I was away over the weekend and had a chance to chat to a few people who work in a completely different industry to mine. I found that there is just so much going on behind the scenes that you don’t know about and unless you have a conversation with people you will never find out.

I have found that there is so much depression and anxiety around. In fact, every second person was taking some kind of medication for various health issues.

Two things got me thinking. Firstly, is there really a pill for everything that goes wrong with us or is it just something that takes the edge off? Secondly, if we are all trying to get healthy and exercise more, then what on earth are all these pills really doing for us and to us.

I have been having a hard time myself lately and can also just run away from everything, but I can promise you - there is no tablet that could take the stress of my issues away. Good conversation and a lot of introspection is the way that I know I can cope with my stresses. For any of you out there struggling with life, stuff or anything in-between please don’t be fooled and trust that a pill will change things for you.

You need to find other ways of helping you through the tough times because there really are other ways of doing this. I recently started menopause and with this come these hot flashes that make me feel like I am in a tropical storm that I just can’t escape. I did hear my mom, my grandmother and certainly other older women talk about these for many years. Now I am that older woman and oh heavens, this is a reality check for me.

I have tried for 4 months to just cope. On a particularly hot day in December, I just decided to get meds from my doctor. While I was collecting the tabs my pharmacist said: “oh I see you are needing meds for hot flashes…… are you aware of the side effects?”

There and then I made the decision not to take a tablet for one thing and in the process have something else go wrong. The side effects of these HRT’s were things like dry mouth - now who on earth would want that all day? Also, other side effects were listed as "possible constipation", "headaches"... Okay, this is already not working for me. I absolutely won’t take one type of medicine that will cause other health issues for me.

I have made a decision that I need to deal with this hormone change I am going through in my own way. I will handle it with the best positive attitude I can possibly have. I have been fighting it daily and I am winning. We can condition ourselves to handle so much, but it does take work. Talking and sharing with others can also help you because then you don’t feel so alone.

Please take a good look at the side effects of the medication you are taking and work out if these other side effects are worth it. There are other ways of handling depression and anxiety. You need to realize that relying on medication is not the only answer because you cannot take bigger tablets for bigger problems. Get back in control of your own emotions and your own state of mind. You can do it.