I have an ulcer.
If you’re wondering where I’ve been, you must be an odd and lonely person. Anyways, taking my last test before graduation next month, then flying off to darkest Africa to play doctor one last time before, uh, the real thing. Oh, and I find out where I’m going to be spending my next three (+?) years this Thursday. Indeedy.
Anyways, between the studying and the packing and the intense anxiety about the future, blogging seems a poor investment of my time. But what the hell.
So, anyways, I’ve been thinking that people who complain about overdiagnosis aren’t complaining about overdiagnosis, but that our diagnostic categories and therapeutic options are crude and impractical. There’s no intrinsic difference between mastering your emotions through force of will or force of pill, and anyone who tells you different just hasn’t had the right pills. Because they don’t exist.
Similarly, a common complaint about modern medicine you hear from the holistic types is that it treats the symptom, not the disease. This isn’t entirely accurate, but who cares? Without symptoms, there is no disease. The problem with modern medicine is that it treats symptoms poorly, and with gross side effects.