I hate medications. Their value and contribution to society cannot be understated and the increase in my quality of life has been substantially improved by meds. However, I hate taking them. It feels too much like allowing control of my body to be passed onto a chemical. This reluctance to allow chemicals into my life also contributes to an irrational reluctance to eat and drink. I am Goonius, I need no food nor water!
This whole feeling of helplessness in the face of chemicals has also led me to be somewhat contemptuous of some safety concerns around chemicals. I am Goonius, I can take it. Given that my job occasionally takes me into some nasty industrial areas, this is not a good concern. This struck home to me when my brother, who has very similar feelings towards medicine and chemicals as me, caught arsenic poisoning in his place of employment. His work at the time involved cleaning up arsenic and he would then smoke, inhaling the arsenic on his hands into his lungs. Now, the company he is working for has regular arsenic tests, so this situation was caught before it could become a real health problem, but this has changed my outlook on chemicals in general and pharmacology in particular. I realize my meds are not taking control of me, they are allowing me to take control. And safety is always the priority.
This whole feeling of helplessness in the face of chemicals has also led me to be somewhat contemptuous of some safety concerns around chemicals. I am Goonius, I can take it. Given that my job occasionally takes me into some nasty industrial areas, this is not a good concern. This struck home to me when my brother, who has very similar feelings towards medicine and chemicals as me, caught arsenic poisoning in his place of employment. His work at the time involved cleaning up arsenic and he would then smoke, inhaling the arsenic on his hands into his lungs. Now, the company he is working for has regular arsenic tests, so this situation was caught before it could become a real health problem, but this has changed my outlook on chemicals in general and pharmacology in particular. I realize my meds are not taking control of me, they are allowing me to take control. And safety is always the priority.
