Drugs in the verse.

POSTED BY: jewelstaitefan
UPDATED: Monday, August 10, 2009 08:21
VIEWED: 5933
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SERYN

Tuesday, August 4, 2009 9:28 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by jewelstaitefan:

Alcohol isn't a drug? Which definition of drug excludes alcohol?

None of them. I made the distinction only because its socially acceptable in most societies, and largely uncontrolled - i.e. you don't need a dealer or a doctor to get hold of it.

I don't think anyone I know has ever thought that a life long dependency on drug is good for all but the most untenable of conditions. Personally, i'm on anti-depressants at the moment - I resisted for years but i'm now taking them as something to help me function while other things like counselling and positive life changes kick in for a permenant (fingers crossed) cure.

If you don't mind me asking you seem entirely anti drug to the point that most people would find unusual - do you have a religious objection or a bad experience with them?

(and this post was bought to you by being up way past my bed time.)

BYTEMITE

Tuesday, August 4, 2009 9:44 PM

Some people do have to take drugs their entire lives in order to remain functional. It's not a great solution, but even a caretaker can't be there ALL the time.

Then again, I do think we're all over-medicated and medication can be an easy way out. Look at all the addiction to painkillers. And I think some of the prevalence of cancer may be related to over-medicating. I think we've done maybe five to fifty years of research on some medicines, and we still don't know all that they might do and what damage they might cause. For that reason, I try to abstain from using any medication.

And when I was depressed, and I had to take anti-depressants, it wasn't the drugs that cured me, that's for sure.

SERYN

Tuesday, August 4, 2009 10:06 PM

no, to be hoenst i never expeceted them to, and they come with a whole problem set of their own - i'm really shaky all the time and my attentions span has shrunk to nothing plus loads of other crap. But it is letting me function and i'm even leaving the house.

mini-yey.

BYTEMITE

Tuesday, August 4, 2009 10:16 PM

Hmm. That sounds a bit like anxiety. You don't think you're being treated for the wrong thing? I know for a fact I have had both. It's not easy to figure out where one ends and the other begins sometimes.

My anxiety is NOT cured. When I first started looking for work, I was almost crippled by the worry about how to get to interviews, how to perform in interviews, bus routes, so many myriad things to worry about. It was very hard for me to leave the house, and now and in the past to cope with stress, I escape onto the internet and into fantasy (like I'm doing right now). Sudden change and new uncertain activity can make me panic. And I'm also pretty much paranoid.

I guess the question I'm driving at, is your anxiety driving your depression, or is it, for certain, a side effect of your medication? Or is the medication exasperating symptoms of anxiety you had but did not express as much before?

SERYN

Wednesday, August 5, 2009 12:12 PM

Again, to be honest at one time or another i've been diagnosed with all of them (anxiety, depression, stress etc) It is hards to see where one ends and the other begins so I just tend to group it all together.

I'm looking forward to not having any of them, just as soon as i find out how to alter my brain.

Good luck, the paranoia is the worst - mine was mild, it just meant that half the time i didn't know i was reacting according to it. boh.

(and this post was bought to you by being up way past my bed time.)

BYTEMITE

Wednesday, August 5, 2009 2:14 PM

What I meant was, seems like anxiety can lead to depression sometimes.

But yeah, sometimes all you can do is treat what you can and find something that works for you long term, a combination of lifestyle and medicine you can live with.

KATESFRIEND

Thursday, August 6, 2009 1:44 AM

If you can find a licensed acupuncturist in your area, treatment may help reduce the level and intensity of your symptoms. Imbalances in certain meridians can lead to obsessive thoughts that long term can create anxiety.

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Thursday, August 6, 2009 8:59 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by seryn:
Quote:
Originally posted by jewelstaitefan:

Alcohol isn't a drug? Which definition of drug excludes alcohol?

None of them. I made the distinction only because its socially acceptable in most societies, and largely uncontrolled - i.e. you don't need a dealer or a doctor to get hold of it.

If you don't mind me asking you seem entirely anti drug to the point that most people would find unusual - do you have a religious objection or a bad experience with them?

I am mostly anti-drug. Just say no, to some extent. I think far too many civilized nations have their citizenry moderated by drugs. Doctors keep far too many customers - err, Imean "patients" on drugs to keepn up their drug company bribes - err, kickbacks.
I am not opposed to individuals choosing to take drugs, but I do think many should have greater discretion with them.

I've known docs who have wanted me to take mind-altering drugs, and some who have wanted to study me on them.

I do use caffiene, mostly when getting ony 2-6 hours of sleep. I think many women rely far too heavily upon alcohol to get lucky - they should learn to select their mates in a more reasonable fashion. I do consume alcohol. I have used aspirin, other basic painkillers, and Drixoral and Ornade, back when both were prescription meds. I used codeine for a week after some surgery.
I firmly believe that the vast majority of "bi-polar" and similar cases are caused by drug use.
Most drugs are immuno-suppressants, or immuno-depressants, and abuse of them will lead to so-called "Immune Deficiency Syndrome" just as they state on their warning labels.

I lived for some time in the area around Madison, WI. Each year they have several Hemp Fests, Pot Parties, and Harvest Fests. The parade on the pedestrian Mall leading to the State Capital is educational, albeit amid the toosing out of free baggies of pot. Most of the women don't find a caretaqker for their child, so dragging behind all the pot addicted moms are what seems like the state's supply of Down's Syndrome kids. Pretty sad, but when a woman takes immuno-depressants to subvert the fetal-protecting physiological reactions and allow (or insist upon) birth defective conditions to exist, nobody should be surprised at the resulting birth defects.

Add the fact that many drugs cause far worse effects than the "symptom" they are supposed to treat, and it looks a fairly horrid picture.
Want to drink or chow down some insecticide? have some Diet Mountain Dew, or zero fat Ice Cream Bars, or NSA Chocolate Milk, or lowfat Hersheys Chocolate - they all have the tri-chloral chemical called sucralose in them - and when you get a headache from it, most of the aspirins now have it in as well, to give you more headaches to perpetuate your dependancy. This stuff can only be acceptable to those who think nothing of stuffing drugs into themselves. Same goes for aspartame, saccharin, high fructose corn syrup, and other chemical garbage.

I should stop before this sounds like a rant.

PHOENIXROSE

Thursday, August 6, 2009 9:44 AM

I personally found it kind of profound the way River asked "Is it time to go to sleep again?" in Ariel, and just looked at Simon rather sadly when he said it was time to wake up.
Not that I don't think Simon wasn't trying to help River, he clearly was. He cared for her and wanted her to be well. And maybe, with her brain sliced apart, nothing would make her truly sane or stable, and the best option would be the illusions created by drugs. But I also think the mind is an extraordinary thing, that can solve a lot of problems. Brains have been seen to re-wire themselves to compensate for things that might be damaged in some way. The nervous system is designed to regulate us, in all our chemical needs, and it's when the nervous system is out of whack that we have problems. I think it can actually be fixed, not just glossed over so many times it forgets its function.
Illusion is all drugs offer. They don't offer wellness, they don't offer a true cure for anything, they just make it easier to ignore problems. I don't condemn anyone who takes medications when they have a real debilitating problem, but too often I see medications taking the place of pursuing actual wellness, because they're easier. When it isn't a medication, it's alcohol or other non-pharma 'solutions.' They form dependency, all of them, because people who take them too much don't want to face what things might be like without them, and convince themselves that they can't. Ultimately, I think drugs deaden experience of life, both good and bad. They gloss over parts of reality that we might not like, and at the same time I think they can gloss over some of the best feelings in the world. Some of them can spark poor judgment, and all of them have unwanted effects.
I don't use anything beyond caffeine and the occasional painkiller. I limit painkillers as much as possible, especially since I read a tiny little study that said Tylenol was likely the leading cause of liver damage in the country. I find alcohol distasteful, literally I can't stand the taste or the smell, and I like to have all my faculties intact anyway. I find all forms of smoking stinky and offensive, so it never crossed my mind to do it myself. And when I've felt depressed or anxious, which has happened more than once, I find out why and I do my best to face it. Not a super-pleasant process, but it's worked so far. My support system usually involves chocolate and plenty of vitamins, which actually do seem quite helpful. Chocolate pretty much is an unrefined antidepressant. Being unrefined, it's harder to be totally dependent on it, something I want to avoid.
I'm kinda rambling. Sorry, it's late. The crux of this ramble, I guess, is that I think too much of the world is asleep, and doing their best to stay that way because being awake is less consistently pleasant. But I also think it's poison, in all senses of the word, and should be used in tight moderation, if at all. A lot of people disagree with me, plenty of people even think I'm quite mad to view things as I do, but I truly do think that life should be experienced, in its purest possibility, pain and joy, as intense as they can get, because you really can't have the good without the bad. Without either, you just float in existence, without really existing.
Without passion, we would be truly dead.

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MANGOLO

Thursday, August 6, 2009 9:48 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Katesfriend:
There's no such thing as a drug without a side effect.

My doctor has me on finasteride. Possible side effects?

Lower libido, nipple sensitivity, male lactation, increased hair growth.

Luckily I haven't started lactating yet.

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