Five or six years ago I went to a neurologist about blasting migraines that never went away. They'd last for weeks. So he prescribed Effexor, telling me headache relief was a common off-label use of this drug. I took it that night and within an hour I felt awful, practically suicidal. I couldn't even go to work the next day, and I ended up sobbing incoherently on the phone to my boss. It was a miserable experience, and I threw them away. They weren't cheap, either.

In the 90s, I was prescribed Xanax for dealing with the pain of tendinitis. It was supposed to make me not feel the pain or something, I don't know. And I was told to take them twice a day. Took one the first morning and was a total zombie. Do people actually work while taking these things? After that, it was nighttime only for me.

A little OT but in response to another post (flavius88, I think)... due to a noisy neighbor situation a few years ago, I found myself unable to sleep. My doctor prescribed Ambien, and I took one (5mg). Ten minutes later, I felt paralyzed and helpless. It was a scary, hallucinatory experience. The next night, on the advice of my dcotor, I took just half of one. Not much better, still felt like a prisoner in my own body. I've never taken LSD, but if it's anything like this stuff, no wonder it's illegal.

Anyway, after taking a few of these things over the years (there were several more I can't remember), I came to wonder how anyone could possibly feel *better* by taking them. They made me feel like crap... even when I was emotionally fine. I can only imagine how bad it would have been if I'd already felt like crap emotionally. I probably would have jumped off a bridge.

Often I'll do a search with an idea in mind, and find overwhelming evidence to the contrary from what I consider to be reliable sources. When that happens, I change my mind.

I'm not an Edwards supporter but I am sorry he had to drop out when there's still so much voting to do. Officially making it a two-horse race (between two largely unelectable horses) in January is not good for democracy in the current primary system. Once again, I must argue for a same-day national primary. This is absurd.

It is easy to see how a young child -- criticized by parents or schoolmates for ears that stick out too far, or a nose that is too big or too long -- might begin comparing herself with the gold standards offered up by TV, movies and magazines.

"Gold standards"? What TV and movies do you watch? What magazines do you read? Because mine show people of all shapes, sizes, ages and levels of attractiveness. So you mean to tell me you never see heavy or unattractive people on your TV screen? Every housewife in your commercials is a 25 y.o., 105-lb stunner? Every husband an Adonis? Every person on your sitcoms, movies, reality shows, sporting events, game shows, documentaries, soap operas, crime dramas and talk shows is young and gorgeous, you see no one who looks like you or your neighbors?

You're confusing fame with beauty. The TV, movies and magazines you speak of are full of famous people, who are not necessarily beautiful, but famous for being talented or are prominent for other reasons. They don't all conform to any "gold standard of beauty." Some are actually quite unattractive... not everyone famous is good-looking, which is at odds with the (mistaken) premise your logic is built on.

Maybe you have this disorder. You seem to only see an exaggerated level of beauty around you. I see a mix of everything, everywhere I look; I see mostly average-looking people with a few beauties thrown in. Maybe it's you who is so focused on one Jennifer Aniston that you don't even notice all the Judge Judys. You see Jimmy Smits, but not the more numerous Kevin Jameses. For every Brad Pitt on my screen, there's 10 James Gandolfinis.

And any girl who thinks her nose is so big that her life is over could easily pick up a magazine or turn on her TV and see other ladies with noticeable noses who are not exactly social outcasts... many of them are considered to be extremely attractive. Barbara Streisand, Penelope Cruz, Uma Thurman, Paris Hilton, Sarah Jessica Parker, Celine Dion, Lisa Kudrow, Juliette Binoche... I could go on if I had the time. But my point is that there is no one "gold standard" set by TV, magazines and movies. Beauty is not that simple, nor is there only one kind of beauty. The whole idea is a popular myth, and is just more mumbo-jumbo designed to explain away an individual's own views by blaming them on outside forces... as if no one is capable of thinking or feeling something negative on their own volition or for their own reasons. How insulting. But whatever makes you feel better.