Talking Is Better Than Meds

By Author: Steven Johnson
Total Articles: 494
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When you look at the world around you, it does not immediately strike you that this is capitalism in action. A shop is a shop, an office is an office, no matter which country you are in or what its economic system. But there's a real difference between the US and the rest of the world. In most other places, you are protected as a consumer. In the US, business is all about profit and you are expected to pay. This makes for a very unfair system. Take the drug manufacturing industry as an example. It spends millions on developing and testing drugs. Only a few get past the FDA's review so there's a lot of money at risk. So to get back all that money, you are expected to pay top dollar for all the drugs you buy. More importantly, the medical profession is there to encourage you to take these drugs. Ah, but you are saying, it's alright for the doctors to push the drugs because the FDA has confirmed them safe and effective. Well that would be so if taking drugs was always the best answer for what was wrong with you. But that's not always the case.

This is an article about anti-anxiety drugs. Millions of people are diagnosed ...
... with anxiety disorders every year (about 15% of the adult population of the US) and, according to the statistics, 80% are then treated only with drugs. What's wrong with that? you ask. The drugs work. Well, that's true in the short term. But there's a small mountain of research evidence showing talk therapies to be just as effective and, more importantly, to have lasting benefits. Drugs work for as long as you take them. Then what happens? Most people suffer a relapse. But, if you look at the healthcare services industry, there are thousands working, but relatively few working with mental disorders. All the status and prestige goes to the people you see in television dramas like House and Grey's Anatomy. These are the cool doctors, surgeons and nurses who work in the big shiny hospitals and save people. The only time you see psychiatrists in television dramas, they are being chased by the police to get their records - yet another of their patients has gone psycho and killed people. Those working with mental illness have a real image problem, carefully cultivated by the drug manufacturers. There's no need for these talking heads when all anyone need do if they are down is take these pills.

Well here's some news for you. Talk therapy of one hour a week for two months consistently outperforms drug therapy with better results over a longer period of time. Better still, it's not addictive. Unlike many drugs, you never have to worry about withdrawal symptoms when you finish your course of talking. This does not deny a place for Valium. It's an excellent drug. But there's a time and place for all excellent drugs. Valium calms people down and readies them for talk therapy. Although talking is more expensive in the short term, it's cheaper than taking drugs for years to come. Except you have been brainwashed into thinking talking is a waste of time. Shame really. The combination of a drug and then counseling has the best record of success.