Soothe Your Nerves by Angela Neal-Barnett

Author:Angela Neal-Barnett
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Touchstone
Published: 2010-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

SHARING PILLS AND HALVING PILLS

In the movie Kingdom Come, the Slocumb family gathers for the funeral of the family patriarch, Woodrow “Bud” Slocumb. In one scene Charisse, played by Jada Pinkett Smith, asks Lucille, portrayed by Viveca A. Fox, if she can borrow a nerve pill. It seems Charisse has left her nerve pills at home and needs one badly. Lucille goes into the bathroom, downs a nerve pill herself, then brings out two for Charisse. “Here, Charisse honey,” she says. “I brought you a double dose.”

Sharing nerve pills as Lucille and Charisse do in Kingdom Come is a common practice among anxious Black women. Usually the shared pill is a benzodiazepine. We share nerve pills because we mistakenly believe that like over-the-counter medication, they’ll work for anybody. The medication your doctor prescribes is based on your symptoms and your body chemistry. Chances are the pills will be too weak or too strong for the other person.

My client Jalesa learned this lesson the hard way. Ever since she was a little girl, she and her mother had always clashed. Last summer, her mother came to visit and, true to form, the visit was stressful and anxiety provoking. As Jalesa recalled it, “One evening my mother got on my nerves so bad, I gave her one of my pills. She took it, but she was also taking medication for her heart. She had a reaction, and I had to rush her to the hospital.” “Dr. Barnett,” Jalesa wailed, “I almost killed my mama.”

Jalesa’s mother survived, and the incident led them to begin working on repairing their relationship. Today Jalesa and her mother laugh about what happened, but their story serves as a reminder that nerve pills are not mints. You cannot offer one to a friend or your mother just because you know she needs one.

On a related subject, let’s talk about halving pills. Some medication is very expensive even when insurance picks up the bulk of the cost. And what if we don’t have prescription coverage or any insurance at all? Sometimes in an effort to conserve our money and our medication, we cut pills in half. We figure half a pill is half a dose, and the anxiety symptoms will be only half as bad. Unfortunately, when it comes to medication, long division doesn’t apply. Never physically cut your medication in half unless your doctor tells you to.

If you cannot afford the cost of the prescription, don’t despair. Many pharmaceutical companies have programs that provide free medication to individuals who cannot afford it. Some paperwork is required, and your doctor must make the request. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America publishes a directory for physicians that lists all the programs available for those who cannot pay for their medications. If your doctor is unaware of this free directory, please tell her that it exists and that she can order it by calling 1-800-762-4636; it can also be downloaded from the organization’s website at www.phrma.org.

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