Over Diagnosed and Over medicated
Over Diagnosed and Overmedicated In “Diagnosis: Human,” Ted Gup argues how most children are introduced to medication at a young age by their parents, sending a message to kids that self- medication is acceptable. He describes how instead of overcoming the challenges that are faced with while having a particular condition, many turn to what they have been taught, medication. In certain situations parents are eager to rush their children into taking medication once they see an ounce of imperfection in their child. Bringing them into a life where they are constantly medicated is damaging, although some parents may see it as helping their child, they may be doing the complete opposite. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (D.S.M) has recently expanded depression to include several forms of grief. Grief alone is a natural human condition that does not require medication; it simply requires time and help from loved ones. Today, society creates this idea that we need a pill for any and every disorder. Gup writes, ”Ours is an age in which the airwaves and media are one large drug emporium that claims to fix everything from sleep to sex. I fear that being human is itself fast becoming a condition” (para. 11). He explains how there is a pill for every mental issue a person claims they have, and doctors are willing to hand them out, whether or not a person even has a condition. Some parents are challenged with finding a cure for their child’s “condition”. Many believe that medication is the only cure to heal their children and are quick to bring them into a world of medicine, instead of looking ahead and thinking about the lasting effects of what it could do to their children. Gup writes, “No one made him take the heroin and alcohol, and yet I cannot help but hold myself and other to account. I had unknowingly colluded with a system that devalues talking therapy and rushes to mediate, inadvertently sending a message that self-medication, too is