Quote Originally Posted by MensSuperMateriam View Post

In some countries like USA it seems as soon as a child does not conform to the social norm is diagnosed as ADHD sufferer and gets Ritalin or quivalent, which is quite sad. Not to say how easy you guys can buy Adderall and other psychoactive drugs. But in my country there is no tradition of going to the psychology/psychiatrist and some people who really could benefit from their help, including meds when necessary, do not do, or do it quite late and after an unnecessary suffering (not talking about extreme cases of course, but moderated ones).

Abuse (and unjustified use) is bad, but they're useful and they exist for a reason. Although I understand your metaphoric use, many "herbs" and "natural/alternative treatments" are true snake oil (placebo for dumb newagers). Proper working meds are not. American children could be overdiagnosed as ADHD but sure some of them have it and would require a treatment (not necessarily med but also, depending on the case).
I'm not qualified to speak on psychiatric situation in Spain. However, over here in the US, if you crack open the DSM, you're likely to see how just about everybody qualifies as having some sort of disorder. It goes beyond just kids getting misdiagnosed with ADHD.One of the types of depression is called "seasonal affective disorder", which just means you get a little more gloomy in the winter, I mean, Christ, you want to medicate for that?

The brain isn't just like some broken bone you can set a shin splint for. I know your a hardcore materialist, so any notion of the human being doesn't come from the "soul" or any of that bullcrap, but from this very sensitive organ. I can tell blood/brain barrier tectonic personality shifts just from small stuff like a mental haziness that comes from just over-the-counter allergy medications to an increase in aggressiveness as I increase my resting testosterone/muscle mass. You could fry the individual out trying to eradicate these "illnesses". Let's not forget we're only half a century out from maiming people with icepicks and turning them into vegetables was considered "proper working" method.

It hits close to home for me because I saw a close friend/intimate both on and off antidepressants. She did have bipolar disorder, and it was a problem. But on the antidepressants, her sense of taking pleasure in life was severely dulled. Not to mention her creativity and ingenuity were stymied. You read something like Touched By Fire, and you can see how very thin the line is between genius and madness. How many works of creative genius would have been obliterated throughout history by these medications' muting effects? Lincoln suffered from depression as well, but one has to wonder if it had been nuked away, if he would have had the same emotional conviction necessary to be the great leader that he was.

This is a serious philosophical quandary in my mind, not something to be sneezed at. I'm not saying people should never go to the psychiatrist. Far from it. (Obviously if I'm on these forums I'm at least somewhat sympathetic to the goals of psychology). But I'm just trying to keep it real, and not let the other side of the coin be forgotten.

I know you're a Deus Ex/Matrix fan. So just remember that not all mods are good mods, and don't swallow the blue pill (in this case, perhaps literally) without thinking it over first.