Friday, April 29, 2011

The Weight of Our Choices

Sophisticated readers of this blog know that all our choices have “weight”. They all have this certain relative weight, every little fucking choice we make... There is no time table or visibility requirements for this weight but it surely is attached. Just know that every thing we choose will steer us in some direction, somehow. Many of us have thought back at times and reflected on certain strings of choices that led us to where we are now. Realizing that we’re all trying to make the "right" choices to help us live, breathe and chase happiness for our lives.

“A man is happy so long as he choose to be happy.”
-Alexander Solzhenitsyn


There you go. A nice, slightly non-“PC” quote about choice and the human desire of wanting to be happy. So, inevitably things in life will not line up at times during our pursuit of happiness and depression may rear its ugly head. Now it's time to choose! Some of us may choose to stay mentally sharp and not run from it. Others will just hate/resist it and it could stop them in their very tracks. Still others may not be tough enough and we may choose to take the prescription drug Paxil. Paxil is a drug that can help you feel non-depressed and you, simply wanting to feel happy, may choose to pop one of these bad-boys...but you may actually be choosing:

“Anxiety; blurred vision; constipation; decreased sexual desire or ability; diarrhea; dizziness; drowsiness; dry mouth; gas; increased sweating; increased urination; loss of appetite; nausea; nervousness; numbness or tingling of the skin; stomach upset; trouble concentrating; trouble sleeping; weakness; yawning.”

Those are the COMMON side effects.

Here are the other wonderful possibilities:

“Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue); bizarre behavior; black or bloody stools; chest pain; confusion; decreased concentration; decreased coordination; exaggerated reflexes; fainting; fast or irregular heartbeat; fever, chills, or sore throat; hallucinations; memory loss; new or worsening agitation, panic attacks, aggressiveness, impulsiveness, irritability, hostility, exaggerated feeling of well-being, restlessness, or inability to sit still; persistent or severe ringing in the ears; persistent, painful erection; red, swollen, blistered, or peeling skin; seizures; severe or persistent anxiety or trouble sleeping; severe or persistent headache or dizziness; significant weight loss; stomach pain; suicidal thoughts or attempts; tremor; unusual bruising or bleeding; unusual or severe mental or mood changes; unusual weakness; vision changes; worsening of depression.”

Wow.

A fun game you can play with friends involves choosing three side effects and seeing who can come up with the most fucked up combination! Endless fun for all involved. Oh yes, Paxil also may cause thoughts of suicide when you first take it...there's some visible weight to a choice right there.

Yay!

Perhaps you're just tired and want a good nights sleep for once? Being well rested helps in being happy. Well, you can either choose to live a healthy lifestyle with diet, exercise and some regularity to your daily routine which can help you sleep better, or maybe you choose to take the precsription drug Lunesta? Choose Lunesta and you may also have chosen:

"Anxiety; decrease in sexual desire; difficulty with coordination; dizziness; drowsiness; dry mouth; headache; indigestion; lightheadedness; nausea; nervousness; unpleasant taste; vomiting;severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue; unusual hoarseness); aggressive behavior; breast growth; chest pain; confusion; depression; hallucinations; memory problems (such as amnesia); mental or mood changes; painful menstrual periods; seizures; severe mood swings; suicidal thoughts; swelling of hands or feet; symptoms of infection (eg, fever, sore throat, sinus or chest congestion); unusual or disturbing thoughts."

...and the best part?
"This is not a complete list of all side effects that may occur."

Damn.

Indeed you get your good nights sleep, but maybe you transform into a confused, vomiting, walking-trainwreck with no interest in sex? Albeit, A well rested trainwreck.

People, we could just go on and on and on here but since you already resent the fact that you read this far, we should just stop. Just remember to follow your heart when making choices and remember that your choices will have some manner of relative weight to them so don't take them lightly!

Enjoy your weekend.

Bye!

~ZFJ

*Thanks to Drugs.com for the side effect info.*

12 comments:

SoffanSays said...

nice use of punctuation here. of course being the smart man you are, i am HOPING that 2/3rds of this blog was copy & pasted direct from the drug sites. ;)

Zero Fun John said...

Soffansays,

Indded it was! My my...aren't you clever?

~ZFJ

Zero Fun John said...

So, I felt the urge to play my new game involving side effects of precription drugs. Let's say someone gets these side effects:

Exaggerated reflexes, hallucinations & diarrhea.

That's going to be interesting at the very least!

~ZFJ

SoffanSays said...

thanks for noticing me. "decreased sexual desire, painful erections, & breast growth" that is winning.

Zero Fun John said...

This combo is hott:

Bizarre behavior, hallucinations and exaggerated feelings of well-being.

Have I taken Paxil and just don't know it???

"Indded", I just might have...

Bernard said...

I am assumming that taking both drugs at once is acceptable... Therefore, I will choose from a larger pool of side effects:

Exaggerated reflexes, painful erection, and vomiting would make for a swinging time on date night...

Bernard

Bernard said...

Ok... One more...

Hallucinations, increased urination, and unusual or disturbing thoughts...

This would be another fine public display. I'm starting to think there are plenty of people out there taking generous amounts of these excellent medications...

Zero Fun John said...

Bernard,

I agree. I think A LOT of people are taking these prescriptions but just don't want to say it.

Here's one:

Guy has job interview set up. He takes a Paxil to not be so depressed. Job market is tough so he figures he could use the help. Problem is, some of the side effects kick in and he starts diarrhea-ing his pants and has an increase in urination to the point that he also pisses himself. He flies into a rage, misses his interview and the result: his depression worsens (actual potential side effect).

All he can say is "FML"

~ZFJ

Bernard said...

...or he could take a Lunesta and get some sleep...

Bernard

SoffanSays said...

Bernard... i just like typing that~ Bernard, Bernard. i've said it outloud more than three times as well. thanks for that.

Expert Business Presentations said...

A very good read! Interesting subject matter, have not seen anything like it and enjoy reading your blog posts!

Zero Fun John said...

EBP,

Thanks for reading, I checked your profile out, good service you've got there!..."follow" this blog to be in the loop even faster if you like!

Cheers.

~ZFJ