It’s a lot harder to do the work than to take the pill. An entire pharmocological industry has grown out of this fact.
I am not anti-medicine and I applaud our scientists for their skill and dogged determination. Some of my special needs yoga student’s lives have been transformed beyond recognition by the meds that have reduced their seizures or improved their lung function. Another student’s life has (literally) been saved by meds for the very serious mental health condition which has sometimes seen him hospitalised for his own safety.
I am however very pro doing the work.
Yoga, breathwork, good diet and relaxation work when they are applied to back pain, social anxiety, depression, chronic conditions and a multitude of other difficulties, physical and mental, that so many of us confront throughout life.
So does looking deeply at the sources of your pain.
That these are not quick fixes is their power. You are not going to understand that your depression or anger comes from your need for perfectionism, which comes from your need not to disappoint yourself or others, which comes from the way you were brought up by your (probably very lovely) parents. To understand the provenance of your problems does not mean that you turn to judgement and blame of your early carers. It means that you understand clearly the framework in which you are operating, so that you might choose a healthier and happier modus operandi for life.
That this work is hard is evidenced by the fact that so few people are doing it.
That this work is of utmost value is evidenced by the peace and wisdom of those who have done (and continue to do) it.
So don’t take the pill, do the work. Understand yourself and how you got to be here. See more clearly how you contribute to the longevity of your own pain by the deeply ingrained habits and attitudes you are carrying through life with you. Move forward with compassion and forgiveness in your heart (for you, for them, for everything). Make changes accordingly.
Practise, reflect, choose wisely every day - a daily dose, so to speak. The side effects are that you live better, feel happier and have more positivity to contribute. Everybody wins.