So how does semantics, or the practice of giving a name to every slightest variation of a health condition, affect the health crisis in America? The answer is simple, and quite brilliant in its simplicity: if we can name it, then we can treat it. With every new disorder that is "discovered", the drug industry can produce at least three or four different treatments for it. Once the patent for these new medications ends, even more profit can be generated both through the introduction of generic versions of the drug, and through the creation of "better" or "stronger" name-brand products.
An Example that Applies to 90% of Americans
Headaches and migraines affect an estimated 90% of the population. There are many different types of headaches, including tension headaches, migraine headaches, cluster, cough, exercise, and sex headaches, as noted by Mayo Clinic. WebMD lists twenty different brands of headache medication - and for every brand, there are dozens of companies making money from generics. Side effects of these drugs can include symptoms like diarrhea, gastrointestinal bleeding, difficulty breathing, rash, liver damage, and ulcers.
Headaches are viewed as a normal part of life. So is popping medication for fast symptomic relief when one starts. Unfortunately, about 70% of all headaches that occur are drug-induced; taking headache medication can actually cause more headaches. As the body and brain begin to rely on the drug to control headaches, the natural processes that would prevent headaches stop working. This is known as - drumroll, please - physical dependence. Yes, 70% of Americans are addicted to one or another type of headache medication, the majority of which can be purchased over the counter.
So how should we be taking care of the headache epidemic? Ending our dependence on headache medication, as well as on caffeine and nicotine, is the first step. And in the event that a headache does naturally occur, Mother Nature's best treatment for it is abundant, safe, and completely free - water.
The Labelling of Mental Disorders
Perhaps nowhere is the power of semantics seen as strongly as in the mental health field. Don't get me wrong - there are certainly people out there with a real disorder who need real help. The traumatized war veteran, for example, or the OCD patient who compulsively picks and eats his own skin. It's just that the treatment should begin with diet and lifestyle changes, along with intense behavioral therapy. Medication should be a last resort.
In real life, however, medication is the first line of defense against almost every type of mental disorder that can be diagnosed. There are countless Americans who suffer from depression (which in many cases could also be called discontentment, poor nutrition, low self-esteem, and lack of motivation), which becomes a vicious cycle that is only fueled by medication. The vast majority of these patients would experience a dramatic reduction in their symptoms simply by eating healthier, drinking more water, and exercising.
Orthorexia
Interestingly, there is a new mental health/eating disorder that is sweeping acros the nation. It is called orthorexia, and it is characterized by a preoccupation with the purity of your food. If you are reading this post with any interest or enthusiasm, you can probably be diagnosed with orthorexia. The first step in treatment is, undoubtedly, a heavy-duty prescription medication.
If you suffer from orthorexia, you are likely to avoid genetically modified foods. In fact, you may go to some lengths to do so, like shopping at health food stores, preparing food from scratch rather than from a box, and growing your own food at home. Big Pharma wants this condition treated.
Certainly, there have been some extreme cases of orthorexia. When your diet starts to interfere with relationships, your job, and your health, then it becomes a problem. The vast majority of people who could officially be diagnosed with this disorder, however, would be better off continuing to avoid processed foods, refined sugars and grains, and chemical additives. Better orthorexia than cancer.
Modern Medicine Does Have Its Place in Health and Wellness
Lest I sound like an extremist, convinced that conventional medicine is at the heart of every medical condition in existence, let me say quite frankly that doctors and scientists have contributed a lot to our understanding of how the body and the brain work. In some extreme cases, medication is indeed necessary. Surgeries, a frightening number of which are not really needed, can at times be the only option. However, medicine as we know it today should never be the end-all-be-all of illness treatment.
Instead of focusing on which bacterium or which virus is causing particular symptoms, we should instead focus on the body system that is being affected. I have twice ended urinary tract infections not by going to a doctor, determining the bacteria causing the infection, and taking antibiotics to get rid of the infection, but simply by increasing the functionality of my urinary tract by drinking lots of water. When anyone I know has a UTI, I tell them simply to "piss it out."
A Last Word on Semantics
Far too many drugs today actually exacerbate the very problem they are intended to treat. Headache medicines cause headaches, antibiotics increase the risk of future infections, and sleep aids and antidepressants effectively lobotomize their victims. The naming of diseases makes this occur more and more.
Many people who have a medical condition (or two, or ten) are almost proud of their diseases. You may have seen them on online forums, their disorders listed like scholastic acheivements beneath their names (Betsy, Type II Diabetes, Social Anxiety Disorder, Depression, GERD). It is a way for people to individualize themselves, to socialize with others like them, and to explain or excuse what they do and how they do it (I'm sleeping in late today because I have depression). Their medicine becomes part of a reassuring routine, believing in the false hope that if they take these drugs they will feel better, at least for today. In the process, they begin to lose their own identities. They become consumed in who Big Pharma wants them to be.
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