7 ms·

"Sitting with her puppy helped, but her teachers told her it was too distracting onscreen. Ultimately her mother decided to try her on Paxil." Sad

DocTomoe 4y ago
One of the great tragedies of the time beginning in the 1990s is the massive abuse of medication to solve social problems, especially in the United States.
- emptyparadise 4y ago
  Unfortunately it's hardly a modern thing.
  - mkl95 4y ago
    She comes across as a hysterical lady. A few drops of laudanum would help.
    - SketchySeaBeast 4y ago
      I'd take that over the ever so fashionable mid-century lobotomy.
  - autopilot23 4y ago
    The scale of the phenomenon is very much a modern thing
    - riversflow 4y ago
      Maybe in absolute terms, but only because there are so many more people now. You should read[1] about the way triangular trade in colonial America led to very low prices for rum creating and epidemic of alcoholism so bad it the social structure of the time and ultimately led to the rise of the Temperance movement and prohibition. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK216414/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK216414/
- cloudymeatballs 4y ago
  I sometimes wonder how much US tech productivity is built on a foundation of ADHD med over-prescription. Discussion of taking stimulants is pervasive among the tech Twitterati, to a really depressing extent. At this point though I'm not sure where the right balance is - the US healthcare model (you are a customer) probably drives excessive medication as much as cultural pressures, but at the same time the UK model (you are a patient, but not a paying customer) drives resistance to prescribing medication where it might actually be beneficial.
  - throw__away7391 4y ago
    > I sometimes wonder how much US tech productivity is built on a foundation of ADHD med over-prescription. Probably somewhere between zero and a negative impact. I tried this briefly some years ago after hearing so much about productivity gains, then tried again once or twice after that. I quickly realized that while in the initial afternoon of the first use you may see some benefits, this come at the expense of later productivity. I'd say it is not too different from the impact of caffeine on sleep in this regard. People just like taking these meds, they like the high it gives and the chemical induced "feeling productive" rush makes it easy to tell yourself a nice story about why you're taking them and what they're doing for you, but I don't think they're actually producing any real productivity gains.
    - chrisweekly 4y ago
      That's some broad brush of ignorance you're painting with; "they like the high it gives" is laughable.
      - hotpotamus 4y ago
        https://www.rxlist.com/desoxyn-drug.htm https://www.rxlist.com/desoxyn-drug.htm Take a look at the generic name for desoxyn. I mean, if I can get it from a doctor, I'll give it a shot.
      - brailsafe 4y ago
        That's why they used a throwaway. No doubt, some people will get adderall or w/e for that reason, perhaps, but all people like the feeling of being productive; people with a real issue just very rarely feel that unless they slow down the giant double-lane roundabout of their thoughts.
- Apocryphon 4y ago
  It precedes the 90s quite a bit. A “modern” form of the phenomenon was postwar America embracing self-medication: my U.S. history teacher pointed out in The Invasion of the Body-Snatchers the characters are constantly popping pills or swilling highballs offhandedly, as that was how it was done in the day.
- mrguyorama 4y ago
  Meanwhile, in the 40s, it was normal to take actual meth as a "weight control supplement" in both the US and Germany. Arguably Germany AS A COUNTRY was addicted to meth during the second world war.
  - DocTomoe 4y ago
    Pervitin, essentially Amphetamine with a brand name, used to make people awake longer, walk longer, carry more, was called "Panzerschokolade" - "tank chocolate" by German troops. Today, psychoactive stimulants are marketed as "Provigil" and regularly used by US troops, which is made responsible for more than one friendly fire incident.

DocTomoe 4y ago

One of the great tragedies of the time beginning in the 1990s is the massive abuse of medication to solve social problems, especially in the United States.

emptyparadise 4y ago
Unfortunately it's hardly a modern thing.
- mkl95 4y ago
  She comes across as a hysterical lady. A few drops of laudanum would help.
  - SketchySeaBeast 4y ago
    I'd take that over the ever so fashionable mid-century lobotomy.
- autopilot23 4y ago
  The scale of the phenomenon is very much a modern thing
  - riversflow 4y ago
    Maybe in absolute terms, but only because there are so many more people now. You should read[1] about the way triangular trade in colonial America led to very low prices for rum creating and epidemic of alcoholism so bad it the social structure of the time and ultimately led to the rise of the Temperance movement and prohibition. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK216414/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK216414/
cloudymeatballs 4y ago
I sometimes wonder how much US tech productivity is built on a foundation of ADHD med over-prescription. Discussion of taking stimulants is pervasive among the tech Twitterati, to a really depressing extent. At this point though I'm not sure where the right balance is - the US healthcare model (you are a customer) probably drives excessive medication as much as cultural pressures, but at the same time the UK model (you are a patient, but not a paying customer) drives resistance to prescribing medication where it might actually be beneficial.
- throw__away7391 4y ago
  > I sometimes wonder how much US tech productivity is built on a foundation of ADHD med over-prescription. Probably somewhere between zero and a negative impact. I tried this briefly some years ago after hearing so much about productivity gains, then tried again once or twice after that. I quickly realized that while in the initial afternoon of the first use you may see some benefits, this come at the expense of later productivity. I'd say it is not too different from the impact of caffeine on sleep in this regard. People just like taking these meds, they like the high it gives and the chemical induced "feeling productive" rush makes it easy to tell yourself a nice story about why you're taking them and what they're doing for you, but I don't think they're actually producing any real productivity gains.
  - chrisweekly 4y ago
    That's some broad brush of ignorance you're painting with; "they like the high it gives" is laughable.
    - hotpotamus 4y ago
      https://www.rxlist.com/desoxyn-drug.htm https://www.rxlist.com/desoxyn-drug.htm Take a look at the generic name for desoxyn. I mean, if I can get it from a doctor, I'll give it a shot.
    - brailsafe 4y ago
      That's why they used a throwaway. No doubt, some people will get adderall or w/e for that reason, perhaps, but all people like the feeling of being productive; people with a real issue just very rarely feel that unless they slow down the giant double-lane roundabout of their thoughts.
Apocryphon 4y ago
It precedes the 90s quite a bit. A “modern” form of the phenomenon was postwar America embracing self-medication: my U.S. history teacher pointed out in The Invasion of the Body-Snatchers the characters are constantly popping pills or swilling highballs offhandedly, as that was how it was done in the day.
mrguyorama 4y ago
Meanwhile, in the 40s, it was normal to take actual meth as a "weight control supplement" in both the US and Germany. Arguably Germany AS A COUNTRY was addicted to meth during the second world war.
- DocTomoe 4y ago
  Pervitin, essentially Amphetamine with a brand name, used to make people awake longer, walk longer, carry more, was called "Panzerschokolade" - "tank chocolate" by German troops. Today, psychoactive stimulants are marketed as "Provigil" and regularly used by US troops, which is made responsible for more than one friendly fire incident.