RITALIN IS NOT THE ANSWER June 11, 2007

 The title is the name of the book I currently started to read. Any books that speak about antidepressants or ADD/ADHD is of interest to me because I am trying to pursue a drug/chemical free life. Of course this is not going to happen all in one night. It seems to be progressing in baby steps. My husband and I were forced off of our medications for weeks now because of insurance reasons. I am trying to look at the bright side of this. Could this be what God wants for us? Now instead of relying on medications to make me happy and put together, I am trying to lean on God and his love and wisdom. This is what he wants right? Medications are just a band-aid fix. What is causing the root of the problems and why am I not going to the father? Instead I was just popping a pill and everything else was all better. God is present in my life but not as I or Him would like. God wants us all to come to Him for ALL of our problems. A verse that I posted above my kitchen sink and memorized is John 15:5 which says I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. This is so true. I can’t do a thing without God. I have tried to do my things my own ways and it just doesn’t work. Something I heard at church this week was God’s ways are not our ways. This hit me hard. This is the reason my life seems so disheveled all the time. I know things are not always going to be perfect but if we have God as the center of our life instead of always on the back burner, things will be much more organized and together because we are doing things Gods ways.

Anyway, I will post something I read in this book that stood out to me and made me think differently.

Here is is in bold type:  Let’s begin our journey with a little exercise in imagination. I will describe two scenarios, and I would like you to try to picture each scene as vividly as you can and focus very carefully on your emotional reactions.

THE PUSHER:  It’s 10 A.M. The temperature is a comfortable 70 degrees and the air smells fresh. You decide to go for a slow stroll and approach the schoolyard of Jane Doe Elementary School.  Something unusual catches your eye. The schoolyard is empty except for a large group of children clustered near a windowless corner. You notice that the group is made up of  mostly boys. Something doesn’t seem right. Quietly you enter the yard and walk up behind the group. The children appear to be between the ages of seven and ten, and you notice that they are surrounding a man with their hands outstretched. He is a rough-looking type of guy. His arms are covered with tattoos; his hair is long and greasy. he is dressed in jeans and a dirty, dark-blue, sleeveless T-shirt. In this man’s right hand you see a large bottle filled with pills, and suddenly you realize he’s shaking pills into the hands of the children! He’s saying, “Yeah, man. Take these and you feel real good. They make you do real good in school,too.Then everyone goin’ to like you. Trust me. I’ll be here every day to bring you some more and take real good car of you.” You push several of the children aside as you walk up the man and grab the bottle marked SPEED. How would you feel? What would your perceptions be? What would you do? Hit the man? Yell at him? Or you might rush to a phone to call the police. Now let’s run through our second scenario.

THE NURSE: It is 10 A.M. the temperature is a comfortable 70 degrees and the air smells fresh. You decide to go for a slow stroll to visit your son Tommy’s class at Jane Doe Elementary School. Upon entering the building you head to the main office to register. As you approach the office you notice a long line of children who appear to be between  seven and ten years of age. Most of them are boys. At the head of the line is the school nurse, neatly dressed in her starched white uniform. She is shaking the contents of seveal little brown bottles filled with pills into the hands of each child. She is saying “Now take your medicine. It will make you feel so much better. it will help you do better work in your classes, and you won’t get in trouble with your teachers any more. Your doctor and I know what is best for you. you can trust us.” You peek over the shoulder of the nurse and notice the bottles are marked RITALIN. Well, how do you feel now? do I make my point? Do we as parents, educators, and doctors realize what we are doing? We are shoving some of the most highly addicting substances-amphetamines- down the throats of our children in the name of treatment.

I was shocked when reading this. My older son and I were both on Adderall. Doctors have told me that they are not addictive. If you asked a doctor if amphetamines were good to take and not addictive they would certainly disagree with you. Why do you think they are illegal? Why do you think you are so closely monitored when taking these medications? Why do you think you have to go and pick up the perscription in person instead of it being sent directly to the pharmacy? They have to be very careful of the hands these drugs end up in.

Just food for thought. What are your thoughts?