AD(H)D Medications

Tussin does not cure a cold, and Ritalin does not cure bad behavior. They're both more like supressants if anything, and in the end you're most likely better off waiting out the cold or teaching your kid how to behave, not how to take a pill and telling them that they need a pill to behave.

In my personal opinion, that attitude ends you up with adults who pop prescribed anti-depressants rather than actually fixing their depressing situation.

Now, I'm not going to say ADHD doesn't exist, and chronic depression doesn't exist, but I WILL say that a large majority of the time, people use ADHD medications and anti-depressants as an easy fix, and this is not a good attitude to have.

Yes, most of my post is opinionated and I can't back any of it up with facts, but I feel that most of it is true.

Well, if you subscribe to the philosophy that you should allow the body to get better on its own, then by all means don't take Robutussin. But where does it stop? Should you not take antibiotics for infections? Should you not be vaccinated to protect against the flu? Surely, even if you subscribe to the minimal medicine philosophy, there has to be a line you draw which once you cross you will be okay with taking pills, or other forms of medication. You simply draw that line further out than most. I personally do not wish to agonize through the symptoms of a cold without the aid of medicine when it is harmless and easily accessible. I also do not wish to set myself back in class because I can not concentrate like I should be able to. If there is a fix to the problem, I will gladly accept it. Most parents who have their kids take ADD medication probably feel the same way.

If there were severe negative side-effects to the medication, then I would agree with you. Then we should look twice. As it is right now, the side effects are minimal in most cases.

So pretty much your philosophy is "why fix a problem when you can cover it up with medication"?

I mean, I'm not saying that someone who is getting a leg amputated shouldn't get morphine, I'm saying that parents shouldn't use medicine to discipline their kids.

If a kid honestly has a problem, like you're saying, then I see no reason NOT to take medicine for it, as there's nothing better to do about it. I know some people who simply cannot concentrate on anything, and they take medication for it. That is not the same as a kid who can't behave so their parents give them medication.

Am I being clear enough, or would you like for me to elaborate more?

My philosophy isn't covering up a problem with medication, it's fixing the problem via medication. The problem isn't the underlying cause for the symptoms, it is the symptoms themselves. The medicine fixes the symptoms.

I'm not saying give Adderall or Ritalin for bad behavior. They fix AD[H]D. That is different from simple bad behavior. However, hypothetically speaking, if there was a medicine for curing bad behavior I'd be all for it. It does not cover up the porblem, it fixes the problem.

Right now the only fix for bed behavior (that I know of) is behavioral therapy. That, then, is what I would suggest for fixing bad behavior. For fixing AD[H]D, I'd be for AD[H]D medication.

And what of my anti-depressants analogy?

Say someone has a shitty life, and they're depressed by this. They take anti-depressants to be happy. Is this fixing the problem?

That is conditional. If the only problem is that they are depressed and if the anti-depressants make them happy, then problem solved. However, if the anti-depressants make them content with a life that is spiraling downwards then the anti-depressants cease being innocuous. I still think that behavioral therapy along with the anti-depressants can counteract the negative effects of the anti-depressants making the anti-depressants a viable option once again.

How is that conditional, MJ? If someone's life is fucked up and they take meds to cope with that, that's not right. Like I said, that's just covering up the problem.