On May 17th, I walked briskly down Concourse B in
Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International airport to
catch a flight to Boston. The upcoming weekend series
between the Braves and Red Sox would be to die for.
Suddenly, a vast array of colorful advertisements
mounted on the walls of Concourse B stopped me - dead
in my tracks.
Otsuka American Pharmaceuticals and Bristol Myers
Squibb welcomed everyone ahead of time to the May 21 -
May 26, 2005, American Psychiatric Association
conference. The makers of Lunesta announced in
blue-green-white colors that everyone should hurry and
grab their bags - Lunesta awaits. All you have to do
is blink, and an advertisement for Ambien appears.
After all, no one has the ability to "sleep" anymore.
Does Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin want us all to
feel like we're at the conference, or just being
pimped for drugs? Come to think of it, is there any
significant difference between the two?
Let's get something straight. Right now. Psychiatry
has become the legalized practice of prescribing
pills, rather than the purposeful practice of
assisting us with problems of the heart and soul. In
fact, The American Psychiatric Association ought to be
renamed to better describe its position in our lives.
Let's rename the APA: The American Pill Association.
Its iron clad links to Big Pharma and taxpayer funded
agencies intent on screening the entire American
population for mental illness are terribly dangerous.
All the while, nothing is done to kill the Big Lie.
Namely, that a stigma is attached to those who
allegedly suffer from mental illness.
Consider this. You don't have to be a practicing
psychiatrist to be outraged by what's happened to the
mental health profession as a whole. If you're one of
the millions of parents in this country who have
weaned a loved one off psychotropic drugs, you're
actually more qualified than most psychiatrists to
comment on how psychiatry and its pal Big Pharma seek
compliant, rather than courageous, souls.
Getting back to the asinine notion that there is a
stigma attached to those who allegedly suffer from
mental illness, exactly who is it that attaches an
undefined stigma - to other people? I've never
understood this obnoxious word game.
What I do understand is psychiatry attaches a stigma
to those who question the use of psychotropic drugs on
children. Dare speak out against the invention of
"teen" depression, and you'll be smeared as a
Scientologist. Advocate therapy as wonderfully
exhibited in the classic movie, "Good Will Hunting",
as more sane than popping Prozac, and you'll be
branded as "uncompassionate."
Oh well. Families visiting Atlanta on May 21 - May
26, 2005, certainly need to be looking out for drug
dealers selling their wares in the heart of downtown.
It's just that the most dangerous drug dealers happen
to be spewing nonsense safely inside the Georgia World
Congress Center with prescription pads burning holes
in their pockets full of - Big Pharma freebies.
Bold and colorful advertisements for drugs to treat
the subjective diagnosis of depression and the
inability to "sleep" blanket our International
airports. A Presidential call to eventually screen
every American for alleged mental illness. Good God.
What's next?
Look at the bright side. At least we no longer have
to worry about a Brave New World creeping ever so
slowly toward us. It's already here. Were you trying
to sleep?
So, what are you going to do about it?
Watch another episode of Desperate Housewives?
Zizza is a freelance writer based in the Atlanta area.
He presently serves as Vice President for the State of Georgia
for the non-profit organization,
Parents For Label and Drug Free
Education.
Read Zizza's "Think Twice" column at
http://www.ablechild.org/newsarchive.htm
