Pills and America's pursuit of happiness

Pills and America's pursuit of happiness
September 2, 2009

Mitch Potter
WASHINGTON BUREAU


WASHINGTON–Of all the bitter pills Americans are swallowing nowadays, from joblessness to home foreclosures to runaway national debt, it might come as no surprise that a pill of another sort is flying off the shelves at a recession-defying pace – the antidepressant.

It's an easy jump to conclude that hard times are turning the country comfortably numb, as the Washington Post suggested in a weekend report on the sales of the drug Cymbalta, up 14 per cent since the summer of 2008 and now among America's most popular happy pills.

....................

"America is all about the gratification of pleasure. We are the kings of pleasure and proud of it," said Dworkin, author of Artificial Unhappiness: The Dark Side of the New Happy Class.

"But the other side of it is that we're not very good at preparing for or dealing with unhappiness, which of course is an inevitable part of life. And what we've done since the '70s is to transform into a culture that treats unhappiness as a disease."

more:
http://www.healthzone.ca/health/mindmood/article/689697

and it is part of the culture, and I am at a loss how to change it

Now depression is real and should be taken seriously, but the US does have a tradition of if one pill is good, or remedy or what have you, two are better.

And to those who DO need the pills, go for it, by the way.

all pun intended. depression is a chemical imbalance...unhappiness is a temporary state of mind...

sP

who do most of the prescribing, know the difference. Besides, with only a few minutes allowed to each patient, how can they find out. Easier to write the script and see if it helps.

write the script and see if it helps...geez! GP should not be writing scripts for SSRI's and the like...people with psychiatric training should be doing that...you know ...that whole 'do no harm' thing!

sP

I think sitting around, watching the tube, not making anything that takes any creativity or skill, leads to a depressed state. Don't jump on my, all you who are taking antidepressives, but I think some people won't even try to walk, make music, make dinner, soup, whatever, make furniture, quilts, a garden, before seeking a prescription. It is a pretty depressing world out there, but being in your own created world helps.

diabetic peripheral neuropathy, chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia. Understand the sentiment of the article, but in the case of Cymbalta there are other indications resulting in life enhancing results other than psychological conditions. Poor choice of target for this screed as itz only been on the market for a few years.