“Better living through chemicals”; have you ever seen that bumper sticker? It seems to me with every passing decade (it doesn’t even take that long sometimes) we have more and more people ‘fixing’ their life with a pill. It that right? In the world of psychology the arguments rage – biochemical therapy vs. psychodynamic or talk-therapy. Of course the entire field of psychology grew out of the medical profession, so while earlier aspects of psychology support biochemical therapy, later evolutions of psychology (Humanistic and Transpersonal psychology) look at life from a different perspective.  

Making things harder however are scientific and medical advances including observation of those that have suffered great brain damage. There are without a doubt medications that can fix some mental disorders. An imbalance in serotonin for example has been proven to be the cause in some depression. SSRI medications are critical in some depression cases, to get life back to normal. The biological cause of schizophrenia is more and more being unveiled, so better methods of treating that very common disorder are being discovered. Men have lost entire portions of their brain in traumatic accidents, and have suffered absolutely no changes except behavioral changes. The fact remains however, that many of the root issues in some disorders have not been proven to be biochemical, and yet we try to treat them with medication – western society has come to know and want the ‘quick-fix’.  

Talk-therapy is too long a process. I want to feel better NOW! Of course we all want to feel better, and medications can get you over a hump, but why not attempt to fix or better yet integrate the issue into your life. Medications have over the decades primarily treated the symptoms; psychiatric medications are no different. If you’ve been diagnosed with any form of psychological disorder, and been given drugs to ‘fix’ it, OK – take the drugs, but it’s hugely important you find out all you can about the disorder, and take the true measures to fix it. – A pill is sometimes, but not always the answer.  

Bright blessings ~ Richard