Mental Health How can I live with taking pharmaceuticals tested on animals?

[deruyityn]

This issue eats me up inside.

How can I live with a clear conscience knowing that animals have suffered unremitting torture to bring about a product that improves my life?

When is it 'justified' to use such drugs that were tested on animals? Where is your personal boundary for saying its justified. Ie when you have an annoying headache and its convenient to use that paracetamol? If you have a chronic condition? if you have a possibly terminal illness?

Ways I have thought about justifying it are- desperate times call for desperate measures. There are other examples of desperate times for instance in plane crashes where humans end up turning to cannibalism. The situation drove them to it. Theyd much prefer not to but it had to be done.

I've had terrible depression for years now and have been considering trying anti depressants but it somehow feels so wrong that I would gain pleasure from it when the condition isnt immediately life threatening. Suicide is life threatening and I seem to be drawing closer to those thoughts with passing months but still it feels so wrong.

I've had a sinus infection this week and seem to keep getting them recurrently as well but I resisted taking sudafed which I knew would help it in order to maintain a clear conscience. I have been working at alot lower efficiency due to this but does that justify the use of those drugs? But really I know that taking that or not makes no difference in the grand scheme of things so what does it matter? it does matter to me but it doesnt seem rational so why do I do it?

Does one just accept life is vile and evil and just 'go with the flow'?

Its a pretty much inescapable fact that you are going to get ill now and then and worse and worse as you get older so it will be more and more relevant to need these drugs. so do you just have to accept it?

 

[-=SS=-]

Does one just accept life is vile and evil and just 'go with the flow'?

I think you should reconsider framing life as vile and evil. Whilst other animals don't necessarily test substances on other animals, animals eat and hurt each other all the time.. even your humble house cat will toy with its caught meal sometimes just for fun. Is this evil? Or is the cat just doing what it needs to do?

By extension are we doing what we need to do? I accept that testing on animals isn't grand but what choice do we have? We don't get divine inspiration that tells us what plants to combine or whatever so we don't need testing.. we have no choice. Test it or try it randomly. Ultimately why punish yourself for this situation? Being healthy and functional means you can go out and make a positive influence in the world.. if you're ill or dying you're not much use in that aim. If that means popping a paracetamol then I really wouldn't tie yourself up about it

 

[herbavore]

The sad fact is that even the shampoo you use or the lotion you put on your skin has often been tested on animals. I think that the best thing you can do as a sensitive person that does not want to contribute to animal suffering is to put some time into political actions that can have an effect on the use of live animals for testing of human products--even though that change is slow. Find an organization or organizations that you like and volunteer for them or help raise money for them. The make-up industry has changed immensely because of grassroots political pressure to do so. We can demand the same of medical research.

I think that the important thing for you is to treat your depression in the best way possible--especially if it is getting so severe that you are feeling suicidal. What non-medicinal avenues have you explored thus far? One thing that may be very helpful to you as you are very sensitive to the suffering of others outside yourself (in this case animals) would be to read Buddhist philosophy. It can empower you inside to deal with the suffering you see around you. I tend to be someone that is easily overwhelmed by the despair of so much suffering and the sense of hopelessness that it will ever change. Mindfulness techniques and Buddhist philosophy in general have helped me immensely. You do not have to harden your heart or put your blinders on but you can live in an acceptance of your own sphere of influence.

 

[deruyityn]

Tried the other stuff many times over to no avail. Cbt, therapy, buddhism. I just find the former two a racket, tho buddhism I like in terms of the non harming stuff but cant jive with the non attachment stuff at this stage in my life.

So its been a natural progression of trying the other things that I now look into medication again.

Also kratom helped alot which was a step in the right direction but it stopped working really now due to tolerance.

 

[deruyityn]

I think you should reconsider framing life as vile and evil. Whilst other animals don't necessarily test substances on other animals, animals eat and hurt each other all the time.. even your humble house cat will toy with its caught meal sometimes just for fun. Is this evil? Or is the cat just doing what it needs to do?

By extension are we doing what we need to do? I accept that testing on animals isn't grand but what choice do we have? We don't get divine inspiration that tells us what plants to combine or whatever so we don't need testing.. we have no choice. Test it or try it randomly. Ultimately why punish yourself for this situation? Being healthy and functional means you can go out and make a positive influence in the world.. if you're ill or dying you're not much use in that aim. If that means popping a paracetamol then I really wouldn't tie yourself up about it

Yes Ive thought about this too in that in the deserts of africa hyenas rips out the intestines of their prey while still alive etc. Probably maimed/starving animals are often left to crawl around for a while till they die.

So we could by extension say 'we are no worse'. But I think as conscious beings we have a moral duty to not harm when it can be helped. Though we can at least say when its absolutely necessary we are no worse than the rest of the pack, but certainly shouldnt give us a pass for wanton suffering.

Also even in nature the sick and maimed would only suffer for a few days a week or so max maybe? but humans devise these articificial parameters in labs for a life of suffering on their subjects.

 

[Dresden]

Guilt is a pointless emotion.

 

[deruyityn]

Well my mother says regret is a pointless emotion. but guilt i dont know. That efectively gives you carte blanche to be a sociopath.

 

[SixBuckets]

Much of medical science is based on horrific and unethical experiments conducted on actual humans, so I'm afraid living with the cruelty is part of the improved quality of life and life expectancy we take for granted in Western society.