I've come to accept that I'm a pill person. Some people are shopaholics; others overeat; some are sports fanatics - either watching or doing to extremes; others drink and/or chain smoke...The pill person keeps everything in check by taking pills. We are actually the most elegant among the addict family.
To be clear, pills aren't always about physical addiction; they are form of control delivered in neatly packaged hope. My morning thyroid medication - just a small dose - is enough to make me believe that I can beat exhaustion. An array of supplements including Vitamin C and adrenal support help me to compensate for my lousy immune system. In the winter, two little vitamin Ds each give me an extra hour in resisting the darkness that begins to encroach upon us earlier each day.
And it goes on...
Reactine makes the flowers and leaves less scary. Advil is a knight in shining armor for bad and badder days. Tylenol 3 makes all sorts of pain go away. Of course, for insomniac like myself, it is the evening when the big pills come out...decisions need to be made as to whether to be true to blue or pretty in pink.
Antidepressants? I have done them all. And, don't do them anymore. How does the Paxil ad go? Tired, sad, not quite yourself. Yep, I feel that way a lot of the time. But, the idea of one pill making a person feel happy, energetic and whole is such a fanstasy that even a pill person has trouble buying in.
Every now and then I pop in, Polly, and am glad to see that you are still at it. I've worked for many years in the mental health system here in the US, and find that while pills help some, and relieve some- there are things that pills cannot change. Things that are societal, perceptual, circumstantial. And beyond.
I find that culture itself can beat us down, in many ways. Being surrounded by messages that we are not quite "good enough".
Sure, pills help the chemical issues. Perhaps they give people the nudge to cope with the other things?
Posted by: Lily | October 16, 2006 at 05:51 PM
interesting point, your article is great! well done!?
Posted by: no prescription hydrocodone | June 17, 2010 at 04:46 AM