Why is their blood pressure high? Is it their stressful job? Maybe their terrible eating/drinking habits? Maybe also because they NEVER exercise?
Nahhh... No matter... Just give em a pill to lower it. Problem solved!
It's not a black and white issue. Some people...many people, need medication. I said that in my original post, and I don't think anyone is arguing that.
What I am saying is, maybe we should look at external causes like environment, habits, etc, FIRST before reaching for the magic pills with side effects "that you will need for the rest of your life."
It's what we used to do until 15 or 20 years ago when the Pharmaceutical Companies swooped in and convinced everyone to try the magic pills first instead.
And it makes great business sense!
Example: Let's say Little Timmy has an artist's mind. Like many artists, he goes through periods of somewhat manic and depressive behavior. The depressive periods are when he is most creative, and the manic periods are when he refines what he just created. Could be a great artist, doomed/blessed to live the difficult life of a true artist.
...but he'll never get the chance. Timmy's been on Lithium for years now and is "doing great." All of Timmy's extreme highs and lows are gone. And so is the creativity. Timmy works on the assembly line and is "doing great." Just ask anyone.
Example 2: Little Timmy was abused as a child. As a result, he does not socialize well, drinks to excess on a nightly basis, and has severe heartburn from the drinking, and severe depression from the abuse. Should we look at these issues? Nah, just queue up a couple of scripts for Prilosec and Prozac. Now Little Timmy is better than ever! You know... as long as Timmy NEVER stops taking his meds.
"Cha-ching, baby!!!" -Big Pharm
And if all someone takes from what I am saying is, "don't give diabetics their insulin" then I don't know what to tell you. I think they are running a Honey Boo Boo marathon on TLC, maybe go check that out and forget about all of my "crazy talk" and "proud ignorance".