In the first portion of the reading, Margaret Talbot explains the increase use of certain psychological drugs in society today for enhancements in brain functions. Over these past years there has been an increase importance with these psychological drugs and have been ever so climbing in importance even more with such as competitive culture in the United States. People have become dependent to these drugs not only for psychological purposes but to increase their studying habits and learning habits of their children. Stimulants such as Aderrall and Provilgil have been substantially used more today to maintain focus and also eliminating an individual’s ability to sleep. Aderrall in this case, is prescribed to patients when they are diagnosed with ADHD by their psychiatrist while Provigil is used to enhance the release and production of dopamine in the brain. Certainly through studies and research these stimulants can prove to have an ability to allow better productivity and focus in someone but could these benefits balance out with the risks that are associated with the drug?
In the case of increase in production and availability of these drugs this has caused the usages of the drugs sky rocket over these past years. “The demand is certainly there, from an aging population that won’t put up with memory loss; from overwrought parents bent on giving their children every possible edge; from anxious employees in an efficiency obsessed Blackberry-quipped office culture, where work never really ends” (3). To no surprise, I can see how dependent more people are today with these drugs and stimulants in their daily tasks and live. College students become more reliant to these drugs as part of their daily studying habits in hopes of being able to balance out their school life with their social lives. Children are forced to intake psychological drugs because their parents are so worried of the way they are learning in school or socializing around children. But what about the risks and concerns that Talbot raises in the article? The risks of being reliant to the drug, the risks of over abusing the drug for daily use, the risks of increasing stigma in college settings where students take the drugs before exams and be considered as cheating, or the stigma in which types of populations these drugs will be more effective on when being used?
There is certainly an issue that is being raised now with the dependency of these drugs and how they could possibly counteract with the health risks of long term usages of whatever psychological drug used for “neuroenhancement” in the brain. In comparison the Talbot’s article, the movie we watched on the 13th of July, Selling Sickness, raised awareness with the increased deaths in young children that were associated with taking certain psychological drugs as part of their daily lives. The movie portrayed the use of Paxil for social anxiety disorders and explained some of the withdrawal symptoms including addiction, irritability, panic attacks at uncontrollable rates, and even electrical sensations. With some of the doctors that prescribed these drugs to the young children, there weren’t even any distinctions made with whether or not the children were actually suffering from social anxiety disorders or whether they were just born with a natural characteristic trait of shyness. These distinctions were ignored and usually doctors easily prescribed the drugs for the adults and young children, and in the end, produced negative withdrawal symptoms that sometimes went overboard.
What does this really say about the drug companies in society today? What does it say about medical physicians as well? There is a possibility, also explained in the film, that doctors and pharmaceuticals could be working together for profits in a capitalist society. Even with media, these drugs are portrayed in advertisements with such a positive image that clearly erases any of the possible negative withdrawal images and risks that come out from taking the drugs. Even with the college students in Talbot’s article, these students had the psychological drugs easily assessable with their friends and even in worst cases where they couldn’t have purchased the drugs from drug dealers in the college campuses, they were still easily obtained by physicians with just a few questions and diagnosis. Could we really take away the blame of addiction and misuse of these drugs from the affected populations and turn them to the people that are really in control with the drugs, the pharmaceutical companies, media, and medical institutions?
Carl Elliot explains in this first chapter that enhancement technologies are being used for “self-improvement” (Elliot, 16).With self-improvement in mind, could an individual choosing to opt for cosmetic surgery or taking antidepressants be focusing on self-improvement on themselves rather than changing their entire identity? What has society placed onto individuals where we are challenged and faced with such a face paced, high achieving, over productive place where people resort to neuroenhancing drugs or other enhancement technologies to make them feel better? How are we supposed to reduce the dependency on these types of drugs or enhancement technologies when society itself works around and is so dependent on the pharmaceutical market for self-improvement?
With this issue on the dependency of drugs raised on both articles and even on the film, there really needs to be awareness with the effects of these drugs on the populations that are taking it. With a range of effects many of us are unable to control; the media and pharmaceuticals need to step up to clearly explain these effects so people know what they are putting into their bodies. Doctors and physicians as well need to make clear distinctions with their patients to whether or not they are suffering from psychological disorders or have natural characteristic traits that differentiate them from what’s normal in society. People are becoming more and more dependent on these psychological drugs today, profits made from pharmaceutical companies and medical institutions are one of the highest in society and in our country. Are these profits made from misunderstanding made within populations and the companies themselves? Are these drugs really beneficial in the long run for the health of the human body?
Works Cited:
Carl Elliott, Introduction and the Perfect Voice, IN Better Than Well: American Medicine Meets the American Dream. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2003. Pp. XV-XXI, 1-27.
Margaret Talbot, “Brain Gain: The Underground World of ‘Neuroenhancing’ Drugs.” The New Yorker, April 27, 2009
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