Americans continue to want quick fixes and better living through chemistry. Feeling low? Take a pill. Anxious? Here's a pill. Over-weight? You name it, there's a pill for every feeling and behavior.
Among the young and fearless, amphetamines have resurfaced as a drug of choice. There is wide-spread speed abuse through methamphetamine, because it is easy and inexpensive to manufacture.
But it's not just "those druggies." Upper and middle class intellectuals and your ambitious New York and LA trendies are using stimulant drugs to spur their creative juices into 80 hour work weeks. Only they use prescription drugs,of course. Doctors are willing to diagnose adult Attention Deficit Disorder and write scripts for Ritalin and Adderall.
Here's what Jane Genova, a writer out of Manhattan reports on her blog:
November 24, 2005
Adderall Nation, Forget Prozac
by Jane Genova
Adderall, says Ian Daly in the December issue of DETAILS Magazine, "is now the dirty secret of professional success." Meanwhile, David Stipp, in November 28th FORTUNE Magazine, discusses the Prozac backlash.
In America, where we seek better living through pharmaceutical solutions, what pills we're popping tell a lot about who we are, were, and are becoming.
...America, the land of excess, fads and optimism about finding the right fixes for everything and anything, will probably continue to use and abuse Adderall. There will be the "Adderall Look" -- too focused, emaciated, tired -- that will dominate professional circles. Not having it will be a signal not to take us seriously (we're probably only working 60 hours a week). Well-intentioned muckrakers will push for a ban on Adderall and a rethinking of our notion of success.
And then, America, the land of pragmatism, will switch to something that seems to be working better, with less social censure and physical/emotional wear-and-tear.
In case you missed this fad, don't go running out to your doctor for your prescription. Rumor has it that the best brain 'highs' come from life itself.
And the best work, (that which can actually lead to an 80 hour work week quite naturally) is when you love what you do for a living.
(Shameless Product Promotion: If you want a natural stimulant, try the products over at www.mind-fx.com; they are actually good for your brain and body. Did I mention legal, too? MaxxImpulse, Neurocharge, and AfterMath for your brain.)
Doctors, and in some cases the pharmacists, should be aware of the potential problems of long term use of such drugs, and give advice and help once the time has come to stop them. The dose should be reduced gradually rather than suddenly stopping the supply.Thanks for the post.
Posted by: anonymous | March 10, 2009 at 03:59 AM
Most people rely on drugs now, If they want to loose weight they take a sliming pills, if they want to have a fairer white skin they take glutathions,there are many kinds of drugs now that sometimes we never taught what was the effect of using it.
-jomie-
http://www.oceanhillsrecovery.com
Posted by: pill addiction | May 24, 2009 at 10:42 PM