This thing would make such a great character in a horror movie:

http://gizmodo.com/368651/new-video-of-bigdog-quadruped-robot-is-so-stunning-its-spooky

A thought flew over my head a few days ago, and then again today. I think it was triggered by something that happened while watching House.

[ Aside break]

House is a fun show. It appeals to me probably because I feel like being that frank would be refreshingly awesome. The idea, I guess, is that if I am completely honest, I no longer have to deal with someone that I don’t feel does their job well. “Him?” I’d ask. “I don’t want him on my team, he smells like chocolate all day and doesn’t carry his weight.”

Yeah, that’s fun. Being rude is fun. Social honesty seems like it would be refreshing. I’m sure it actually isn’t.

Well… kind of sure…

[/aside]

So anyway, a thought was formed. When I was young (and still in certain doses today) I suffered from a fear of new situations. I also suffered from a fear of social situations. Anything that was new AND social was, of course, especially frightening. The two big ones for me were always driving and girls. Driving was a new and frightening experience. The first time I tried to fill up my tank I was frightened. The first time I had to go somewhere I was frightened (that’s actually still kind of true–I genuinely dislike having to drive some place I’ve never been before). And girls, well… My self esteem always reminded me of my shortcomings, so girls were always a fearful thing. Not girls so much as the idea of having that grand thing known as love (girls, of course, being the path I had to travel for that ideal life).

Have I gotten over these things? Yes, somewhat. Sure, I still dislike the driving-new-places bit, but I still do it. Sure, the idea of putting myself out there, ripe for rejection, still frightens me, but I’ve a girlfriend now so it isn’t a worry I wrestle with.

The thought–yeah, that whole thing I originally wanted to speak on–was: in cases of social anxiety, autism, whatever happened on that house episode I was watching, and etc., what would have been done in ages past? Actually the thought didn’t really cover autism. Mostly I was thinking about social anxiety, because I believe (with no real evidence) that I suffered from it. But I was never given any meds, and today I’m quite social. These days, however, a prescription for a social anxiety is most certainly not looked down upon. I don’t mean to suggest that it should be, but what if part of the body’s (or soul’s) natural growth procedure actually relies on overcoming obstacles?

What if we’re shortchanging ourselves on a biological level every time we take medication to overcome something of that nature? (ah, you see, that’s where the article title came from) Remember Calvin & Hobbes? His father would always say, “It builds character,” when Calvin questioned why he had to do chores.

Where would my life be today if I had taken medication for social anxiety?