and I feel fine
Last night, Tracey, Angela, and I all geeked out in a group Gmail chat so we could collectively exclaim over Frontline’s report on The Medicated Child. Frightening shit, dude. I know that I don’t live these people’s lives, but it really sounded like doctors were pushing MULTIPLE prescriptions of serious drugs for tiny children because they were acting like…children. Somehow, pharmaceutical companies seem to have convinced millions that tantrums in 2-year-olds and mood swings in 12-year-olds are bipolar disorder and that we need to start kids on the drugs as soon as possible.
And the footage that they have of the doctors speaking to patients was surreal. Even when they’re aware that they’re being filmed, they still act distant and uninterested. They don’t talk to the child, only the parent. And within 30 seconds new drugs were prescribed or dosages increased. I remarked at one point, “All of these assholes should be doing commercials for Hydroxycut.”
It didn’t do much for my general apocalyptic attitude.
To compound that, I was startled awake in the middle of the night to the sound of banshees. It was actually this freakish storm. The wind was screaming past our house and the rain sounded like someone was throwing buckets of pennies on our windows.
My only (drowsy) thought: “This better not be a tornado. I am way too tired for that shit right now.”
Of course, we don’t really get tornadoes in hilly Pittsburgh that often, but if anyone is going to sleep through a twister, I would put my money on me. One time I had a dream that I slept through the apocalypse and when I woke up (in my dream) I looked around at the destruction and thought, “Typical.”
January 9th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
“Typical.”
I’m cracking up over here. And I needed that.
January 9th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
I slept through a four-alarm fire once that was happening about 10 yards from my bedroom window. I didn’t hear the sirens. I didn’t hear the huge diesel fire truck that was parked two feet from my window.
My neighbors thought I was crazy when I finally made it outside yawning and rubbing sleep from my eyes wondering what the hell was going on.
January 9th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
I didn’t watch that but wanted to. I do know that children have survived and grown into adults for thousands of years without the assistance of prescription drugs for “behavior problems.” Again, not being in these people’s shoes, but I couldn’t imagine doping up my child for just about any reason.
January 9th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
at some point last night, i really just wanted to crush all of those “doctor’s” heads in my hands. HATE.
January 9th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
I agree with the medicating of children, straight up. However, during the course of said storm, my 6 year old woke up and was all up in my grill at four in the morning because the wind was bothering him. I was all, “Dude, it’s wind GET OVER IT!”. I thought about medicating the child right there and then because I love my sleep.
Remember the tornado on Mt. Washington? That rare, freak tornado.
January 9th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
I mentioned that storm to Mim this morning (she had dragged me out to the kitchen to look at the outdoor furniture which had scattered on the porch) and she had no idea what I was talking about. I remember waking up a few times during the night and groggily looking out of the window because it sounded like stuff was being thrown at my window (and all I could see when I did look out was a foggy haze of rain and I could hear the howling of the wind). Wild. And then when Mim didn’t know what I was talking about, I decide that I clearly didn’t know what I was talking about. Duurrrrr!