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April 21, 2008
Those Who Don't Get It
In light of recent events, I thought I'd share, and attempt to refute, a letter published in last month's issue of Wired. K.D. of Los Angeles writes (in part):
The psychiatrists and their bogus "diseases" fool no one. There is nothing wrong with feeling anger, jealousy, or even deep anguish. It's an integral part of being human. Why would we want to blunt something so innate and inextricably woven into our being? Likewise, when the incredible and beautiful moments of life occur, do you want to be slammed on Prozac? I think not.
While I am quite willing to accept the idea that people can, to a frightening degree, self-diagnose psychiatric disorders and walk away from just about any practitioner in any specialty with an antidepressant prescription, I disagree strongly with the idea that people are turning to drugs to blunt normal human emotions. The writer of this letter, clearly, has never been depressed. Of course normal life events trigger everything from "the blues" to deep anguish, and any psychotherapist worth her salt will tell you that, and focus on the real work that most of us need to do to deal with those emotions.
I always pooh-poohed the concept of depression and drugs for depression too. I had my own (some not-so-healthy) mechanisms for dealing with what I was going through, my own existential crises and needs and failings. I went to therapy when it was warranted. I went on with my life. Then my daughter was born and I experienced the very real, very disturbing phenomenon of Postpartum Depression. I got better. Life went on for a couple of years. Then I got worse again. This isn't "gee, I'm a little grumpy about work." This is the physical feeling of not being able to move or summon the energy to do everyday tasks. The inability to focus thoughts, see past tomorrow, or find any hopeful thought in your life. The color drains out of everything, obsessive thoughts take over, and numbness sets in. You just don't want to BE.
I am currently, as the letter-writer so eloquently put it "slammed on Prozac." But you know what? I once again have the energy and drive to make meaning, to experience the profound joy of motherhood, and the ability to think about my goals and do the work to fix what isn't working in my life. For people who experience true depression, drugs can help you once again experience the range of human emotion, not the opposite. Only someone who has never experienced depression and never used antidepressants could think that they result in some sort of zombified happiness. Speaking from ignorance outrages me more than informed opinion, no matter what that opinion might be.