Tantrum Warehouse
Tact Free Since 2003

Oh Go Take Your Viagra

2005-03-17
J and I were driving home and he was listening to talk radio. And they are talking about the steroid hearings (which my God do not start me talking about how pissed I am that they are wasting my tax dollars on fucking steroids when they could be dealing with health care, social security, education or whatever. Ok I started but FUCK). Anyway this guy goes on a rant about how everyone in our society is just too quick to take a pill and only wants shortcuts and wah wah these kids today.

On one hand, I agree. There are supplements for EVERYTHING. Most of which are ineffective and have not been proven to be safe. However, this guy was bragging about when he has a headache he goes to play squash for an hour (which who the FUCK PLAYS SQUASH ASSHOLE at least say basketball you tool) and refuses to take aspirin.

I hate that attitude.

I do. Because it takes an issue that is so individual and makes it black and white. It sets suffering in pain and not seeking medical assistance as a virtue. This idea is why people who are coughing for weeks wait until they have pneumonia to see a doctor. There is absolutely no virtue in having a headache. True, if you have headaches all the time you should investigate and try to find the source. However, there is no goddamn reason in the world to be in pain in the meantime.

Then he started in on depression. This is almost a quote (I wish I could find it online), "Now you can feel a little blue and just take a HAPPY pill."

He also claimed that anti-depressants were over the couter which man that would be news to me. And also, so illogical since they are serious medications that need to be monitored.

This is the shit that makes me crazy. This is how people who have depression and other mental illness ignore it. Its stigmatized to the point where they feel embarassed that they cannot take care of it on their own. Pick yourself up by your bootstraps and all that bullshit.

Now, do I think that medication should be the first and only remedy? No. Moderation for everything. But this guy literally said that if you ate right and excersised that you would be healthy and live until you are seventy.

Man, I call horseshit. Virtually everyone will need some medications to make it to even adulthood. Is he advicating getting rid of penicillin? Isn't that just a shortcut to getting out of illness? How is that different than telling people not to use pain medication or anti-depressants?

Moderation is everything. But just laying out that all medicine and vitamins and pain management is EVIL and we are all WEAK for using it is just garbage.

What do you want to bet that this asshole needs Viagra?

My doctor put this in the most perfect way possible. He told me, "You would most likely be able to resolve this depression on your own within a year. These pills will just make you feel more comfortable while you do that."

***

I hate to even be fair but J didn't hear this guy's argument that way at all. He said that he wasn't that vehement about it.

But to me he was totally making something cut and dried that clearly is not.

8:41 p.m. :: comment ::
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