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Natasha M. Quinones
Mrs. McGovern
AP English Language & Composition
21 April 2014
The Ethics Behind Popping Pills and Proposing Treatment Kills
Slapped in the face, a young soldier is once again forced to return to battle. Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder existed below the radar, and remained unnamed for centuries to come. World War Two: colonies
of bombs obviated European cities; its civilians were lacerated and diced into microscopic chunks of tissue;
pebbles cast in all directions: brittle bones. Pools of crimson wine snuggled in cobbled streets, fertilized the
once green, now cratered patches of lonely soil, and splattered the walls of deserted dwellings. The homes
that once belonged to families became asylums similar to those of the deranged and psychotic population.
The genocide committed in Europe parallels the persecution committed worldwide.
Exorcisms, electro-convulsion shock therapy, psychosurgery, talk therapy, and psychoactive drugs
have all played an important role in understanding and treating psychological disorders. The history of
mental illness depicts a macabre era of blatant disregard for human ethics; despite modern psychological
advancements, 21st Century Americans religiously practice the elaborate art of ignorance. More than 70%
of Americans use psychoactive drugs, and with the increasing diagnosis among adolescents, parents have
become overwhelmingly concerned, questioning the validity and necessity of prescription drugs among the
youth. The long list of side effects and “inadequate testing of drugs” proposed prescribed medications as
being harmful for developing minds –the minds of the forthcoming generation; it should be noted, however,
that side effects are treatable –death is not.
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry defined Depression as “lasting
feelings of sadness, helplessness, hopelessness, unworthiness, guilt, inability to feel pressure, a decline in
school work and challenges in sleeping and eating habits”, however, many parents question the cogency of
such a diagnosis and the possible repercussions of catapulting their young into psychopharmaceutical
medications. Katherine Sharp, author of Coming Of Age On Zoloft, described her experience with the antidepressant, Zoloft, as medication that:
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Seemed to have helped; the billowing dread that had come upon me
during my freshman fall had dissipated, and I’d finished the year out
with good grades, friends, a boyfriend, new interests. (xxii)
Sharpe’s experience with Depression was not unique, in fact, according to the “World Health
Organization”, ‘the leading cause of disability among Americans age 15-44, is Major Depressive Disorder’,
with Schizophrenia as the second. Perhaps the most astounding statistic comes from a survey conducted by
the “National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescent Supplement” or “NCA-A”, reporting that approximately
“eleven percent of adolescents have a depressive disorder by age 18” (National Institute of Mental Health
1).
With a variety of treatments available for individuals with mental instabilities, medication, with
the exception of rare cases, can prove to be extremely beneficial. The “American Academy of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry” described prescribed medication as “-an effective part of the treatment for several
psychiatric disorders of childhood and adolescence” (Part I-How Medications Are Used 1). Some wellknown disorders classified include Anxiety, ADHD, OCD, Depression, and Bipolar Disorder. The
medications provided by adolescent psychiatrists are advocated to …
-be used as part of a comprehensive plan of treatment with ongoing
medical assessment and, in most cases, individual and/or family
psychotherapy. When prescribed appropriately…and taken as
prescribed, medication may reduce or eliminate troubling symptoms
and improve the daily functioning of children and adolescents with
psychiatric disorders. (1)
Different symptoms and varying levels of severity characterize each psychological disorder:
‘Anxiety incorporates social fears, generalized anxiety, or post-traumatic stress; ADHD describes short
attention spans, trouble concentrating, and restlessness; OCD includes recurring obsessions and
compulsions that interfere with normal life; Depression entails prolonged sadness, helplessness,
hopelessness, and guilt; Bipolar Disorder, also known as Manic-Depressive Disorder, is a disorder
characterized by alternating periods of depression and mania’ (1).
According to the “National Institute of Mental Health”, ‘depression can be treated effectively in
the majority of children and adolescents when treatment begins early and incorporates either medication,
psychotherapy, or a combination of the two’ (NIMH 2). Other approaches to treating mental disorders can
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be found in David G. Myers’s Textbook, Psychology. Myer’s explains that the two primary mental health
therapies include both psychotherapy, “psychological techniques to assist someone seeking to overcome
difficulties or achieve personal growth” (637), and biomedical therapy, “prescribed medication or medical
procedure that acts directly on the patient’s nervous system” (637). ‘While modern psychologists
(approximately one half) may utilize an eclectic approach to therapy, blending a variety of therapies to
better assist an individual client’ (637); past psychologists followed different protocols when diagnosing
and treating patients. Sigmund Freud, for example, introduced Psychoanalysis and Free Association,
attempting to assist patients by speaking of whatever came to mind in order to gain personal insight (638).
Interpersonal Psychotherapy, a variation of Psychodynamic Therapy, influenced by Freud, ‘seeks to
enhance a patient’s self-insight by responding to unconscious forces and childhood experiences’ (641).
However, Interpersonal Psychotherapy differs in that it only seeks to fix problems “here and now” versus a
“personality change” (640).
Carl Rogers emphasized an alternative therapy that stemmed from his psychological perspective
called Positive Psychology. Rogers practiced Active Listening by, “-restating and seeking clarification of
what the person expresses (verbally and nonverbally) and acknowledging their expressed feelings” (642).
Behavior Therapy aims to replace maladaptive symptoms, which are believed to be learned
behaviors, with constructive behaviors (642).
Exposure Therapies expose clients to their fears and hope that the repetitive exposure will
eventually make clients less anxiously responsive (643).
Perhaps one of the most common therapies, Cognitive Therapy aims to “teach people new, more
adaptive ways of thinking and acting; based on the assumption that thoughts intervene between events and
our emotional reactions” (646). Cognitive therapies are one of the most effective therapies used to treat
depression.
Cognitive therapist Aaron Beck was originally trained in Freudian
techniques. As Beck analyzed the dreams of depressed people, he
found recurring negative themes of loss, rejection, and abandonment
that extended into their waking thoughts. Such negativity extends into
therapy, as clients recall and rehearse their failings and worst impulses.
With cognitive therapy, Beck and his colleagues have sought to reserve
client’s catastrophing [sic] beliefs about themselves, their situations,
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and their futures. Gentle questioning seeks to reveal irrational thinking,
and then to persuade the person to remove the dark glasses through
which they view life.
It’s common for Americans to flip through television channels every night; it’s common to
stumble across commercials pertaining to new medications on the market from dusk till dawn; it’s become
common to seek these medications out during troubling times; but what exactly is Biomedical Therapy? It’s
the most successful form of treating illness. By utilizing clinically generated medication and innovative
technology, the despondent and debilitated have to opportunity to rejuvenate their minds, bodies, and lives.
Denying the moribund the right to recovery renders the terminator as uniformly unjustifiable and sadistic as
the delusional Nazi party that claimed the lives of millions.
Many persist that psychopharmaceutical medications are harmful to a child’s cognitive
development. Katherine Sharpe wrote of her need to quantify who she was and the philosophical struggle
that originated from it. She’d constantly ponder who she was and struggled with “combining the inner and
outer worlds for an answer that seemed to fit” (Popova). The struggle with self-discovery and selfactualization transfigured Sharpe’s predicament pessimistically impossible to overcome. “How could I ever
find my way in life if I didn’t know which feelings were mine” (Popova)?
Philosopher David Hume believed that humanity believes one thing often causes another and that
this one thing may not in fact cause the other. Hume believed causation is a norm of association, and
therefore unfounded and meaningless. When humanity repeatedly notices an event occurring after another,
it becomes a logical example of cause and effect. Hume claimed people possess an instinctive belief in
causality; this originates in “our own personal biological habits” (Sparknotes), and that such a belief cannot
be proven.
Hume perceives that moral principles promote human interests that we naturally sympathize with
and are drawn to. Therefore, if humanity supports what is “biologically inclined to approve and support
whatever helps society,” then medications should be prescribed to adolescents with severe mental illnesses
(Sparknotes).
In another book review by Maria Popova, she explores content that should pacify the skeptics of
Biomedical Therapy written by neuroscientist Bruce Hood.
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The daily experience of the self is so familiar, and yet the brain science
shows that this sense of self is an illusion. Psychologist Susan
Blackmore makes the point that the word ‘illusion’ does not mean that
it does not exist – rather, and illusion is not what it seems. We all
certainly experience some form of self, but what we experience is a
powerful depiction generated by our brains for our own benefit.
Therefore if what our brain makes is in our best interest, and a chemical imbalance challenges that state of
homeostasis, then psychopharmaceuticals are necessary and encouraged.
Science is not always correct; science has previously encountered erroneous conclusions. Life is a
fragile thing; the ‘tick-tock’ of a clock traveling an endless cycle contrasts the ‘thump-thump’ of a mortal
heart advancing towards its inevitable death. If life is precious and children have access to a lengthy and
prosperous existence, denying children batteries; life-support, contradicts every argument a parent or
concerned citizen could propose. A chance at life is better than no chance at all. ‘Tick-tock, tick-tock, ticktock’ – time is of the essence.
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Works Cited
"The Bundle Theory of the Self." SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
"Depression in Children and Adolescents (Fact Sheet)." NIMH RSS. National Institute of Mental
Health, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.
Hirsch, MD, Glenn S. "Guide to Psychiatric Medications for Children and Adolescents |
AboutOurKids.org." Guide to Psychiatric Medications for Children and Adolescents |
AboutOurKids.org. NYU Langone, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
Krieger, Larry. "Treatment Of Abnormal Behavior." AP Psychology Crash Course. Piscataway, NJ:
Research & Education Association, 2010. 194-95. Print.
Myers, David G. Psychology. 9th ed. New York: Worth, 2010. Print.
Popova, Maria. "How Antidepressants Affect Selfhood, Teenage Sexuality, and Our Quest for
Personal Identity." Brain Pickings RSS. Brain Pickings, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
"Psychiatric Medication For Children And Adolescents Part I-How Medications Are
Used." Psychiatric Medication For Children And Adolescents Part I-How Medications Are
Used. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 21 Nov. 2012. Web. 27 Apr.
2014.
"Psychiatric Medication For Children And Adolescents: Part II - Types Of
Medications." Psychiatric Medication For Children And Adolescents: Part II - Types Of
Medications. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, May 2012. Web. 27
Apr. 2014.
Sharpe, Katherine. Coming of Age on Zoloft: How Antidepressants Cheered Us Up, Let Us Down,
and Changed Who We Are. New York: HarperPerennial, 2012. Print.