Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-06-09

ers / seemed unusually harassed.
My nearest and dearest maintained
that for the four days was unus-
ually sharp tongued. not to say
downright unpleasant.
Both reactions puzzled me. I felt
anything but harassed and assumed
I seemed as pleasant during the
experiment as felt. My explana-
ton of the difference again boils
down to caring less. I think that
yelled indifference that showed
aside details could be taken as
haraSSment. And the unpleasant
ness may well have been rather
callous attitude toward normal do
nestle problems.
This experience Of mine is not
necessarily typical. but it did make
several things vivid to me.
A Better Understanding
The first is that I understand
much better why so many people
who probably could get along per-
fectly well without tranquilizers
do take them. 1t has nothing to
do with running away from the
difficulties God gave us to bear, as
some of my colleagues seem to
think.
Tranquilizers. for some people,
blunt the points Of life's many little
pin-pricks. Most of us do try to
do too much. If we are conscien-
tious about our responsibilities, the
many little separate worries col
lecting about them can add I'D to
a heavy burden as we contemplate
it over the breakfast coffee. II tram
QuilizerS help a man worry less,
why not take them? That is a nat
ural conclusion.
However. doctors tell us that it
is unwise to treat symptoms with
out treating the disease that causes
them. The person who takes tran
quilizers so that he can get through
the day is often doing just that.
We can appreciate his desire to
get through the day. but we can
also ask If getting rid of the worry
gets rid Of the problems. Usually
when it seems to, it still doesn't
answer the next question. which is
why do you worry so much?
Some people have been alarmed
by the reports of respectable people
becoming immoral under the in
f1uence Of tranquilizers. My expert
ment did not prove very much. but
it did suggest that. like alcohol and
other drugs, not the drug but the
person is still the source Of his
conduct.
A Collousness
Under the influence of Equanil,
no longer cared as much for other
peoples feelings as / would like to.
This callousness became con-
sistent and obvious part Of me
during the four days of the expert
ment. But 1t had to be somewhere
in me to show.
We are all mixtures, each many
people who together make up the
person others know and like. Take
away one Of the people in the
crowd that is you and you will be
different. 1t seems irresponsible to
blame the drug for this.
My conclusion from the expert
ment was that tranquilizers like
every medical discovery. are boon
If administered under competent
care and dangerous to use without
it. Our life is SO complex that we
should be grateful for any tool that
will help man through the worst
periods Of his life. Such help can
often be prelude to his becoming
more fully the self he can be.
The experiment demonstrated
even more clearly to me the dan.
gers a person might run in an I'M
supervised dependence on tranquil
izers. In all probability, he will
run the danger OF distorting mis-
own observation OF himself and
poStponing any attack on his real
problems by burying their symp-
toms,