When it comes to neurological health, conventional medicine seems to have one golden rule—medicate first, ask questions… never. Depression? Here’s an antidepressant. Anxiety? Try a benzodiazepine. ADHD? Say hello to a stimulant prescription. Instead of pausing to understand the underlying causes of these conditions—be it nutrition, trauma, or even lifestyle—the system takes the shortcut of peddling pills, all too often leaving patients to shoulder the burden of side effects alongside their existing struggles.

Take anxiety, for instance. Stress and chronic worry are real issues, but what do most doctors recommend first? Medications like Xanax or Ativan instead of exploring mindfulness, cognitive-behavioral therapy, or even simple breathing exercises that have actually shown long-term benefits. Sure, those pills might provide temporary relief, but they also come with risks like addiction, cognitive dullness, and ultimately, a lack of real resolution.

And we can’t forget depression—Big Pharma’s favorite moneymaker. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are prescribed with such gusto you’d think they were candy. While these meds do help some people, no one seems too concerned about the laundry list of side effects, from emotional numbness to weight gain to withdrawal symptoms that make it incredibly hard to stop once you’ve started. The bigger concern? No one’s asking why rates of depression continue to rise despite the widespread use of these miracle drugs.

ADHD treatment also follows much of the same story. Kids as young as five are being handed stimulant medications without much investigation into dietary changes, behavioral interventions, or environmental factors. Parents rarely hear about how cutting down on processed foods or adding regular physical activity might improve their child’s focus. It’s all about the prescription pad, which conveniently feeds a multi-billion-dollar industry.

Just ask someone like Mark, who was diagnosed with mild depression after losing his job. His doctor suggested an antidepressant immediately, glossing over the role his poor sleep, processed food diet, and lack of exercise might play in his mood. After a year on medication, not only did he gain weight and suffer from constant fatigue, but his original sadness hadn’t truly lifted. When he asked about alternatives, his doctor suggested upping the dosage.

Meanwhile, therapies like exercise, mindfulness, or even dietary interventions are often dismissed or labeled as “complementary” at best. After all, there’s no profit in suggesting a run in the park, is there? Big Pharma thrives on recurring customers, and a healthier, medication-free lifestyle just doesn’t fit that business model.

Sure, medications have their place, but when pills become the default prescription for every neurological concern, you have to wonder who’s driving the agenda. Spoiler alert—it’s not the patient’s well-being. It’s hard to shake the sense that the system would rather keep the pharmacy cash registers humming than invest in holistic healing.