Post Pandemic — Medication Frenzy?

I wrote a post earlier about the trap our society has set or allowed. This is the medication trap. I want to preference my comment by saying I am a HUGE mental, emotional, & spiritual wellness advocate. I believe in the importance of bringing awareness and solutions to wellness. What I am not, however, is a believer or advocate that pills solve the issue — if anything it masks it and presents other issues.

We Are Humans

Depression, anxiety, & oppositional defiant disorder doesn’t come from nowhere. It isn’t a random chemical imbalance. They have root causes. And it is those root causes that must be addressed. We are humans, not robots. We feel, we see, we hear, and these experiences affect our thinking which affects our bodies and health. We can not solve a mental health crisis with medication.

According to Medical News Today, depression rates have tripled since the start of the pandemic. Just imagine how the pandemic has dramatically affected the youth. For some of them, the school was a way out from a toxic home. Being forced to stay in an abusive toxic home has taken a toll on the youth.

I Hope That I Am Wrong

My hope is that medication prescription and abuse won't reach an all-time high post-pandemic. According to Pesce, anti-anxiety medication prescription has spiked 34% since the pandemic. Anti-Depressants and anti-insomnia saw a 21% increase. Now some would read this and believe that because of the pandemic people find themselves needing help and more services.

However, the problem is that system of thinking aids in the drug, evasive, & escapism problem we have now. See, our society lacks in properly preparing & educating generations & communities about our bodies, mind, resiliency, finances, gifts & talents, crises, & other prominent traits. Instead, we focus on teaching about trigonometry and other courses you will never use in your life, go to college (which becomes debt for most), get a good-paying job (which isn't always in a profession you’re passionate about, and creates unhealthy stress) and so forth. The way the system is constructed, especially for inner-city communities, creates anxiety, PTSD, and depression.

What Are Our Options?

We can either continue to allow elected leaders on the state and federal side to not reconstruct and reform education, communities, policing, and government. Or we can create change. Teaching our youth and communities about resiliency, compassion, morals, ethics, and more. Creating local jobs that feed our community and reduce the stress that many families face to just put food on the table.

My desire is that this pandemic won't create the perfect storm and fatten the pockets of organizations that create medication for their benefit and not the benefit of the person taking it.