ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the dangers of the abuse of medication in misguided attempts to solve the everyday problems of existence, a prophetic warning for our pilldominated society of the 1990s. The tranquilizers or the ataraxic drugs are an extremely valuable medical adjunct in the treatment of a great variety of mental and emotional disorders. In their effects these medications combat and attack either the emotional tone or the disturbed thinking processes of the patient. In general, the greatest use is that with the aid of these drugs it makes patients who are inaccessible to treatment accessible. Miltown brings rose-colored boredom or a kind of sugar-coated apathy. Apathy and boredom are relatively obscure phenomena. Clinically, apathy is usually a sign of some overwhelming, catastrophic illness, organic or mental. By and large, apathy is seen as a reaction to catastrophic and overwhelming events, whether physical or emotional, internal or external.