Overmedication

It seems we’ve once again forgotten the simple concept of prevention.

It’s not a particularly novel idea by any means. By stopping something undesirable from happening before it occurs, we spare ourselves from its various detriments. That’s why we don’t let kids run with scissors: because we would run the risk of unseemly accidents. That’s why we invented the vaccine: to prevent diseases from becoming epidemics. Prevention sounds good on paper, and its implementation isn’t impossible either. So why have we, as Americans, yet again forgotten the importance of preventative measures with regards to the pharmaceutical industry?

Because sometimes we just don’t think ahead. Scratch that—sometimes we just don’t think at all. Government research has proven, time and time again, that people with mental health issues rarely get the specialized care that they need. Read: we’re trying to fix a problem that we haven’t yet cared to identify. We shouldn’t be surprised that people get overmedicated; it’s only logical that it should happen. Writes Judith Warner in the New York Times: “The notion that American children and adults are being over-diagnosed and overmedicated for exaggerated disorders has now become one of the defining tropes of our era.”

And over-diagnosis has indeed become a definitive aspect of modern-day America—not only in medicine, but in the sociological sphere as well. The fact that Americans take prescription drugs all too readily may perhaps be a poignant indicator of our cultural disposition. Perhaps unthinkingly, we hurt ourselves subconsciously thinking that we can patch it up later. And it’s not a stretch to say that this attitude has infested our society on every level possible. Would it be such a radical idea to say that coffee, the mascot of the majority of our school’s junior population, should take a backseat to prudence and diligence? Or to suggest that we improve education before bolstering the police force?

Or must we continue to bail water out of a sinking ship without thinking to plug the hole?

The choice is yours to make.

It seems we’ve once again forgotten the simple concept of prevention.

It’s not a particularly novel idea by any means. By stopping something undesirable from happening before it occurs, we spare ourselves from its various detriments. That’s why we don’t let kids run with scissors: change colon to comma because we would run the risk of unseemly accidents. That’s why we invented the vaccine: to prevent diseases from becoming epidemics. Prevention sounds good on paper, and its implementation isn’t impossible either. So why have we, as Americans, yet again forgotten the importance of preventative measures with regards to the pharmaceutical industry?

Because sometimes we just don’t think ahead. Scratch that—sometimes we just don’t think at all. Government research has proven, time and time again, that people with mental health issues rarely get the specialized care that they need. Read: we’re trying to fix a problem that we haven’t yet cared to identify. We shouldn’t be surprised that people get overmedicated; it’s only logical that it should happen. Writes Judith Warner in the New York Times:The structure is too similar of "Read:..." and "Writes:..." so change one of them to not include a colon “The notion that American children and adults are being over-diagnosed and overmedicated for exaggerated disorders has now become one of the defining tropes of our era.”

And over-diagnosis has indeed become a definitive aspect of modern-day America—not only in medicine, but in the sociological sphere as well. The fact that Americans take prescription drugs all too readily may perhaps be a poignant indicator of our cultural disposition. Perhaps unthinkingly, we hurt ourselvesinsert comma subconsciously thinking that we can patch it up later. And it’s not a stretch to say that this attitude has infested our society on every level possible. Would it be such a radical idea to say that coffee, the mascot of the majority of our school’s junior population, should take a backseat to prudence and diligence? Or to suggest that we improve education before bolstering the police force?

Or must we continue to bail water out of a sinking ship without thinking to plug the hole?

The choice is yours to make.

It seems we’ve once again forgotten the simple concept of prevention.

It’s not a particularly novel idea by any means. By stopping something undesirable from happening before it occurs, we spare ourselves from its various detriments. That’s why we don’t let kids run with scissors: because we would run the risk of unseemly accidents. That’s why we invented the vaccine: to prevent diseases from becoming epidemics. Prevention makes conceptual sense, and its implementation isn’t impossible either. So why have we in America yet again forgotten the importance of preventative measures with regards to the pharmaceutical industry?

Because sometimes we just don’t think ahead. Scratch that—sometimes we just don’t think at all. Government research has proven, time and time again, that people with mental health issues rarely get the specialized care and diagnosis that they need. And yet an obscene amount of money is spent on the treatment of these diseases which we haven’t yet cared to identify. We shouldn’t be surprised that people get overmedicated; it’s only logical that it should happen when we choose to ignore disease prevention and subsequently find ourselves with an overwhelming necessity for medication. Writes Judith Warner in the New York Times: “The notion that American children and adults are being overmedicated for exaggerated disorders has now become one of the defining tropes of our era.”

And over-diagnosis has indeed become a definitive aspect of modern-day America—not only in medicine, but in the sociological sphere as well. The fact that Americans take prescription drugs all too readily may perhaps be a poignant indicator of our cultural disposition. Perhaps unthinkingly, we hurt ourselves, subconsciously thinking that we can patch it up later. And it’s not a stretch to say that this attitude has infested our society on every level possible. On the contextual level of high school students, for example, we can see a burgeoning affinity for coffee—assumably not so much for the taste of the drink as for its capability for voluntary sleep deprivation. But would it be such a radical idea to say that coffee, the mascot of the majority of our school’s junior population, should take a backseat to prudence and diligence? That we ought to prevent ourselves from needing this medication, so to speak, by simply doing our work earlier?

Or must we continue, students, doctors, and people in general—to bail water out of a sinking ship without thinking to plug the hole?

It seems we’ve once again forgotten the simple concept of prevention.

It’s not a particularly novel idea by any means. By stopping something undesirable from happening before it occurs, we spare ourselves from its I get that the antecedent is "something undesirable," but you may want to be a bit clearer. various detriments. That’s why we don’t let kids run insert around with scissors: because we would run the risk of unseemly accidents. That’s why we invented the vaccine: to prevent diseases from becoming epidemics parallel structure! the "That's why" part is in parallel, but the part after the colon is not. . Prevention makes conceptual sense makes sense conceptually, and its implementation isn’t impossible either. So why have we in America yet again forgotten the importance of preventative measures with regards to the pharmaceutical industry?

Because sometimes we just don’t think ahead. Scratch that—sometimes we just don’t think at all. Government research has proven, time and time again, that people with mental health issues rarely get the specialized care and diagnosis that delete "that" tthey need. And yet an obscene amount of money is spent on the treatment of these diseases which we haven’t yet cared to identify. We shouldn’t be surprised that people get overmedicated; it’s only logical that it should happen when we choose to ignore disease prevention and subsequently find ourselves with an overwhelming necessity for medication. Writes Judith Warner in the New York Times: “The notion that American children and adults are being overmedicated for exaggerated disorders has now become one of the defining tropes of our era.”

And over-diagnosis has indeed become a definitive aspect of modern-day America—not only in medicine, but in the sociological sphere as well. The fact that Americans take prescription drugs all too readily may perhaps be a poignant indicator of our cultural disposition. Perhaps unthinkingly, we hurt ourselves, subconsciously thinking that we can patch it up later. And it’s not a stretch to say that this attitude has infested our society on every level possible. On the contextual level of high school students, for example, we can see a burgeoning affinity for coffee—assumably not so much for the taste of the drink as for its capability for voluntary sleep deprivation a bit awkward. can you rephrase from "as for its capability..." to the end of the sentence? . But would it be such a radical idea to say that coffee, the mascot of the majority of our school’s junior population, should take a backseat to prudence and diligence? That we ought to prevent ourselves from needing this medication, so to speak, by simply doing our work earlier?

Or must we continue, students, doctors, and people in general—to bail water out of a sinking ship without thinking to plug the hole?