Disable pills

Too many pills and too few books is always good news for the pharmaceutical system and its financial advisors and it’s always bad news for people’s health.

But things can change very rapidly, as soon as we become aware of the power of disabling bad habits. This comes from the UK – just imagine how strong the impact could be for all of us:

Under the Books on Prescription program, UK doctors will begin prescribing books – yes, books – to patients with mental health problems, including anxiety, depression, and panic attacks, the Reading Agency announced Thursday at the British Library. The Agency is a UK charity centered on books and reading. […] In the UK, Books will be prescribed for patients suffering from a host of conditions, including anger, anxiety, binge eating, depression, anxiety, obsessions and compulsions, panic, phobias, low self-esteem, stress, worry, and even chronic pain, fatigue, and relationship problems. […] It’s not the first such initiative. Denmark, Wales and New Zealand already have similar programs, with Wales pioneering the idea in 2003 under the direction of clinical psychologist Professor Neil Frude. “The doctors are already there, the books are already there and so are the libraries. It just needed joining them up,” Frude said of the program. (The entire report is here).

Disable pills, read more books and find yourself able to get out of almost any mental trouble without the help of the chemical poisons.