Depression Soars As Recession Bites

This morning's post will be short and maybe not so sweet.

The Observer reported today that the recession has led to an increase of 2.1 million prescriptions for anti-depressants!

Surprisingly some have voiced the concern that doctors are prescribing chemicals as a quick fix without considering the underlying cause or the potential for long term dependance. Fancy that?

The article even quotes some moron (sorry, gentleman) who shall be nameless ... who says he has "every sympathy" for doctors under pressure to succumb to needy patients because they want to "be liked" ... but what was really needed was "tough love".

Come on!!!

This is the most prolific industry human kind has ever spawned (with a longer shelf-life than petrochemicals), not a flipping popularity contest. Doctors prescribing medications "under pressure" that relieve in the short term and add stress in the long term are part of the problem.

The bigger picture is that, not only do we tolerate this absurdity, we actually hold this part of the machine in great esteem. Any donkey that knows his place will accept the wise counsel of a doctor blindly and without reservation. Doctors are, after all, on the cutting edge of civilized technology. We revere their judgement. And why not? When we are in trouble, they are there to magically make things better.

What makes me even sadder is that people like Oprah, who dare to suggest that prevention is better than cure, are attacked for their alleged ignorance. Why? Because it hurts business. There's less money in prevention than cure. And Oprah galvanises opinion by the million.

What would be nice is if we stopped pretending this wasn't actually the case and just accepted that that's how it is and people don't actually give two hoots about long term health. They just want relief in a painful, imperfect world.

For anybody who hasn't yet figured out the thrust of this post (and just about every other post on this blog) ... chemicals kill. They accumulate. They cause stress ... and you don't need a medical degree to correlate this with increases in disease. And everyone keeps pretending this isn't the case because it's what doctors do!

And, even worse, this is preventable with a simple reassessment of strategic direction. But there's just too much money in not fixing things!

What? Still don't get it? Medications are chemicals our bodies need precious energy to metabolise. This adds further burden to sick people. Even if these remedies come from someone with accepted credibility.

If you "need" Viagra, nature is telling you that your reproductive health sucks! If you "need" a laxative, nature is telling you that your digestion/elimination system is dysfunctional. If you "need" an anti-inflammatory, nature is telling you that something is out of whack. Something is causing these problems, so why just cover them up?

We don't need pills for diarrhoea ... or libido ... or weight loss ... or heartburn ... or any number of ailments. These are all symptoms of declining health. Doctors know this.

Neither do we need botox ... or plastic surgery ... or diets ... or HRT. These are all perceived magic bullets that fill holes in out own wretched lives. And any person that dares to call it like it is ... will be attacked as an under-qualified modern day heretic. We even have to qualify benign advice to drink clean water instead of synthetic garbage as "information", not intended to take the place of medical wah, wah, wah.

Just in case someone decided to take back responsibility for their own health and ceased to be dependant!

We have appointed custodians of our health who are caught up in a machine without even realising it. And if they do, why don't more of them speak up? God knows they have a keener appreciation of the issues at hand.

Why is this left to people without a real voice? There is surely something more sinister going on right under our noses.

And this my friends, is that we are being misinformed by industries that have a vested interest in keeping us in the dark.

Properly informed governments genuinely invested in reducing obesity, heart disease, premature aging, stroke, diabetes, depession, mental illness and the like will move far more aggressively towards education, prevention and enlightenment ... not mandated polypills and more regulations to muzzle outspoken people with brains, but limited recognised qualifications!

Of course, this is unlikely because there is too much money in the current system which creates patients that remain dependant for life.

But please ... can't someone stop all the meaningless drivel and just call it like it is?

Superman Sells Viagra!

Today I thought I'd pick on a post I came across on the BBC by a certain gentleman named Dr Richard Barker, the "Director General of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry".

You can find the article here.

In short, Dr Barker suggests that the contribution of the pharmaceutical industry is diminished by the perception that it is a greedy giant profiting at the expense of sick people. He suggests that the industry does not receive the recognition it deserves and goes on to talk about "unsung heroes" working on the front line "on a mission to address human disease."

Readers of this article could be excused for becoming quite choked up by the unfairness of it all. First Dr Barker puts a very human face on the nebulus giant. Then he tugs at the very roots of British pride by outlining medical accomplishments from Alexander Fleming (the Scot who discovered penicillin in 1928) to today's cutting edge UK research.

And I quote ... "Personally, I believe we are living in a very fortunate age. Since Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928, enormous advances have been made in terms of improving public health."

An indisputable contribution, no doubt. Anyone suffering from acute injury or disease, or anyone requiring palliative care has to be profoundly, enormously grateful that we live in modern times. Likewise, infectious diseases of the past have indeed been virtually erradicated ... and we have modern medicine to thank for that. No issues there, Sir.

But has the "public health" really improved? Chronic degenerative diseases resulting from preventable causes are now at unprecedented levels. "Adult-onset diabetes" has been renamed "Type 2" because it is such a huge factor in children now. Dementia in middle-age. Obesity and metabolic disorders ... the list goes on and on. And yes, we have ways of alleviating the symptoms. And yes, this means less suffering and fewer premature deaths.

But is the state of public health something any industry should be crowing about? The pharmaceutical industry is a master at symptom alleviation. You can buy medications for diarrhoea, constipation, pain, depression, weight-loss, sexual dysfunction, high cholesterol ... the list is endless. And every one of these conditions is largely preventable by lifestyle change.

About altruism, not money? Sure, why not? We need another hero. And we'll buy anything. But when will this industry start funding initiatives that show people how they can live healthier lives and avoid the need for symptom relief altogether? And not just cosmetic gestures?

I didn't think so.