Replies to '09/28 Overmedicating America: The Cruise Controversy'

Quote From: sunshine80

Are a lot of people just labelled, handed a so-called "happy-pill", and sent home to "feel better"?  Sure.  Whether you agree with Tom Cruise or not is really irrelevant.  I could care less what he thinks.  The truth is that these drugs are for the treatment of serious mental illnesses that are physical, chemical imbalances.  The medications are tools, but not the only necessary tools.  Most mental illnesses like bipolar, schizophrenia, or dysthymia are incurable.  These meds are only a part of the appropriate treatment.  These also do not work like Tylenol, they take six weeks to take full effect.  Personally, I have bipolar and know for an absolute fact that if I had not started a treatment plan, I wouldn't be here today.  Just ask yourself, though, if you had just broken your leg and gone to the emergency room and the physician attending to you said, "It looks like you have broken your leg, here is a prescription for some vicodin.  Go on home and take your pills.  You will feel better in six weeks."  This would be unacceptable if he/she had sent you home without cast and crutches!  Same with mental illness.  You can't just pill it and forget it.   The patient needs therapy, and a treatment plan that they embrace and believe in.  Patients and their parents need to educate themselves on their "issue" and also about the psychotropes that they are taking.  Questions should be asked, or else a person coulod find themselves taking seven different types of pills and sitting home miserable.  An educated consumer base and public can combat both the overmedication issue and the need of people with mental illnesses to have and have access to the appropriate meds.