The Link Between Trauma, Drug Use, and Our Search to Feel Better
4 hours ago
- #drug-use
- #capitalism
- #trauma
- Humans have historically used drugs to ease emotional pain, with modern drugs being more specifically formulated for modern miseries.
- The invention of modern, industrialized society has led to inherent mental trauma and anxiety, as argued by Will Self.
- The 1950s saw the rise of industrially made anti-anxiety drugs like Thorazine and Miltown, which became widely popular.
- By the late 1970s, Valium became extremely popular, with Americans consuming 2.3 billion tablets annually.
- Benzodiazepines, like Klonopin and Xanax, were developed to calm the nervous system, though their mechanisms were not fully understood.
- The author describes personal experiences with Klonopin, highlighting its effects and the temporary relief it provided from anxiety.
- Modern capitalism has led to an 'age of anxiety,' where societal precarity and stress drive people to seek chemical relief.
- Drugs, both prescription and illicit, are used to cope with the trauma and stress induced by capitalist systems.
- The author reflects on the comfort found in human connection and chemical relief during their darkest moments.