This attitude can be as foolish as expecting a magic potion to cure all your ills. When used well, medication can be successfully used as a catalyst, not as a crutch. ''Toughing it out'' can sometimes merely veil foolish pride. Just because an itchy rash may have a psychological cause is no reason not to treat the rash topically. Few of us would balk at taking medication to stop scratching while we determine what internal disruption has caused this eruption. There are times when temporary help may get you through extreme feelings that can occur when your life is in transition or when you are facing upheavals such as divorce, illness, a move or a death in the family.
Medication can be useful for a short while, much like taking insulin for diabetes.
A diabetic may begin with a requisite large dose, but is sometimes able, with appropriate exercise and dietary changes, to cut back, or eliminate insulin entirely. Medication helped him over the hump and psychotherapy helped him to move on. The then presidential adviser began visiting a therapist after experiencing insomnia following several stressful events. Hives erupted across his chin, and everyday noises sounded like fingernails screeching across slate or the tines of a fork scraping a bone-china plate. Soon I slept four hours straight, then six.