Over Medicated Americans

Americans have a problem, though I don’t know how many actual Americans would admit it if asked. That problem is medication, the over utilization of it for every ailment under the sun, and a lack of desire to try natural methods of healing. It astonishes me how many new ailments there are when I watch the little TV that I do. It seems every week there is a new ailment with a new medication, the ailment likely caused by a different medication that was prescribed for some previous ailment. It goes on and on, a never ending cycle of medication to cure us of side effects of other medications, cure us of everything else under the sun, and regain our “health”. Yet, before medication, how did we survive? Its not like people suffered from a Tylenol deficit until Tylenol was invented and all of a sudden people were cured. If you were to walk up to any random person in the United States, I bet there is a greater than 75% chance that they are on some medication for something. Instead of looking for the natural cure, or the more natural lifestyle that will lead to improved health, we rush to the doctor to get prescribed a pill that will solve our problems. Just don’t look at the side effects. I for one, have not taken any sort of “medication” in over 20 years. In terms of painkillers, I was on a 12+ year streak of not taking any, till I broke my wrist almost a year ago and needed surgery. For that, I took pain killers, but within 2 weeks took myself off the Oxycotin and within a few weeks after that was off the extra strength Tylenol as well. I didn’t want the addiction, and when it came down to it, the pain was tolerable within a month of surgery.

The point is, we are capable of dealing with more pain than we think we can. In terms of medication, there are many methods for “curing” ourselves of our ailments without resorting to pills, potions, and lotions. Whether it is through lifestyle changes, healthier eating, or natural supplements, there are ways to help our body heal itself. After all, a medication will never “cure” us of anything. They mostly mask the problem through chemicals, either subduing some aspects of our body or enhancing others. Medications never were and never should be, a permanent solution to any ailment, yet many times people treat them as such. No wonder our healthcare is so damn expensive in the United States. We need to cover so many medications for so many ailments that everyone ends up paying for it. We are not a healthy country, we are a drug dependent country and the pharmaceutical companies are making profits off of it. It has seeped so much into everyone’s lives that most won’t give a second thought to popping a pill or taking any medication, regardless of side effects.

It has even gotten to the point where people use over the counter medications for uses they aren’t intended for. I was in a meeting a few weeks ago when a young gentleman, in his 30’s, sat down and immediately apologized for being a little groggy, he claimed he had to take NyQuil the night before. Someone else asked if he was feeling ok as NyQuil is typically used as a cough suppressant, a nasal decongestant, and a sleep aid due to coughing and a runny nose. He said he was fine, and just needed to sleep, so he took NyQuil. I was baffled. I would never think of just taking NyQuil to help me sleep, let alone taking NyQuil period. There are many other methods that are much more natural if one needs help sleeping, but there are also other lifestyle changes that one can make to aid in the swiftness of falling asleep as well. As I grow older, I have found that I have a limit now on how late I can drink coffee before not being able to sleep at night. If I have coffee after that hour, I know I will have trouble sleeping, but even then, I will tough it out and not take anything because I don’t want side effects the next day or later on as a result. The point is, if we want to lead long and healthy lives, the best way to do that is to kick the medications and lead a healthier lifestyle including the foods we ingest. If we want to do us all a favor as Americans, we need to stop taking medications so we can lower our health insurance costs. If we keep taking all these pills, potions, and lotions and ending up in the doctor’s office more frequently because of the side effect, or worse, the ER, then we can only expect costs to rise even further. We are ultimately in control of our bodies, and we could be in control of the costs to us if we got enough people on board. Stop popping the pills and start living a healthier lifestyle. Lets change the narrative and create a healthier planet all around. It is up to us, no one else.