In light of the most recent tragedy in Santa Barbara, there is an article that has seen an increase in circulation. The article titled, Nearly Every Mass Shooting in the Last 20 Years Shares 1 Thing in Common.. . In reading one version the article list tragedies starting with the two perpetrators of the tragedy at Columbine High School. Those youth were both prescribed a psychotropic drug. It goes on to list other tragedies and the common thread of psychotropic drugs.

I have not taken the time to research each perpetrator. Nor do I plan on doing so. The side effects of any of the medications prescribed for ADD, ADHD or depression include, aggressive behavior or suicidal tendencies.

I experienced, and think it is unfortunate our young must fit into an educational and behavioral box. All children are not built the same. Not everyone can sit for 8 hours and soak in everything that a teacher is required to teach.

Medications?

While I won’t delve into the challenges that our education system. I do want to speak of my experience. The school tried pressuring me to put my son on a psychotropic drug because they felt he had ADD. When he was in second grade his teacher was concerned that he wasn’t keeping up with the class and felt that medication could help him focus.

I took him to his pediatrician to see about a diagnoses. When I found out how they diagnosed ADD I was shocked. He handed me two questionnaires, one for me to fill out and one to have his teacher fill out. When we returned to the doctor he explained the evaluation responses indicated ADD. He could call in a prescription right away. Really, you mean based on how we answered 30 questions each you are going to put my son on medication! These could change him for the rest of his life, needless to say we never returned to that doctor again!

Diet

Instead of turning to drugs I began to monitor our diet. We started to eat as much natural unprocessed food as we could. To help my son catch up in school I also invested in one on one tutoring. It wasn’t an easy process but these two changes made a major difference. By the next school year my son caught up to his classmates.

As he got older monitoring his diet got more challenging. He continued to have “behavioral” issues in school, but when he was eating healthy his issues weren’t as pronounced. I accept that sometimes medication is needed. But I also think it has become an easy solution to a complex problem.

I truly believe we are so busy with external impressions. We have become blind to the things we can do to change our own life and those close to us.

Compassion

There really is no way to make sense of any tragedy. Whether it is a mass shooting, a suicide or one individual killing another there is still loss of a life. Each of us deserves to live a long life pursuing our own happiness. Parents make sure you are fully educated on all medical decisions. Most importantly, take time to slow down and enjoy the beauty of the world around us and enjoy each other. Show compassion, and empathy to a stranger every chance you can. Maybe we won’t hear of so many angry incidents happening in our world.