America’s Love Affair with Pills

Today begins my series on America’s love affair with pills. As a Board Certified Psychiatrist who has practiced for 27 years,  I have become alarmed by the quick fix, incessant use of pills in our culture.

When one goes to the doctor he or she usually comes out with a pill , several prescriptions, or a bag of samples. And yes, I prescribe medications for my clients. However, I am not pleased with the large number of medicationss which most clients are now coming to me with. Once they are on these medications ,they want to continue and ask for even more. If they are taken off abruptly, they often have withdrawal effects, especially on the minor tranquilizers which include Valium, Xanax, Ativan and others. It has become the antithesis of who I  am,  especially as  someone who also practices complementary medicine or holistic medicine as some call it. I do not like giving several pills or large dosages, however, these medications do have their place and they are very helpful , especially when clients come to hospital in an acute state and we only have so many days per insurance to work with them, thus limiting changes or attempting to switch medications. I prefer to see the effects of meds for a few days before discharging patients. Unfortunately when patients come in following an overdose, the first thing they ask is to ” go home now” and not in a very nice voice.

Even though I am not eager to prescribe medications, I do. I do   because there are conditions that need to be treated early and consistently in ordere to lessen any long term mental illness. I really enjoy working with clients of all ages and especially enjoy sharing with them the skills to deal with some of the stressors in their lives.

I enjoy sharing with my panic attack patients how to breathe to relax. It really works well for many who just stop breathing when they get upset. I also use essential oils that can calm the most agitated and hyper patients in just 1 to 2 minutes just by pouring 1 to 2  drops into their hands then cupping hands over mouth and nose for 1 to 2 minutes. It is very exciting to see the immediate change with my office patients. We cannot use these in the hospitals.

There is a great deal of discernment that I depend on to give patients the best care that I can. Many times when big strong , sad, angry men have a breakthrough and soften and start crying it is very rewarding to know that I have begun a positive change in their lives through their outlook on life.  I just love it when this happens, which fortunately is frequent. Of course, I realize that all of this wisdom did not come directly from me, but from help above.

I rely on discernment and listening skills to get through the mazes in patient’s lives. Except during emergencies, I always wait for discernment to help guide me in what to say and what to order.  It can be a little confusing when working with other psychiatrists who may have differing views on the medications, but we are all here to help. Often when one doctor covers for another, medications are changed. Many times  this is helpful because they may  see the patient in a different light  and at an earlier or later stage in the patient’s progress.

For more on America’s love affair with pills, join me next time as I talk about kids. What are we teaching them?

Tags: addiction, doctors, illness, medicine cabinets, over the counter pills, overdose, parents, pills, prescriptions, teens