What are the pros and cons of prescription drugs?
Watch as psychiatrist and psychopharmacologist Julie Holland, MD, discusses the pros and cons of presecription drug use.
Transcript
I just think in our culture, it's sort of the quickest, easiest thing to do is to take a pill. But oftentimes, that's going to get us into trouble.
[OPTIMISTIC MUSIC]
So there's a lot of pros and cons to prescription drug use. It's complicated. It's really multifaceted. There are plenty of people who are being helped
by prescription pain medicine, by prescription stimulants for ADD, or by taking antidepressants because they're
anxious or they're depressed. And there are plenty of people who really need these medications. But I think what's happening now in our culture is that we're
getting sort of overmedicated. You know, we're looking for a quick fix. And sometimes, the key to treating depression and anxiety
is that you need to exercise, and eat better food, and get more sleep, and get off the screens, and go outside and play. You need to connect with nature and disconnect from technology.
And I think that goes with-- for ADD also, that, you know, there are other ways to treat your symptoms besides taking medicine.
And you know, with chronic pain, there are herbal supplements that you could take. Or there are things you can do like massage, or meditation,
or cold laser therapy, or TENS unit. I mean, there are a lot of other things you can do besides taking medication. But I just think in our culture, it's
sort of the quickest, easiest thing to do is to take a pill. But oftentimes, that's going to get us into trouble. I know there are some people who absolutely
need prescription medication. But I think right now, what's happening-- there's something called cosmetic psychopharmacology, where people are getting medicated
when they really don't necessarily need medication. You know, there's a-- there's a saying in medicine, which is, don't ask the barber if you need a haircut,
you know? Yeah, you could use a little trim. Why not? And you know, it's sort of the same thing with medicine. I mean, you know, you probably have symptoms that could be treated with medicine.
But they can also be treated in other ways that are more healthful, which really comes down to eating good, healthy food that's not processed,
and getting sunshine, and getting exercise, and getting sleep, and seeing people instead of just texting them.
health care
Browse videos by topic categories
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
ALL