The idea that life is too difficult or unbearable and much of our society being sold on quick fixes and instant remedies has led to a large percentage of our population taking one kind of drug or another on a routine basis to try and cope with situations.
Most drugs simply mask the pain and discomfort or alter symptoms for which they are taken yet they very rarely cure anything.
The practice of liberally prescribing drugs to people for ailments has railroaded its way into the drug treatment field, which is alarming in several ways, especially since the non-medical use of prescription drugs is the fastest growing category of substance abuse, now encompassing more than two percent of the total American population twelve or older.
It has become far too common a practice for traditional addiction treatment programs to prescribe antidepressant drugs to curb symptoms of depression in drug users. The recent issue of strict "black box" warning labels added to all antidepressant drugs because of increased suicidal thoughts and behavior among children and adolescents is just one example of the severity of the side effects. Should the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisors who pressed for the warnings to be added continue to investigate, they will likely encompass all persons taking them and not just children and teens.
Dangerous drugs hitting the market with direct-to-consumer advertising, skewed research, aggressive promotion to doctors and even fraud by various pharmaceutical companies continues to have a wide negative impact on the nation for which all of us are paying in one way or another.
In the case of substance abuse, the goal of rehabilitation should not be to have to learn to live with a manufactured disease and take drugs for the symptoms, but to acquire the knowledge, tools and skills to be in control over one\s environment, thus continually improving the conditions in the former addict\'s life. True rehabilitation doesn't substitute one harmful chemical for another.
This is a message that one of the nation's most effective drug rehabilitation and education programs, Narconon Arrowhead, has been promoting for many years. In fact, Narconon literally means "narcotics-none", and happens to produce a success rate more than three times the national average for ending addiction. Founded in Arizona State Prison in 1966 by William Benitez, the program uses the drug-free social education methodology researched and developed by American author and humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard.
In an essay entitled Our Biochemical Society Mr. Hubbard wrote, "Medical and most particularly psychiatric drugs can be every bit as damaging as street drugs. The prevalence of these currently in common use would be quite amazing to one unfamiliar with the problem."
That was written decades ago. The problem has grown since then and appears to continue to get worse as long as this society chooses to seek chemical solutions to cope with difficulties in life.
For more information on how to overcome drug addiction or to find help for a loved one in need, contact Narconon Arrowhead today at 1-800-468-6933 or log on to www.stopaddiction.com.
To view the Food and Drug Administration's current list of warnings and documentation regarding the risks of these drugs visit www.fda.gov and search for antidepressants.
