JUSTIFY anything. Anything.

I know. I am an alcoholic and justified my obsessive, compulsive behaviour for 32 friggin' years. Until I found out I didn't need to do it. It's that simple. But as addicts, we can rarely stop by ourselves. Those 7 Mom's are in for a very rough time and will pass that along to their offspring.

If you watch Desperate Housewives, the last 2 episodes have dealt with that very issue.

Pray for those mothers. They will need it.
Posted at 2:40 PM  

Blogger nigel paddell said:

My mum was a nurse and a drug addict in the seventies.
Taking pharmacuticals just like other nurses and doctors at the time.
Rather than being better mothers I fear that households similar to my own upbringing will be the result.
Posted at 2:57 PM  

Blogger TLP said:

I have no problem with anti-depressants. If you are diabetic you take the medicine you need. If you have cancer, you get treated. People with those illnesses used to just DIE.

A brain disease is a physical illness.

I'm NOT saying that doctors don't hand out these things as if they were penny candy. I think they do over-prescribe them.

But if you are TRULY in need (not just that you WANT drugs) then you should not hold back from taking meds.
Posted at 3:43 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

It's a good thing we've demonized marijuana so completely that the Supreme Court felt the need to trammel the rights of the states who had already decided it was okay.

These people are drug addicts, plain and simple, just like the crack addict in the inner-city, just like the meth fiends in the trailers and just like the fat, obnoxious conservative talk show hosts who run their maids out to get their Oxy-Contin. It's also no different from the business executive with the broken blood-vessels on his nose who can't restrict himself to one martini a day and a couple on weekends.

It's incredible the money we've wasted on the one drug out of all of these that occurs naturally, has the least amount of side effects, is responsible for the least amount of deaths and which makes you relaxed and passive instead of hyper and belligerent.

Hmmm...

Coke using president, war.

Pot smoking president, peace.

It's all so clear.
Posted at 3:54 PM  

Blogger Lila said:

It is odd how many people are on anti-depressants. I am on Prozac. I must say, I feel that I do need it. I would say that half of my closest friends are on something. I've always figured it had more to do with the company I keep, but who knows?
Posted at 7:46 PM  

Blogger United We Lay said:

Scott, I'm with you. Pot does medical wonders.
Posted at 7:47 PM  

Blogger GodlessMom said:

I totally agree that antidepressants are necessary for some people. One of the ladies in my group not only suffers from depression but also suffers from OCD. Both of these conditions are very well managed by medication and I'm very glad that she is able to do something that helps her live a normal life.

I hope I didn't give the impression in my post that I'm totally against medication because I definitely think it can be a great deal of help to a lot of people. What concerns me is the fact that so many people rely on these drugs. It doesn't seem like they all would genuinely need it.
Posted at 8:24 PM  

Blogger A Little Bar of Soap said:

Just say NO to drugs!
Posted at 9:02 PM  

Blogger Saur♥Kraut said:

Very true. As Zeppellina pointed out, there is always some genuine need. But often these meds are a way of coping when they need to develop other mechanisms for coping instead - if they're going to lead productive lives.
Posted at 9:16 PM  

Blogger Fred said:

When I grew up, a rambunctious child was disciplined.

Today, that same child is drugged twice a day, and diagnosed with ADD. Parents are too willing to drug their children; it's much easier than actually raising them.

I see it every day.
Posted at 10:20 PM  

Blogger The Lazy Iguana said:

Everyone in America is on drugs. At least it seems that way.

Except for me. I feel left out!!!
Posted at 10:42 PM  

Blogger Stella Magdalen said:

I have been severely clinically depressed since age 6. I don't take the drugs. But my former therapist had what I thought was a good take on them- That while she formerly disapproved of them outright she had modified her position to the idea that they could be useful to temporarily alleviate some of the symptomatic issues and provide some spaciousness from which to gain clarity and perspective.Thus enabling therapeutic processes to occur.
The problem being that generally insurance does not want pay for talk therapies.
Myself, I have learned that nothing is going to "fix" me. That it's mostly about learning coping skills.
Posted at 10:50 PM  

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