So I had a thought while listening to a song and Rod and I got into a discussion about it so I thought it would make an interesting "debate" to see peoples views



20 years ago when I was a kid the worst thing you had to worry about in school was drugs. Kids didnt go on shooting rampages, parents didnt kill their kids like now, life was different

Well looking ahead, medications such as prozac, zoloft, zyban, and a whole slew of others are prescribed CONSTANTLY. Alot of these meds weren't around way back when. And RARELY did you hear about teens on them etc but now tons are.

With the influx of parents killing their children, kids going on shooting rampages, the influx of violence and such is just phenomanl.

Do you think that over prescribing these medications has played a role in the influx of such violence? I mean even the side effects on alot of these drugs are outrageous. Obviously we have no idea as to the cause of all this violence but look at all these murder suicides and such. All the issues in some way shape or form seem to be related to depression in some way and alot were on medication at the time for it.

ETA essentially my question is. Do you think alot of the violence plaguing us today is a result of overmedicatting those who do not need it. IE just labeling someone as depressed and slapping em on meds when they dont need em. Obviously the meds can be helpful for those who NEED em.

i don't think it's so much the meds it is the mentality behind it in some cases. the kids or the parents can use the disorder that they are on meds for as an excuse such as oh he's depressed that's why he went and shot up the school or he was being really hyper so i tried to restrain him and he died or whatever.

i don't think it's so much the meds it is the mentality behind it in some cases. the kids or the parents can use the disorder that they are on meds for as an excuse such as oh he's depressed that's why he went and shot up the school or he was being really hyper so i tried to restrain him and he died or whatever.

So. Say the kid isnt actually depressed but the Dr's just prescribed him the meds because he "showed some signs". So essentially he is on a med he may or may not need.

I tend to believe that crime is not on the rise, it's simply that more crimes are reported. As for school shootings I think once it happened, it gave kids the idea and therefore copycat crimes have become the norm.

I also believe that child molestation used to be more common that it is in today's times. It was just kept more quiet and not talked about like it is today. My uncle was molested by a 17 year old neighbor (when he was 4) and my grandparents didn't report it (this was back in the early 60's)........they handled it between the families. Now a days that kid would have been hauled off to jail. My grandmother lives with A LOT of guilt over that, even all these years later.

Interesting thought. I do think that crimes are reported WAY more often than they used to be. Which is a good thing, especially in situations with children being hurt.

As for the over-prescribing of depression medicine, yes. I do think it's a problem. I hope this doesn't rub anyone the wrong way, but I think our society as a whole has almost been crippled by it. It seems to me that in a lot of situations, people choose the easy way out instead of actually *working* at overcoming their demons. (I'm guilty, I tried taking anti-depressants and anti-anxiety pills for a few months after I was attacked just to numb myself... and I hated it). In general... our society almost always opts for what's quick and convenient. We're pretty impatient and want instant gratification.

Kind of a side note that's semi-related... I was talking to a lady on my flight home form Minneapolis... and we were discussing how in a way, technology and all of these scientific and medical advancements to simplify our lives... actually, in a way, do us kind of a disservice because they cripple us. We're never forced to develop any survival skills. We are SO reliant on others to cover just the basic essentials... we buy food from grocery stores, buy clothes from stores, rely on electicity to provide heat, etc. Can you even imagine being a freaking pioneer? I can't... and I used to TEACH survival skills to boy scouts... :shrug