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Comment by hamhock666 | Hacker News Reader

If you can find a way to use your own free will and self-discipline to stop the bad condition then that seems preferable to using a drug. Maybe someone doesn't have the willpower in which case it's good that we have the drug.

With regards to omeprazole, I changed my diet a bit and no longer needed the omeprazole. I don't know exactly what it was, but if you can get off of a drug because you don't need it anymore that seems ideal.

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> Maybe someone doesn't have the willpower in which case it's good that we have the drug.

This is all that needs to be said and this is also not that profound of a point. It's literally just harm reduction.

Why do people have such a problem with harm reduction? Why do they feel the need to feel oh-so-smart and point out "weeellll acccktschually there is still some harm so its better if you didn't need the harm reduction therapy and instead just i dunno magically not require it"

I mean…that’s just like depression medication.

It’s possible to ignore sadness as well as hunger.

There are usually ways to fix the problems in your life, like sadness and hunger, without resorting to using drugs. Maybe not everyone but it is something we should strive for.

Why is that something to strive for though? Maybe for some people that mental energy is better spent everywhere. If there is a simple and safe pharmaceutical solution for a problem, that sounds like great progress to me!

Why? There's zero prizes for unnecessary struggle. It doesn't make you a better person, it just means you struggled more.

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