Published January 17, 2008
[ From Lansing State Journal ]
Ide: Grief is part of living
People must learn medications can't cure all our pain
The recent passing of my mother has brought different emotions to the forefront. That is understandable. Unbearable at times, but understandable. However, it has been the quickness of the medical profession or well-meaning people to offer anti-depressants that is most disturbing. The modern trend appears to be whatever ails you, there's a pill to cure you.
If one has a cold, flu, headache or other pain there is a pill to relieve the discomfort. I admit I too have taken something to get me through the day/night. However, there seems to be little effort or time to diagnose the cause or understand the symptoms.
I do not blame the medical profession entirely or even the people self-medicating. We urge our doctors to relieve the discomfort and are convinced that we do not ever have to live in pain either physical or emotional.
Some reports suggest that the majority of our children are being diagnosed as ADHD and parents are urged to "medicate" them. News flash - children are rowdy until taught differently and adults are allowed to be in charge.
What is most disturbing is the extreme reaction to the presence of a minute amount of mercury or a splash of fertilizer, yet we will swallow drugs whose ingredients we do not even begin to understand.
Did you ever know about restless leg syndrome until you heard about it in the media? Me either, but gosh do I know how to treat it if it ever hits. Dogs and cats exhibiting signs of running are chuckled over with the comment "he's probably chasing a rabbit." Maybe I am chasing a rabbit, too, and enjoying myself. Also troubling is the hefty list of possible side effects that include many of the same symptoms being experienced. Am I missing something here?
Of course there are numerous cases in which carefully administered medications have helped people with depression or medical conditions.
In fact, I find it especially perverse that some people in extreme agony or in a terminal condition are denied relief for their pain in fear of addiction. There are many times when medications are necessary.
But maybe, just maybe, it is better to endure the pain, accept the unacceptable and "feel" what must be felt regardless of the cost. It is through pain that we learn who we are and how much we can endure.
We find out that the most horrendous of circumstances can be survived and that character is built when things are not so easy.
To not know what "normal" feels like seems a worse crime against human nature, and possibly, irresponsible.
Though it would be easier not to think about it, the emotional pain of loss must be endured to grow and learn.
By being fully conscious of my feelings, I have found joy creeps in at the most unexpected times, much like the tiny beams of light that slide under a closed door of a darkened room.
I am also aware that I can open that door and see the radiance on the other side.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080117/OPINION02/801170326/1085/opinion
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