In defense of happy pills.Maia Szalavitz took heroin to stop depressing herself, and she now takes Zoloft for the same reason. She argues that the rewards of self-examination--and psychotherapy psychotherapy, treatment of mental and emotional disorders using psychological methods. Psychotherapy, thus, does not include physiological interventions, such as drug therapy or electroconvulsive therapy, although it may be used in combination with such methods. is not the only way to know oneself--are no different from the happiness she feels after ingesting Zoloft, and she seems bothered by statements in my book, Addiction Is a Choice: "I oppose the use of heroin for the same reason I oppose the use of Prozac. I think relying on these is an existential ex·is·ten·tial adj. 1. Of, relating to, or dealing with existence. 2. Based on experience; empirical. 3. Of or as conceived by existentialism or existentialists: cop-out--a way of avoiding coping with life." Yet Szalavitz never actually responds to what she considers worth quoting. She has chosen to take issue with me for criticizing the use of heroin and cocaine, and for pointing out the similarity with using Zoloft. I believe there is a difference between spending 14 years training in the martial arts This is a list of martial arts, broken down by region and style. African martial arts Eritrea
Certainly, she has a right to abstain from abstain from verb refrain from, avoid, decline, give up, stop, refuse, cease, do without, shun, renounce, eschew, leave off, keep from, forgo, withhold from, forbear, desist from, deny yourself, kick ( self-examination, just as people should be free to use drugs without penalty and without prescription. She doesn't seem to want to know how or why she is depressing herself; she refers to this as indulging oneself in meaningless pain and suffering. But understanding how a person makes herself depressed is key to changing the way she feels. Taking a drug that makes her feel good about herself is different from reaping the fruits of self examination. Jeffrey A. Schaler Department of Justice, Law and Society School of Public Affairs Those public information, command information, and community relations activities directed toward both the external and internal publics with interest in the Department of Defense. Also called PA. See also command information; community relations; public information. American University American University, at Washington, D.C.; United Methodist; founded by Bishop J. F. Hurst, chartered 1893, opened in 1914. It was at first a graduate school; an undergraduate college was opened in 1925. Programs provide for student research at many government institutions. Washington, D. C. Maia Szalavitz argues: "Unlike in any other area of medicine, treatments that reduce pain and suffering, rather than being welcomed as miraculous breakthroughs, often are denigrated as quick fixes. They're viewed as band-aids that cover up, but do not solve, the real problem." But in other areas of medicine, sometimes treatments that could make patients feel better aren't used precisely because they could mask other problems that are potentially life-threatening. Mike Swaim Houston, TX |
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