Danielle+D’s+OpEd+Article

"Pill-Poppin’ Nation" Danielle D. media type="file" key="danielled-muckraker-0910.mp3" America is a country of addicts. From caffeine to heroin there is no doubt that we have a problem. But the most overlooked addiction is the most common, pills. But it is not just about popping pills, it is about America’s medicinal obsession with the “quick fix”. Whenever we find ourselves with a problem, we always look to the fastest cure, which is not necessarily the best one, or even really a cure for that matter. Got a headache? Take an Advil. Muscles hurt? Take a Motrin. Depressed? Take a Prozac. Paranoia? Take a pill. Can’t sleep? Take a pill. And so on. The problem with this method is that it is not a cure, its temporary. The problem is not fixed; it is just put off, and will inevitably get worse, because it is not really treated. Furthermore, there is dependency; some people are incapable of functioning without their pills. Also, all this pill-popping makes it so people have a tolerance to the medicine that makes it so it does not work at full strength when they really do need it.

America’s quick fix method goes beyond just pills; we also have cortisone shots, unnecessary back surgeries. It is a mess. All brought upon by the American mentality to pain.

Stop the pain. That is the American mentality. It causes people to put off a real cure, so long as they will not be in pain right at this very moment, which can turn what may have been a minor hurt into what could be a life-long problem. People that have sleeping pills develop a biological need that makes it so they cannot sleep without the pills, then after awhile they will not be able to sleep at all due to increasing tolerance levels to the chemicals. So they end up worse then when they started. Why don’t they figure out what is causing the problem? Find a real cure? Think about Type Two Diabetes. Many people who have it are overweight. Instead of losing weight, exercising, eating right, becoming healthier, they take a pill, and sink lower into the pit of disease.

As a swimmer I am prone to painful shoulder problems, and I know what it is like to be in pain and just want it to stop. But the fact is that one little shot (the cortisone shot) does not and will not do anything but put off the pain for a little while. Two weeks later, and you will still hurt after a particularly brutal set. It is about long term solutions, a cure that may take longer, but that will last. The real cure is physical therapy, chiropractors, cross-training, stretching, and building up those particular muscles. It is a long and painful process, but it is what works. Real cures (like my shoulders one) take time, and patience. A pill does not cure anything, but America just can’t seem to comprehend that.

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