White Rabbit - 2009

Millions of American children are slogging (and in some cases, traipsing) through their days under the influence of psychotropic "medications." In some cases, these kids are consuming a cocktail made up of as many as twelve pills per day. Many are beginning these regimens at the ripe old age of two or three. What is wrong with these children that they should need so many powerful drugs just to function? Who decides which child needs what and how much they need? What are the long – term effects of this program? For the answers to these questions, we need to turn to the Psychiatric community. After all, they have all the answers…
When you ask a Psychiatrist what causes ADD, ADHD, OCD, ODD, Depression, Bipolar Disorder (formerly called Manic Depression), Anxiety or any of the myriad diseases and disorders that seem to suddenly be troubling record numbers of our youth, you get the same generic, vague answer. According to these highly-trained professionals, all of these maladies are caused by chemical imbalances in the brain. Now, if you are bored one day and want to have some fun, gather a bunch of these people together and ask them which chemicals and how far out of balance. Then sit back and watch the dogfight begin. They will never agree on the answer to your question. This brings up another question. How do they diagnose a child as having a particular disorder? It may comfort you to know that they do agree on the methodology of diagnosis. One arrives at a diagnosis by "observing symptoms and behaviors." How is this careful observation carried out? That's easy. So easy, in fact, that one wonders what part of this practice calls for three hundred dollars per hour. The following is a description of the comprehensive observations of symptoms and behaviors that takes place in psychiatric offices every day.
Parent or parents bring Mikey in to see the doctor. They begin telling the doctor that eight-year-old Mikey is quite the handful. He has boundless energy, seems easily distracted, doesn't like school and gets in trouble for acting up in class, talks a lot, gets angry and/or talks back when told to do something he doesn't want to do, doesn't want to go to bed when he's told, etc, etc, ad nauseum. After 15 or 20 minutes of listening to stories about how annoying Mikey is, out comes the pad and Mikey begins his new childhood mission, the endless pursuit of the White Rabbit. It is to this brief period that Psychiatrists refer when they describe their diagnostic methodology as the "observation of symptoms and behaviors." It is upon this careful study and investigation that they base their decisions to start pumping our children with powerful, brain altering drugs.
Courtesy of the National Institutes of Mental Health, this is a chart showing some of the psychotropic medications being prescribed to our children in record numbers. The list includes the type of medication, its brand name and generic name as well as the approved age for prescription.

National Institutes of Health

Medications Chart


Stimulant Medications
Adderall
amphetamines
3 and older
Concerta
methylphenidate
6 and older
Cylert*
pemoline
6 and older
Dexedrine
dextroamphetamine
3 and older
Dextrostat
dextroamphetamine
3 and older
Ritalin
methylphenidate
6 and older
Antidepressant and Antianxiety Medications
Anafranil
clomipramine
10 and older (for OCD)
BuSpar
buspirone
18 and older
Effexor
venlafaxine
18 and older
Luvox (SSRI)
fluvoxamine
8 and older (for OCD)
Paxil (SSRI)
paroxetine
18 and older
Prozac (SSRI)
fluoxetine
18 and older
Serzone (SSRI)
nefazodone
18 and older
Sinequan
doxepin
12 and older
Tofranil
imipramine
6 and older (for bed-wetting)
Wellbutrin
bupropion
18 and older
.Zoloft (SSRI)
sertraline
6 and older (for OCD)
Antipsychotic Medications
Clozaril(atypical)
clozapine
18 and older
Haldol
haloperidol
3 and older.
At this point, I feel compelled to make a few observations, to be followed by a few suggestions. OBSERVATIONS: All of these medications have dramatic effects on brain chemistry and function. The brains of children are in a constant state of growth and change. Finding a way to keep the dosages and balance of these added chemicals in proper lock-step with the ever-changing brain of a child, especially say, a child of THREE, is all but impossible. Psychiatrists and the pharmaceutical companies openly admit that these medications have not been tested on children and that the meds are being dispensed "off-label," meaning that they are intended to be used on adults but are routinely prescribed to children. By their own admission, they have no idea how chronic use of these drugs will impact the children, especially over the long-term, including possible effects on normal brain development. (I don't know why but every time I think about that, I am reminded of the Thalidomide babies. Actually, I DO know why).
It seems as though every behavior exhibited by children throughout time is now a disorder requiring immediate chemical intervention. Can a pill alter the behavior of a person? Obviously. Does that mean that the first place we should run is the medicine cabinet? Conditions like Tourette's Syndrome or seizure disorders clearly require medication. These are neurological disorders, not psychological. Unlike all of these weirdo, new "disorders" that mysteriously seem to have an expensive medication even before they are discovered, they are also proven diseases for which there are tangible, measurable tests. You don't need to guess at a person's brain chemistry in order to see that they are having a seizure. Assuming it even exists, is it really the best course of action to treat ADD in the same manner that we treat Epilepsy? If this "disease" had existed when I was in school, I would have been diagnosed and medicated in no time. The problem is, I didn't have ADD. I was bored. I learned too easily for a normal classroom pace to hold my interest. Still, in this day and age, I would have been diagnosed in record time and gulping down psychotropic drugs like they were Pez, all under doctor's orders.
SUGGESTIONS: May I suggest that spending 20 minutes listening to someone whine about how annoying their child is does not constitute "observation of symptoms and behavior." May I suggest that such tales of parental woe may be just as indicative of an inability of the parent to tolerate normal, annoying behavior as it is of a serious brain disorder on the part of the child. There is, after all, a very good reason why every one of us has heard our parents say, "I can't wait until YOU have kids! Then you'll understand!" Kids are commonly, noisy, pouty, angry, feisty, defiant, disruptive and generally annoying. Often all at the same time. That is why we call them "children." Childhood causes disorder but it is not a disorder in and of itself. May I suggest that automatically shoving pills down the throats of millions of children to manage their moods or behavior will likely have the result of creating an entire generation of adults who are constantly popping all sorts of pills to augment their daily lives and justifying it by pointing out that this is how their parents and doctors taught them to handle sadness, anxiety, anger, tension and whatever else life throws at them. May I remind you that we have no idea what the long-term use of these drugs will do to their bodies, minds, perhaps even their DNA but all of these kids are going to grow up to breed. We have no idea if Adderall or Haldol cause birth defects but I guarantee we won't find out until it is far too late. Again, remember Thalidomide? Is that really a risk worth taking to prevent Mikey from talking his mother's ear off or cracking jokes in class?
While we dive blithely down the Rabbit Hole of zombiefying our kids, think about this: Shoving chemicals willy-nilly into the brains of our children is just like pulling the trigger on a gun. Once the bullet leaves the barrel, you have no control over the damage that it does. Chemically altering the developing brain of a child is no longer a decision of last resort, to be attempted rarely and with great caution, only after all other options have failed. That SHOULD be a scary thought. It doesn't seem to be. Now, that IS a scary thought. If you really want a Stepford Child, your friendly neighborhood psychiatrist will be only too happy to provide one for you.
For a price.

Who Cares?

I have been struggling to come up with an appropriate title for this piece. Hopefully, I will have something by the time I finish. The truth is, it is not only the title that is giving me trouble. The entire subject has been a source of consternation and confusion for much of my life. It is only recently that I discovered the cause of my confusion. To the surprise of no one who knows me, it was me. Allow me to offer a brief explanation as to how this happened. I saw a problem. I thought about it and tried to suss out a solution. Okay so far, right? Here's where I went off the track: I had hope that the problem could be solved. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that Hope is foolish. At least not all the time. In this case, it is. That particular truth took me a long time to accept. What in Hell am I talking about, you ask? That's easy to explain.
PROBLEM: How do we ensure that Humanity does not destroy itself?
SOLUTION: None.
REASON: Humanity.

There are two ways that Humanity can be rendered extinct. One is by virtue of forces beyond our control. An asteroid or comet slamming into us, a natural disaster of such magnitude that the entire planet becomes uninhabitable, that sort of thing. The other is by virtue of things that are completely under our control, should we choose to exercise that control. I believe the latter to be a more likely cause of our inevitable destruction. Why do I say that and why do I believe it is inevitable?
There are two things standing in the way of Humanity saving itself from itself. Apathy and hatred.
We have heard Apathy described as not caring about anything. In my observation, this is almost never true. In fact, the more I think about it, I'm not sure I've ever met a truly apathetic person. Everyone cares about something. The problem is, it is all too rarely the right thing. Our priorities are all screwed up. Believe it or not, there are people in this country who refuse to vote in favor of a bill that will prevent millions of the working poor and uninsured children from continuing to go without basic medical care. Meanwhile, these same people rush breathlessly to vote in favor of a bill that will prevent Gays from marrying. With priorities like that, we're doomed. It's that simple. Of course, you can't blame our elected leaders for this attitude. They learned it from us.
Ask the average American how much it costs to keep someone in prison for two years for smoking pot and they'll likely have no idea. Now ask them how much Brad and Angelina paid for their house. Ask them how much Beyonce paid for her Prada handbag. See what I mean? It isn't that we don't care. It's just that we don't care enough about the important stuff. We're too busy preparing for the new season of Project Runway.
The generations that built and preserved this country were driven by the desires to explore, learn, achieve and create. The generation that now occupies this great land is driven by the desires of comfort and ease. My wife showed me an ad in the paper last night. A national chain, which shall remain unnamed here, had on sale a 7" portable television, with remote. How lazy are we, anyway? How far away will you be sitting from a 7" television that your lazy ass needs a remote? After the 1960's, full-serve gas all but went the way of the Dodo Bird, as self-service became the order of the day. Lately, I have noticed a resurgence in full-service. I have also noticed something else. In this age of declining oil production and rising gas prices, many are willing to pay even more to have someone else pump their gas. Why? Because they don't care. They are more concerned with their own comfort. If this generation had been charged with the task of building this nation, we would all be living in huts along the Eastern Seaboard. Of course, one thing would be the same, no matter how lazy we are. We are never too lazy to hate.
Even more than the apathy born of mixed-up priorities, it is our lust to hate that will be our undoing. We have invented more excuses to hate, distrust and ostracize each other than any reasonable person could even imagine. Of all the records set by all of the Civilizations that have come before us, that is the record we shatter. Rather than look for one reason to get along and cooperate, we have built an imposing list of excuses not to.
Race, Ethicity, Nationality, Language, skin color, skin shade, gender, age, State of residence, City of residence, neighborhood of residence, the school you attend, your hair color, the music you listen to, the foods you eat, your whole culture, a stutter (or any physical malady), your fashion choices, sexual orentation, the car you drive...I could keep going all day. We don't revel in our differences because they make us feel unique and interesting. We revel in them because we can twist them to make ourselves feel superior, giving us a reason to keep this person or that at arm's length. If I don't want to let you in my carpool because my Mercedes has windshield wipers on the headlights and your Honda Accord doesn't, it is unlikely we will join forces to solve a common problem. I will assume that you are too poor and lacking ambition to be able to help someone who operates at my level and you will assume that anyone stupid enough to pay $2,000 extra for a car just because it had a pair of useless wipers on the headlights probably doesn't have enough sense to help anyone with a real problem. Of the two, I believe the latter man has a better chance of having his assumption proven but that's just my opinion.
These are the reasons I don't fear the Antichrist. I think, if he showed up now, he would end up leaving in disgust, his mission unfulfilled. I probably won't be around to see it but I would love to watch him try to get this bunch of misfits up off their asses and agreeing on anything. We can't agree on crap. Show four people the same event at the same time and you will get four different descriptions of the event. Why? Perception. Now, try the same with six billion people. It is all about our perceptions and that is why we are doomed to fail as a race. We have allowed our perceptions to be colored in such a way that nothing seems important unless it directly impacts us and anyone who thinks or believes or even looks different is automatically to be shunned, avoided, mistrusted or abused. A true cooperative spirit must be in play for us to survive. Too, bad. That is the one achievement of which we have repeatedly proven to be totally incapable. If we can't put aside our petty differences of race, religion, political parties and all the rest, we will fail.
Oh, and the creature comforts that are so important to you that you can't tear yourself away from their pursuit long enough to pitch in and help with the very real problems that transcend class and status:
When this society collapses, they will be the first things you lose.
Let's all pray that doesn't happen before they announce the new American Idol.