Shipping pills to the poor ?

[dreadnought]

You're assuming quite a bit here.

a) There is a simple lifestyle change that will cure them.
b) They are capable of making that change.
c) That the person advising them is making an informed and effective diagnosis and treatment suggestion.
d) They haven't already tried it and found it to be completely ineffective.

To be honest, going to someone who suffers from anxiety due to a chemical imbalance in the brain or PTSD or the like and telling them they just need to smile more or be more thankful for what they have is almost always going to make them worse off.

I'm assuming nothing. I just believe that lifestyle decisions have a lot to do with our mental health, and before I went to a doctor, I'd try to see if I was living my life the way Jesus taught me to live my life.

 

[majj27]

I'm assuming nothing. I just believe that lifestyle decisions have a lot to do with our mental health, and before I went to a doctor, I'd try to see if I was living my life the way Jesus taught me to live my life.

*sigh*

 

[dreadnought]

*sigh*

You might remember Jesus healed people without the help of a pharmacist. Do you think he can no longer do that?

 

[majj27]

You might remember Jesus healed people without the help of a pharmacist. Do you think he can no longer do that?

You've pretty much missed the point entirely.

 

[dreadnought]

You've pretty much missed the point entirely.

Maybe if you could make your point with a minimum number of words.

 

[majj27]

Maybe if you could make your point with a minimum number of words.

Blaming folks who suffer through no fault of their own for their condition is counterproductive and often needlessly cruel. Howzabout that for a starting place?

 

[dreadnought]

Blaming folks who suffer through no fault of their own for their condition is counterproductive and often needlessly cruel. Howzabout that for a starting place?

Then I think you missed MY point. I'm suggesting that in some cases our own lifestyle decisions have a detrimental effect on our mental health. In those cases, the Lord can show us how to heal ourselves.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

Anyway, to get back to the original point, as somebody who has anxiety disorder and panic disorder and is still looking for the correct balance of meds to manage it, I can say I sympathize greatly with the struggle to afford medications to treat the condition. That said, shipping medications from country to country is almost always highly illegal, not to mention the questionable (at best) ethics of lying to a doctor and insurance company to fake an illness.

Since anxiety meds aren’t a one size fits all medication and misuse of them can cause deadly side effects, best to send them the money to help them cover the prescription and allow them to be properly supervised taking them.

 

[PreviouslySeeking...]

I have a diagnosed anxiety disorder and I would not ship anxiety meds to another country.

1. Does the person have a legitimate prescription from a doctor they've seen within the last 6 months? As someone listed above, there are several medications used in the treatment of anxiety. They all have their own side effects and may be contraindicated for a variety of reasons. A commonly used drug makes me quite ill and a medication I've taken in the past causes side effects now, that it didn't cause then.

2. Who is going to monitor this person were they to get the meds? Getting periodic blood work makes sense for anyone on a regular medication.

3. Medication isn't a cure all. Anyone with a chronic health condition (which mental illness is) needs lifestyle supports precisely because medication isn't always available or sufficient. What is this person doing to deal with their situation?

 

[Rivga]

How ethical would it be to do the following: Ship the same pills to them that a healthcare provider has already said would benefit her. However, keep in mind, they have no money to afford the medicine. But the laws of the land state that doing this is illegal.

To directly answer the question, Ethics and legality are two different things.

So it may very well be ethical to ship some pills to a friend in need, in isolation. You should consider two other things:
1) Nothing is in isolation
2) All actions have consequences

1) Nothing in Isolation:
It maybe ethical to send the pills in isolation but if you risk jail time and also have a family that depends upon you then is it ethical to risk their happiness.

2) Consequences:
It is fine to be ethical but what are the consequences, say you give pills to someone and they die due to those pills. The obvious punishment for breaking the law, etc

 

[Tropical Wilds]

Yeah, this isn’t the “steal bread to save my starving family” scenario I think the OP is hoping for. It’s actively breaking the law, enabling self-treatment of an illness using controlled substances without the support of a doctor, and making proper treatment almost impossible. I get that some people think anxiety can be “prayed away” or it can be dealt with by “making different lifestyle choices” (whatever the heck that means), but the reality is that anxiety that is to a point where a doctor is sought and they suggest a course of meds means the person needs proper oversight, not a “good samaritan.”