Void Avoidance

How do you fill the emptiness in your life? How do you mend the hurt?

Turning to alcohol is not an uncommon solution to many problems. In my brief stay at a local mental health facility (anxiety), I saw many patients who had turned to drugs or alcohol in their down times in their lives, being prescribed drugs.

Essentially, the thought is, how can we make this person function most like a normal human being, except without doing that thing that got them in here. The science says that there is a chemical in-balance in your brain. Once we find the right combination of chemicals, we can hotwire you into a normal life. Whatever that is.

Except, we know that the model is broken. People have holes in their hearts for a reason, and giving them another pill is just another way of masking that hurt. I’m not saying they are not chemically unbalanced. What I’m saying is that if you teach them to live with whatever prescription you give them, you’re keeping them from overcoming what plagues them. You trap them in their hurt without feeling hurt. It could be the most despicable curse of all.

And remember: Don’t Trust Your Psychiatrist.