As a student, I used to work at a restaurant. One of my coworkers, forty-something woman, a mother of four, was constantly popping pills. Her purse was stuffed with bottles of drugs. Every hour or so you would see her taking a pill, most of the times without even a gulp of water.

Michelle was a great server and a friendly, compassionate person. How horrible, I thought, that she is so sick. Once we got to know each other a little better, I asked her about all those pills, expecting a long tearful story on how many different illnesses she had.

Indeed, Michelle insisted she was very sick, but after hearing her account I was sure that medications were to blame for her condition. She was not sick and in not need of all those pills.

It turned out Michelle would start her day with chicken nuggets and a few cups of very strong coffee. 2 or 3 quick cigarettes would follow. Before leaving her house, the woman would take a sip of cough syrup. “I have coughing bouts you wouldn’t believe. If I don’t take something, I would not be able to mutter a word, forget about working”, she complained to me puffing away.

By the time she got to the restaurant (7 am), she would be feeling tired and exhausted.

At the beginning of her shift the woman would take a few caffeine pills, each containing as much caffeine as 2 cups of coffee.

Before noon, Michelle’s hands would be shaking, she would have trouble holding a decent conversation with her clients and in a moment she would experience a full-blown anxiety attack.

Then Michelle would take a couple of prescription anti-anxiety pills.

After lunch (greasy burger with fries and at least 3 cigarettes) Michelle would take some laxatives. She had insisted she could not go to the bathroom unless she took the pills.

Then again cycle would start all over again. Caffeine pills to escape the afternoon slump, anti-anxiety medication to stop panic attacks, then more cigarettes and more cough medicine.

Before getting on a bus heading home Michelle would take some pain medications. “My feet and joints are burning; standing on your feet all day is no joke”, she explained to me. More fast food for supper, strong sleeping medications before going to bed and a cigarette to calm nerves down. This is how Michelle would end her day. Next morning everything would start as described earlier. Do you recognize yourself in Michelle’s actions? Do you know somebody else who lives similar life? Is medication dependency ruining your life or somebody’s you care about? If so, please read on.

It is clear that Michelle was addicted to her medications and thought that the only way she could feel better is by taking a pill for every real or imaginable problem. However, her lifestyle has created most of her health disorders. Pharmaceuticals, instead of healing, were making those problems more acute.

Here are a few tips on how changing her lifestyle would have helped Michelle. I hope these tips will help other people in similar situations.

1. Reduce caffeine intake. A couple cups of coffee a day will not hurt, but taking handfuls of caffeine pills will surely make you feel anxious and eventually trigger serious panic attacks.

2. Start your day with a glass of grapefruit juice and a bowl of cereal, instead of a plate of chicken nuggets or a sandwich. Your body is rested after the night and ready to take in nutrients. Do not poison it with fat or nutrient-deficient food!

3. Quit smoking! An annual survey funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse finds that, in 2009, smoking rates among teenagers fell to the lowest level since 1975. If teens, usually eager to try anything, are cutting on cigarettes, isn’t it time for you, an adult, to quit? Besides many other bad things, smoking may provoke panic attacks and coughing bouts.

4. Buy food items without preservatives. Many of coughs we have are allergic reactions to low quality foods full of preservatives. Preservatives also may cause cancer and drain energy out of our bodies.

5. Exercise! You do not need to turn into an Olympic runner. Vigorous walking for at least 30 minutes a day may improve your health and make your joints more flexible. It also boosts energy level, so you’ll need less caffeine to feel active and sharp.

6. Eat lots of vegetables, some fruit, whole grain bread and a small bowl of brown rice every day. Laxatives should be your last resort, and only after doctor says you have some serious intestine disease. Otherwise, healthy diet is all you need in order to move your bowels daily.

7. Strengthen your immunity with dietary supplements. Do your research and use only brands you trust. Remember, that Isotonix? products offer the fastest and most efficient absorption of all oral forms of nutritional supplementation. There are no pills to swallow, so there are no binders, fillers or coatings.

8. If you do all of the above, I’d be surprised if you have problems falling asleep and need any sleeping medications.

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