Whatever Happened to Dealing Without Drugs?

Have we become a society that is numb?  Have we decided that, instead of facing our emotions and feelings, it is better to take a pill and pretend that we don't have those hurts or worries?  What if some of our social ills and immoralities are because we are walking around so medicated with our yuck stuffed and crammed way down, below the surface?  It seems to me that whenever I hear someone talking about going through a rough time, the first thing anyone asks is, "Are you taking something for it?".  Karol Truman said, "Feelings buried alive never die."  No matter how many pills you take to suppress and cover those feelings, they will surface sometime...maybe when you're least expecting it and totally unequipped to deal with them.

Now don't get me wrong.  I understand that we can go through horrible events that warrant taking something just to help us maintain our sanity until we can get a handle on what's going on.  I also know that we can have chemical imbalances that need to be adjusted with medication.  I'm not speaking of those types of situations.  What I'm talking about is the rampant use of antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications anytime we don't want to deal with a situation because it may be a bit tough.  Whatever happened to getting to the root of an issue, praying about it, working on it, being completely aware of every feeling that you have to go through to get better?

We serve a great God, a Father who wants to go through our journeys with us.  He can empower us with the strength and the peace to walk it out and get to the other side of a problem, knowing that we are truly better and not just drugged.  I remember a time several years ago when my mother had passed away quite unexpectedly, my daughter graduated from high school and moved across the country to go to college.  My husband went to New Orleans to work after hurricane Katrina for 18 months and my best friend moved to another state.  I could not have felt any more abandoned or left behind.

I was terribly depressed but didn't realize it at the time because I did what I always do; I just soldiered on.  One day, it got unbearable and I went to the doctor.  He immediately put me on an extremely strong antidepressant.  Being the good girl that I am, I went home and took them just as I was supposed to.  I took them for a month and my life became a living nightmare.  I was not getting any relief and everything that was bad, was magnified.

Thankfully, I had my yearly visit with my ob/gyn and I told him about the meds I was taking.  He asked me what was going on in my life.  He asked me lots of other questions too.  He wanted to know if there was anyone I could talk to, if there was someone at my church who could pray with me, did I get counselling.  He told me that I should feel the emotions of my mother's passing; that I should feel a certain amount of upset over my husband and daughter being so far away for so long.  He asked me if I thought I had the tools to deal with those emotions and wouldn't I rather know that I had worked through them and came out on the other side of them, a healthier person.  He asked me, "Erin, do you want to be taking this medication?"  I said "Absolutely not."  His answer, "Then you don't have to take them."

How simple and profound was that!  He told me that if I couldn't find someone to talk to, that he would help me find someone.  I weaned myself off of those pills and never took another one.  I found someone to talk to, someone to counsel with and I dealt with every bit of grief, anger, abandonment...every emotion that I had been trying to avoid, came to the surface and I faced it head on.  God was with me every step of the way.  Sometimes I was on His lap, sometimes He walked beside me, sometimes He carried me.  His love was a healing salve that covered every wounded place in my soul.

I want to be fully alive and aware of every minute of my life.  I've been through some horrible circumstances that could have meant the end of my emotional health.  But dealing with them has made me a stronger and better person.  Please don't think that I am judging anyone who takes medication for depression or anxiety.  I'm simply saying that it doesn't have to be your first line of defense.  I know going through intense emotions is hard.  I know it takes lots of work and commitment.

Dear One, if you are facing a challenge in your life and your emotions are strong and raw, please know that you have a loving heavenly Father who wants to help you through to the other side...to victory. There are people out there who are trained to talk with you, pray with you, stick with you until your soul has recovered.  Reach out to someone.  Find a way to grow through situations so that you are stronger and healthier than you were before.

I love you so much and pray all of God's blessings for you, from the top of your head to the soles of your feet.  I pray for a clear mind, free of haunting thoughts and overwhelming emotion.  In Jesus' mighty and precious name, amen!

From His Lap,