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"I was reading Rebecca Walker&amp;#x27;s blog the other day and came upon a post about medicating children--specifically children with ADHD. Walker wrote about a father she overheard tell someone at the health food store that he was excited Ritalin was working for his daughter. &amp;quot;Her turn-around&amp;quot; was &amp;quot;like a miracle,&amp;quot; the father said. That&amp;#x27;s when a woman behind him chimed in about how an Omega 3 supplement helped a friend&amp;#x27;s son. The father became ashamed--and I want to know WHY! SERIOUSLY!Why is it that when you get diagnosed with Cancer it&amp;#x27;s socially acceptable to get Chemo? When your kid gets an ear infection, to shoot antibiotics down his throat (or try)? When you have a headache, to take Advil? But when you&amp;#x27;re depressed, or anxious, or a parent of a child with ADHD there&amp;#x27;s a long, silent pause when someone fesses up to GASP medicating? Listen, I hate Paxil commercials too. I don&amp;#x27;t need to see another dramatic mini-movie of a woman crying on the couch, then taking the little pill and triumphing on a beach with a dog (likely a golden retriever)--but ya know what? Sometimes people do need that edge, sometimes Big Pharma isn&amp;#x27;t a nasty beast--and I don&amp;#x27;t think there is anything wrong with taking medicine when you&amp;#x27;re sick. Walker puts it best: Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of. Like any other disease, it&amp;#x27;s something to treat. Whether it&amp;#x27;s with herbs, meds, beets, or yoga doesn&amp;#x27;t matter. What matters is that people--regardless of ideology, religion or cultural taboos--get better, feel happier, and are more able to make healthy decisions for themselves and the people they love. I wonder where you stand on treating mental illness in adults--and kids?...In your own life? Someone once told me that the terrible panic attacks I was having were just in my head and I was making them up. Hmmm. No."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/sex-love-life/blogs/storked/2008/12/medicating-kids-would-you-dare>