There has been an awful lot of news coverage lately
concerning the drugging of our children with
psychotropic drugs and antidepressants. If I were to
say, "It's about time!", it would be a gigantic
understatement.
New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has
filed a lawsuit against GlaxoSmithKline, the maker of
the antidepressant Paxil. Fathers like Chad Taylor of
New Mexico are standing up to the Department of
Children, Youth and Families who want him charged with
child abuse and neglect for refusing to continue
feeding his son Ritalin. And concerned citizens
everywhere are shaking their heads at yet another
government study that allegedly shows depressed teens
do better with Prozac than with talk therapy alone.
There is a growing tide, a backlash if you will, aimed
at those who believe psychotropic drugs and
antidepressants are the answer for all that ails us
and our children. Much like the O.J. Simpson murder
trial a decade ago, the problem is not a lack of
evidence. The problem is one of execution. That is,
if we all were willing to look at the mountains of
evidence pointing to the horrific dangers of
psychotropic drugs and antidepressants, we would
become very ashamed we feed our children and ourselves
these poisons. We would have to look at ourselves for
the solution to our problems and those of our
children.
But I am not so sure this is going to happen anytime
soon. Why? There is no responsibility, remorse or
shame left in our culture. Poor parenting skills seem
to be a choice too many parents are making.
Of all the articles, protests, opinions and the like
bemoaning the our magic pill society, I think
syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker said it best in
her June 6th column, "Depressed and Dosed In the
Absence of Time."
She correctly scoffed at the study of 439 youths that
allegedly showed children do better with Prozac than
with just talk therapy.
We are right to put a lot of blame on the mental
health profession and the pharaceutical industry for
selling and marketing depression and its drugs. The
huge rises in the amount of drugs sold and children
diagnosed with depression significant enough to
warrant Prozac and other goodies is evidence alone our
children are under siege.
Nonetheless, we as parents can fight back, be
responsible, use common sense, and understand Kathleen
Parker is right when she says one of the problems is
many parents "don't want to take the time" to even
engage our children or see talk therapy through. She
notes a psychiatry professor, and this goes for a lot
of people, who said in effect it's hard to get people
into talk therapy.
It's only hard because we want a quick fix. We want
closure before simple discussions about problems have
even started. Dangerous psychotropic drugs and
antidepressants are fed to our children who live by
their credo they "have problems", but don't dare,
along with their parents, to try and define "what" the
problems are. Just might be - attitude. I shudder to
think how many parents have chosen Prozac or Paxil as
a buffer to their children's attitude problem because
they just don't have time or the temerity to make
their children do the unthinkable - open up.
In all of this, everything always comes back to doing
good, and "First, do no harm."
We as parents must give a 100 percent effort, and
demand no less from our children.
It's time to start improving our parenting skills from
within. Stop allowing the pharmaceutical companies
with their magic pills, brochures and videos to do
what we alone must do - raise our children.
Zizza writes frequently about parenting and mental
health issues. He serves as Vice President/Georgia of
Parents For
Label and Drug Free Education.
Zizza also serves as an Advisor to the
Alliance to
Stop the Influence of Psychiatry in Religion and
Education.
Email comments to him at:
tz777@yahoo.com
