(As a disclaimer, I should say that I do believe that drugs save lives and, also perhaps surprisingly, I’m not really a skeptic about “Big Pharma”. I think the argument could be made that Big Pharma does MUCH more good than it does harm and that, while we would all like to live in a world where drug companies do what they do out of the kindness of their heart, there is a generally fair balance between supply and demand when it comes to pharmaceutical companies and patients. Of course, this is a sweeping generalization, but it is hard to speak in anything but generalizations when it comes to issues such as these.)
Disclaimer out of the way, I will say that I think there is a big problem with overmedication in America, but I think that problem is more because people are NUTS than because of Big Pharma. Yes, I am one of those people who will stay in bed for a week with a high fever instead of going on antibiotics. Yes, I am one of those people who thinks tap water is better than filtered water. And that hand sanitizer isn’t good for you. And that the amount of vaccines given to babies are likely having some effect on us as a population, although I can’t really articulate what that effect might be. And that people mold their symptoms into conditions to get medications that they don’t really need.
Basically, I think we are a nation of hypochondriacs. And I think we are a nation used to quick fixes. And the combination of the two leads to people ingesting drugs that they really don’t need and that, at least in the larger sense, do more harm than good. And, science aside, even if the drugs are benign in the chemical and physical sense, I think the larger problem is that people medicate for things that they should let their body handle naturally or should be dealing with in other ways. Such as behavioral therapy. Or physical therapy. Or just grinning and bearing it because life isn’t perfect. It’s a little right-wing of me, but it is just what I think.
Which brings me to today’s rage fest: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/13/business/13stream.html?_r=1&hpw
There are SO many things about this that make me want to kick someone.
1. Premature ejaculation is not a medical condition. It may suck. And it may make you feel like less of a man. And it may make girls laugh at you. But you know what? There are a lot of things that do those three things that aren’t medical conditions (ex. Singing along to Taylor Swift in your car, ordering an appletini at a bar). Suck it up.
2. I would like to publicly dispute the fact that men with P.E. (ugh the new buzz word, which I’m only using for simplicity’s sake) have shorter relationships. WTF is that? While I wouldn’t be thrilled to be with someone who had P.E. , if I liked them enough for other things (i.e. personality, sense of humor, boatloads of money) then I certainly wouldn’t leave them because of it. My guess is that their P.E. turns them into a giant, insecure toolbag, which is why they are unable to keep relationships.
3. Which brings me to number three. Although men would like to think that emotions have no affect on them, I would be willing to argue that a lot of the times, any sort of sexual problem like that has some sort of psychological root. It happens a few times and then you get nervous which makes it happen again. And then it becomes a pattern. Or maybe you are unhappy with your life, which is manifesting itself in physical ways. Perhaps, instead of popping a pill, men should take a second to examine the causes of this problem. Because I would lay a lot on the line to bet that most men could benefit from finding the emotional root of their problem, rather than placating themselves with medication that makes them less sensitive sex machines.
4. Maybe if we didn’t live in such an oversexed society, where men and women both felt the need to live up to such ridiculous expectations and standards, men wouldn’t develop such a complex about it to begin with.
5. I am so sick of feeling bad for the plight of the males and their poor penile dysfunctions. I’m sure this will also be covered by insurance, while women pay $60+ a month for birth control and higher premiums for insurance coverage because we are just so complicated. If only all of our issues were concentrated in our external genitalia like the mighty men, then maybe we might get some equal treatment.
6. Where is the female orgasm pill? Or the male birth control? Or any of the other 8972389723 sexual issues that could actually benefit from modern science that have yet to be invented?
7. Making it a health issue and then making people aware they have a health issue they need drugs for, probably really isn’t going to help the issue much.
The only good thing to possibly come from this is having Jason Biggs as the spokesperson for P.E., thanks to his infamous scene in American Pie. I’ve been waiting for him to make a comeback and picturing the commercials is already making me excited.
