I've tried to stay out of it--despite my passion...despite my losses. I've tried to remind myself that my purpose in writing is to help people "feel good".
But there comes a time when knowing the truth just isn't
good enough. There comes a time when you must speak up. Robin William's
suicide was yet another reminder that I need to say what I know to be true.
This is for you sweet Michael.
Many years ago, my brother married a woman who had given
birth to an extremely premature child; Michael. When I
first met Michael, he was five years old, but the size of a three year old. He
wore thick glasses for his reduced vision and hearing aids. He was nearly deaf
without them. But the boy's pure JOY of life was contagious! Michael was one of
the most beautifully sweet beings I have had the pleasure of meeting in my
life.
In the early 90's, I read about various "feel
good" drugs and had also been fortunate to have been warned of the price
of that kind of "happiness". There were a number of them, mostly Prozac,
Zoloft and to handle kids, Ritalin.
Once Michael was in school, his weak eye sight and
over-stimulation from what he couldn't quite see or hear, made him a "perfect
candidate" for Ritalin--which later led to many other drugs...and problems.
Once Michael was on Ritalin he constantly battled his emotions to
find happiness. By the time Michael was in his teens, he was a problem child.
He still had the beautiful smile that I remembered, but without any of the previous joy. He was on numerous prescription drugs designed to
alter his mood and personality, and he was addicted to street drugs.
When he was only twenty-two, he walked into his mother's
house, hugged her and apologized for being such a failure in life. He walked into
the shed in their backyard, took a gun to his head and blew his brains out.
Happiness is not measured in deeds done or goals met,
but in the process of achieving your goals. When you rely on the pharmaceutical
"solutions" it offers neither happiness nor the ability to
achieve your goals. YOU were meant to
climb MOUNTAINS not molehills--don't ever allow yourself to believe less of
yourself.
I'm not telling you this heart-breaking story without
purpose. It's because I wanted to understand WHY! In my research I found so
many stories of Ritalin and Anti-psychotics/Anti-depressants linked to extraordinary
violence (including every single one of the school shootings) and suicides from
people that had been on these drugs for only weeks. Look at the side-effects!
Read them! They aren't there as a mild warning. And if you truly want to
understand what we are doing to our children and to ourselves check out the
site below.
YOU deserve a life full of happiness and joy. So did
Robin...So did Corey...So did Michael.
xox!
Delia
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