Small Pills (a poem)

[Painnnnful]

Haha, love it, although I'm not against pills! :D

[BrianDornTFP]

Great stuff (the poem, not the drugs). Really well done!

[racinkc]

you have the best beats.....

[ItsFilthy]

This is great Oz...thanks for posting as a response. I'd like to prescribe this poem to everyone...this is some powerful mind altering medication right here. Respect!

[pennilesscripple]

thanks for doing this oz

it can't be said often enough

the bottom line on those poisons is that they don't know how they work, and they fuck with brain chemistry, which they don't understand

[rkmfl]

This poem reminds me of my Pdoc. Always wanting to give me this and that. For this will knock you out, flat on your back. (hey i can rhyme too) - But im on zyprexa currently trying to come off it and its a bitch...

[ozjthomas]

Look up the harm reduction guide to coming off of medication. I was never on zyprexa long enough but hear they can be a bitch, coming off of Effexor and Lamictal were a bit scary.

[rkmfl]

Hey thanks for the info; REALLY appreciate it. btw 5 *'s on the poem :)

[bootme21]

Perfect Response. lol

I really enjoyed this poem, Oz. Thanks for sharing.

[ozjthomas]

Thanks, Chris, really enjoyed your song as well. =)

[bipolarorwakingup]

Thanks Oz, its on my favorites...It kinda reminded me of a demented Dr.Seuss book.

[TheWisingMeadow]

The poetry that comes through you is very clear, and I'm glad you shared. A long time ago I took risperidone and paxil...that was before I realized that sadness and despair were perfectly appropriate reactions to the society we call home, and that I could use them to propel me toward Love, which is the great unifying and healing force. That doesn't mean society will feel healthier, but that your loving stillness will be a healing force within it, which feels safe, and really quite amazing.

[ozjthomas]

Thanks, Michael

[AdamHintz]

I really enjoy how focused this poem is. It really strikes true to the message of an industry gone astray.

[ozjthomas]

Thnx, Adam, I have been writing poems for my book and other stories, I am learning as I go, seeing which ones resonate and which ones do not. I am trying to approach different topics, which is fun as well.

[Maiyanna]

Hehe interesting poem. I am grateful that there are medications out there that help. You sound like you're against meds. I always try to remind myself that the brain is an organ just like the heart and kidneys... So if you were diabetic, would you not take insulin? If you had heart disease you would not take meds? Xanax has stopped my panic attacks, however I only take it occasionally. :)

[ozjthomas]

Hi Maryann, thank you so much for commenting, I know you could have avoided this one. I am not so much "against" medication as I am "for" choices in treatment and honesty in advertising. I know many who swear by the meds, but many like me who do not find the consequences and risks of them worth it. I think for them to be effective, they have to be more of part of a plan than a means and end. Again, thank you.

[Maiyanna]

Yes, it is always best to educate yourself before putting anything in your body. You are very lucky if you can get by without medication - not everyone can. For some it's the only way they can live out of a hospital or to not live homeless, wandering the streets.

[ozjthomas]

That is true, they are helpful to many. I am around a lot with schizophrenia, PTSD, etc, and I really understand. It is hard and I understand what you mean about the medical analogy, although the analogy is not direct. I am only speaking of my own experience and hopes that the mental health industry offer more choices in the realm of healing, because I think there are other ways. I made a video this is in reply to, it might help to clarify things. Or maybe not, I tend to be a bit incoherent.

[pennilesscripple]

the 'if you were diabetic, would you not take insulin' line is standard propaganda trotted out by doctors across the world at the first sign of resistance

it's a fallacy

depressed people are not 'missing' something like insulin in their bodies, and the medications do not restore anything that is missing

they don't know how they work

and they make people kill each other and themselves

no one who has been on them long term would dare call them a 'blessing'

google ssri stories

[Maiyanna]

Depression is many times caused by a chemical imbalance of the brain, the brain is an organ in the body just as the pancreas is. Why would you not treat the brain when it has a problem, we treat all the other organs of the body? Makes no sense.

[pennilesscripple]

any doctor worth his salt will tell you they don't know what causes depression--it is all *hypothesis*

even if it is a chemical imbalance, what causes the chemical imbalance in the first place? wouldn't it be better to treat that?

and if these drugs work so well, why is everyone so miserable?

where are you getting your information from? the medical establishment?

it's very easy to parrot the lies of the culture and think they are truth

did you google 'ssri stories'?

[Maiyanna]

I used to take xanax, it helped me immensely. Prior to the discovery of many of the drugs we use today, people just suffered, and in many cases, spent their life in institutions.

I will give you that they're not perfect, but for many people, they are better than nothing. Unfortunately we still have much to learn about the brain.

[pennilesscripple]

again, maiyanna, i appreciate that you think you're stating your own ideas, but you're really just parroting the standard propaganda about these drugs

it is not accurate that 'people just suffered' before the advent of these drugs

people suffer *now* under these drugs; they suffer terribly

there are societies where depression and suicide are virtually unknown--it is only in industrial civilization that we see these problems (there's your 'cause')

did you google 'ssri stories'?

[Maiyanna]

For certain living in an industrialized world is stressful and a contributing factor, but mental illness exists all over the world. Even in ancient times there were various kinds of mental illness, sometimes they were treated as special people who perhaps possessed superior knowledge... they didn't really have an understanding of such things, not everything is a conspiracy. We should always look to a cause and alternative

treatments, however drugs DO help some. They helped me and others I know.

[pennilesscripple]

i don't understand how people would know if the drugs 'helped' or not. they cause emotional blunting--is that helpful? the people i know who are on them aren't 'helped.' they are altered.

suicide and depression are virtually unknown in indigenous societies. see marshall sahlins' 'the original affluent society'

ancient times were civilized times--same factors at work.

did you google 'ssri stories'?

is the help you think you got worth the thousands of murders and suicides?

[Maiyanna]

I know about the problems with the drugs, all drugs have side effects, it's usually a trade off. The reality is we do not live in an indigenous society, we have to find ways to live where we live, you also can't always blame the drugs, some people do not respond to any kind of treatment - it's just a sad fact.

Because some have trouble with the meds, should everyone stop taking them? Some people crash their cars, should we all stop driving? See what I mean.

[pennilesscripple]

a dry mouth is a side effect

murder and suicide are not 'side effects'

have you googled 'ssri stories'? or do you just 'know' like you 'know' everything else you've said that sounds just like a pharmaceutical advertisement? (maybe they should hire you) :P

just because some people seem to get some 'help' from these drugs, should we ignore the fact that over 200,000 people a year are hospitalized because of them? should we ignore the deaths?

[Maiyanna]

You're missing my point. Type in the dangers of high fructose corn syrup, or the dangers of milk... seriously, I'm a skeptical person by nature, but I have seen first hand that these drugs do work for some people.

How would you treat depression? (Especially in the case of someone who has tried all the natural ways of treatment already.)

[pennilesscripple]

have you googled 'ssri stories'?

i have seen first hand that these drugs do destroy people's lives. apparently this is okay since they 'helped' you.

the very fact that you don't care about this issue demonstrates that the drugs blunt your emotions

how to 'treat' depression? how about eliminate it? human beings were not meant to live in civilization, surrounded by strangers, expected to sacrifice body & soul to the machine, told they'll be better if they just buy more stuff & take more pills

[pennilesscripple]

and yes, we should all stop driving

for very obvious reasons

the automobile is the worst thing that has ever happened to this planet

[pennilesscripple]

how in the world is a mass murder a 'tradeoff'?

[zezt]

The main point Maiyanna is is that people are being lied to. They are being told by a very big monolithic consortium--namely the pharma industry and those they patronize, the shrinks, that they have a 'mental illness' that is biological and needs 'treatment'. There exists no medical tests for their 'diagnoses'!

[zezt]

continued--checkout Mindfreedom. A resource run by psychiatric survivors. They do not deny peoples CHOICE to take medication IF they choose, but also to know what the shrinks and ads DON'T tell them.

[telewebservices]

I will never take those drugs ever again,

I don't agree with your point of view Maiyanna,

It's like you have a problem with a child, you can fix this problem by listening to him and by teaching him, or by beating him, Those medications are equal - Beating. I wouldn't chose them, I know other much better ways to help myself and also others.

[medicinesocks]

wow! brilliant, oz... yep, not to disparage the many who feel significantly relieved from their suffering by taking medications for the various stages of depression, anxiety, insomnia, ennui, quiet desperation,repetitive thinking, hallucinations, fugue states, rage and soforth== i can also relate to the brave souls who deal with their more difficult emotions through other approaches... music is very good medicine, laughter legendarily the best. your poem made me laugh!

[ozjthomas]

it's complicated. The suffering is real and painful and the pills do offer relief, but I feel like we are lied to about them as well, their dangers, side effects, etc, which makes me angry.

[medicinesocks]

i agree! my own journey has taken me to the depths of depression, where i panicked and sought help and was given serzone, antidepressant, which seemed merciful at first, and also seemed to bear out a very simple theory-- that deep, relentless unhappiness reflects a biochemistry of the brain which can be altered, corrected, if you will, to produce a more balanced psychosomatic state. and yes, i was promised, a safe, nontoxic, easy to metabolize product- which in time proved quite toxic indeed!

[medicinesocks]

part of my hepatic system was destroyed. talk about depressing! after i began to question the physical risks vs the psychological benefits of continuing to take serzone or any equivalent med long term i was told that without the meds my depression could become life threatening and that my therapeutic team (MD shrink and a social worker i talked to weekly) could not take responsibility for my fate if i chose an unmedicated life.

[medicinesocks]

i was also told that my enjoyment of marijuana was a form of addiction and that i must quit & join a program for addicts in order to continue to receive counseling. i stopped medicating anyway. i forfeited my weekly rap sessions and bought a video camera. i'm happy to report that i'm not dead yet, and that while i'm still very sad and anxious about the state of the world, my own little corner of it is very peaceful and i am often happy. my unmedicated and unexamined life is still worth living.

[ozjthomas]

Hello, dear. Thank you for sharing your life with me. I find that in being honest, hoping to connect, that this is healing, both for myself, and for others. My only fear, especially with pieces like this, is in being misunderstood.

I can add that my own constant testing, needed for Lithium and Zyprexa were pretty scary. It is good to hear you are doing ok. Take care.

[medicinesocks]

hi, hi oz. max respect and regard for your honesty, yes it is healing on many levels-my gratitude, too, for the goodness of you that shines through... it looks from here like you're doing way better than ok, so i trust the choices you've made for yourself. choices never present themselves without attendant risks and burdens of uncertainty. it is scary! we hope and trust gut feelings re the information available to us. i think hoping very much for healing has a lot to do with healing kicking in

[DavidRandallCurtis]

You left out my favorites--Xanax and Hydrocodone...  great poem... 5*

[ozjthomas]

Thanks, man. I had hydrocodone for tooth surgery once and Xanax, but not for anxiety so I left it out.