Max: Do The Pills Stop Me From Being Me?
Or am I just damn lucky to live in an era when I can choose, at least to an extent, the sort of me I am?
Some thoughts on the subject at PsychologyToday.com.
Some thoughts on the subject at PsychologyToday.com.
posted by Max Dobberstein at 9/19/2008 12:04:00 PM
2 Comments:
I have to admit that my opinion on chemicals has changed over the last few years. Whether used for repair or enhancement.
I had always feared the effects of chemical use. I didn't have a problem with others using chemicals recreationally if they didn't hurt anyone else, but I didn't want to play with my brain.
When I was facing down depression in college, I just dove into it instead of trying to fix it. Mistake. Had I dealt with it, had I sought therapy, had I sought chemical solutions, maybe I would have done better in college. Where would my life be now had I overcome that fear?
But, I do remember watching a friend of mine in college. When I met her, she was bright. She was very smart, very active, even a little chihuahua like. Then, emotional crisis and she crashed. Turned out she had been on Ritalin for years. She missed a year of college as she recovered and detoxed from her Ritalin addiction. When she returned, I didn't recognize her. It was like something out of a movie. The prim dressed, tight red permed and zippy brainiac had become a fatigue jacket wearing, long haired stoner.
But, now, well, things are different. Everyday I am taking four different drugs that affect mind and body - more body than mind, but still. I need those drugs. My health is poor, without those drugs my health would be dire indeed. A few trips to the emergency room, and my attitude to drugs was changed forever.
I wouldn't say I'm currently depressed. I'm angry and frustrated, but I'm not depressed. However, I think if I was facing the levels of depression I faced in college now, I'd be in a doctor's office at light speed.
I am also looking forward to the future. We are seeing a world where pharmaceutical companies could run out of things to cure. I really think we could see a day where everything is cured with the right drug. What will Big-Pharm do then? I'll tell you. They will create drugs that will allow us to choose what we want to feel. We already do this to a primitive degree. Caffeine is an upper and increases concentration. Alcohol is a depressant that shores up self confidence. Weed is a depressant that offers euphoria. Big-Pharm could make a whole range of non-addictive, short term emotional enhancers or suppressives. Those might be a hell of a lot of fun! Emo-skittles!
The safer and more predictable drugs become, the easier it will be for all of us to change the "software" we choose to run on our "hardware".
I don't think it'll ever be that simple. For starters, there are SO many things to cure, that i don't think they will cure them all in our, or our childrens', lifetime.
As for the drugs changing who you are, Max... maybe. But maybe it's for the best? I think you're more accurate to say they change the sort of you you are.
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