4 ms·

Consumerism: the protection or promotion of the interests of consumers I think there are very definitely market forces at work, keeping people in the mindset t

by mmjaa 8y ago

Consumerism: the protection or promotion of the interests of consumers I think there are very definitely market forces at work, keeping people in the mindset that pharmaceuticals are the only 'real' effective solution to their ills - when so, so many other alternatives are available. I don't doubt that chemicals can make peoples lives happier - I see it all the time. What I resist, however, is the notion that individuals should subjugate themselves to collective will just because everyone says pharmaceuticals are the way. Maybe strengthening ones resistance to groupthink and collective-derived thought processes is also an effective way to strengthen ones mental health .. alas, this point of view is too often overwhelmed by the very mob it serves to service, however ...

SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
> What I resist, however, is the notion that individuals should subjugate themselves to collective will just because everyone says pharmaceuticals are the way. Maybe strengthening ones resistance to groupthink and collective-derived thought processes is also an effective way to strengthen ones mental health .. alas, this point of view is too often overwhelmed by the very mob it serves to service, however ... What I'm getting from this is you have a specific agenda against "group think and collective-derived thought processes" and are being purposefully vague, as demonstrated with "...". What is your alternative? You seem to have one in mind.
- mmjaa 8y ago
  The alternative: question what you are being told about why you don't feel good, and don't just go along with the pack - its not always headed in the right direction. Case in point: The West's mental health addiction problem. It isn't getting better because of pharmaceutical treatment: its getting worse.
  - SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
    So reject the best known treatments, flawed as they may be, and instead choose internal reflection, when for many conditions being unable to accurately reflect is either a cause or a symptom of the condition?
    - mmjaa 8y ago
      There are many, many alternatives to a life of addiction. My only point is, don't just blindly accept pharmaceutical dependence without at least considering the alternatives. Pharmaceutical addiction is no benign thing - addiction and dependency is a key factor in the profit motives of the military-industrial-pharmaceutical complex. Before you fall for their traps, be sure you've considered the alternative.
      - SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
        I'm a bit concerned about a figure it out yourself approach to this sort of thing - it can be very hard for someone who is cognitively compromised to make an objectively good choice. Also it can be hard to make an actual good choice when you don't have all the right education - the pro-plague crowd honestly think they are making the correct choice based upon their consideration of all the alternatives.
        mmjaa 8y ago
        >it can be very hard for someone who is cognitively compromised to make an objectively good choice Accepting ones own personal responsibility is a requirement for a healthy mental condition; leaving the responsibility for ones mental health to other agencies and denying ones own agency - well, this is the very definition of mentally un-well. Educate yourself before you fall into this scenario, is what I'm saying. Sure, if you're so mentally un-well that you can't care for yourself, you're going to need help - but too many times, that help turns to betrayal when one problem (mental illness) gets supplanted with another (pharmaceutical addiction). There are no silver bullets to mental illness - not even the ones that come in a nicely packaged pill container. We do not have the handle on mental illness that we think we do. So no, just assuming "because everyone else is doing it" is not a good enough reason, imho, to put oneself in the position of addiction to pharmaceutical products. Take personal responsibility, and consider the alternatives before one becomes pharmaceutically dependent in order to maintain a 'healthy life'. This is a mine-field, and is by no means a settled issue in our current culture.
  - mastox 8y ago
    I'm not sure I understand what this means: "The West's mental health addiction problem." Do you mean a over reliance on antidepressants for treatment?

by mmjaa 8y ago

SketchySeaBeast 8y ago

> What I resist, however, is the notion that individuals should subjugate themselves to collective will just because everyone says pharmaceuticals are the way. Maybe strengthening ones resistance to groupthink and collective-derived thought processes is also an effective way to strengthen ones mental health .. alas, this point of view is too often overwhelmed by the very mob it serves to service, however ... What I'm getting from this is you have a specific agenda against "group think and collective-derived thought processes" and are being purposefully vague, as demonstrated with "...". What is your alternative? You seem to have one in mind.

mmjaa 8y ago
The alternative: question what you are being told about why you don't feel good, and don't just go along with the pack - its not always headed in the right direction. Case in point: The West's mental health addiction problem. It isn't getting better because of pharmaceutical treatment: its getting worse.
- SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
  So reject the best known treatments, flawed as they may be, and instead choose internal reflection, when for many conditions being unable to accurately reflect is either a cause or a symptom of the condition?
  - mmjaa 8y ago
    There are many, many alternatives to a life of addiction. My only point is, don't just blindly accept pharmaceutical dependence without at least considering the alternatives. Pharmaceutical addiction is no benign thing - addiction and dependency is a key factor in the profit motives of the military-industrial-pharmaceutical complex. Before you fall for their traps, be sure you've considered the alternative.
    - SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
      I'm a bit concerned about a figure it out yourself approach to this sort of thing - it can be very hard for someone who is cognitively compromised to make an objectively good choice. Also it can be hard to make an actual good choice when you don't have all the right education - the pro-plague crowd honestly think they are making the correct choice based upon their consideration of all the alternatives.
      - mmjaa 8y ago
        >it can be very hard for someone who is cognitively compromised to make an objectively good choice Accepting ones own personal responsibility is a requirement for a healthy mental condition; leaving the responsibility for ones mental health to other agencies and denying ones own agency - well, this is the very definition of mentally un-well. Educate yourself before you fall into this scenario, is what I'm saying. Sure, if you're so mentally un-well that you can't care for yourself, you're going to need help - but too many times, that help turns to betrayal when one problem (mental illness) gets supplanted with another (pharmaceutical addiction). There are no silver bullets to mental illness - not even the ones that come in a nicely packaged pill container. We do not have the handle on mental illness that we think we do. So no, just assuming "because everyone else is doing it" is not a good enough reason, imho, to put oneself in the position of addiction to pharmaceutical products. Take personal responsibility, and consider the alternatives before one becomes pharmaceutically dependent in order to maintain a 'healthy life'. This is a mine-field, and is by no means a settled issue in our current culture.
- mastox 8y ago
  I'm not sure I understand what this means: "The West's mental health addiction problem." Do you mean a over reliance on antidepressants for treatment?