A Quick Fix

Doctor McCoy hands an old woman in the hospital a tablet that we find out cures her of a number of things. He calls some of our 20th century medicine barbaric. Doctor Gregory House cures by trial end error and sudden inspiration. However, we all believe that it is possible to solve our health problems with one little yellow pill. We swallow a whole bottle containing two doses of quick fix because there is not enough time for coffee, and do not like that two-thirty feeling. Have an ill, take a pill.

Drug manufacturers legally cover their asses by warning us of side effects and telling us we should not use a product for too long. Some drug commercials proclaim how it is the most amazing miracle cure but end with a litany of side-effects. Frequently the miracle cure causes worse symptoms than the trouble it is supposed to solve, sometimes worsening the original trouble or leading to potential death. Are we so blind to the effects of various chemicals or too enamored with a quick fix, to do anything but swallow a capsule? When was the last time you found a quiet, dark or dim room to meditate your headache away?

Its understandable that in some specific circumstances, a quick fix may be a reasonable solution, especially for those who cannot counter their symptoms without aid. However, when this sort of quick fix becomes the only normal solution, there can be serious consequences. If you immediately place a bandaid of numbness over those signals of pain and discomfort, there may be no chance to discover their cause. It isn't long before the original alarm is forgotten while the now hidden ailment silently gets worse. This automatic self-medicating method to problem solving is very easily directly related to addictions.

Drug abuse is an easy way out, a quick fix for feeling bad becomes a habit. When you're frustrated or angry you decide that a cigarette is able to soothe and calm. When depressed or hurting, alcohol fuzzes out the feeling. Chemicals are not the cure, especially when it is a psychological or emotional issue. Face the problem directly. Look around you for support, you get none from a bottle. The courage is within you if you take the time to find it. Maybe the medicating you do is another excess, but no matter what it is, the truth is that running away from your problems is no way to solve them. Your excesses, habits, quick fixes, are a way to avoid staring into the ugly face of reality.

Talk to someone about your problems. Write about your problems. Express them in some way, get the poison out. The greatest healing does not come from a prescription or elixir, it is within yourself. Positive thinking will have as much impact as dwelling on the worst and seeing the dark side or emphasizing discomfort. As easily as you can convince yourself that you feel bad, you can reinforce a speck of goodness until it overtakes the sinking stuck in the mud self-pity. Meditation is control, regulating your thought and taking charge of your body. The mind is a powerful tool that might not be getting used effectively, it is far more capable than we think.

Consider how uncomfortable you feel when everyone around you reminds you that it is too hot or too cold, or when you complain to others and to yourself, as opposed to describing it as not so bad, even bearable. Consider how quickly an idea of a specific food will lead to thoughts of its smell, and memories of how good it was, and with a little more encouragement from yourself or others, you are cooking it or buying it (or wishing that you could). Without being fully aware, you have reinforced that speck of an idea, you gave it a positive force and allowed it to grow. The same can be done in the opposite direction, to assist with ending a habit: view it in a dark light, tell yourself how bad it is, remind yourself how terrible it makes you feel. By changing something that you had convinced yourself was enjoyable or pleasurable, you can reduce your desire for it. We are thinking things, but we are also pleasure seekers and pain avoiders.