The Doctor Knows Best
A few years ago I was looking for a new doctor so I could get a prescription of Nasonex, you know, for my nasal allergy symptoms? I picked a doctor based on the fact that she was in my neighborhood and worked with my insurance company, which is probably not the best way to pick a physician.
Anyway, since I was a new patient, she asked me to fill out a survey to mark all of the symptoms I might have experienced in the past year. I marked “headaches,” not that I get bad headaches or a lot of headaches, just the occasional headache. That’s normal, right?
So, when she asked me about it, I said, sometimes I clench my teeth when I’m sleeping, and I wake up with a headache. So, with a few psychological questions uncovering a family history of self medication, she decided that I too must be medicated.
I discovered that mouth guards are not the only solution for teeth clenching. There are pharmaceuticals specifically designed for this purpose. And I had the pleasure of taking them. Well, I wouldn’t actually say it was a pleasure.
I was dizzy all the time, and I really felt like I was off my game, like I wasn’t as smart or confident or in control as I was when I wasn’t on mind altering medication. I went to the doctor and told her I didn’t like taking the drugs. Intelligent woman that she was, she argued, “They don’t alter your mind, they just make it more normal.” I just looked at her like she was stupid, because, well, she was.
Anyway, I thought of this story because it just goes to show that Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World
We all just want to be “normal,” right?