I’m going to take an official www.Uncouth.net stance on the issue of anti-depressant drugs. First, I want to stipulate that there are people who really need this medicine. There are people who actually have chemical problems and can be aided by the use of a “rebalancer.”
I doubt that number is very large.
I was talking with an online friend this evening and she was telling me about a conflict with her parents (she is 16, but we can say “almost” 17 for arguments sake). They are upset because they took her to a psychologist and she was diagnosed with clinical depression and was given this Zoloft to “cure” it. (I do hope that it was a Psychiatrist the actually prescribed it, ’cause Psychologist can’t prescribe medicine).
I do not know this girl very well, but from what I have seen, if she is clinically depressed, she hides it very well from me. In fact, she seems very upbeat, intelligent, and a lot of fun. Online “looks” can be deceiving, but I’ve been talking to people online for about 8 years (yup, back in the day of BBS’s) and I’ve gotten a good knack for figuring out the real person. And this girl is smart. She is creative. She does not need to be affected and altered by a drug.
Anyways, about our stance. Mind altering drugs are not necessary. Clinical depression is way over diagnosed. I cannot count the number of people I know who are “clinically” depressed. Or maybe just suffering from a lack of happiness? Maybe a dose of self worth is necessary instead!
This quick fix orientation our society has developed is infuriating. Instead of attacking at the problem, the person’s self worth, we attack the by product, the depression. We do not look enough at the influences on the self worth: beliefs, values, education, religion, parenting, etc. What CAUSED this depression?
“Oh, the problem can’t be _my_ little girl! It has to be something that she cannot control! It’s got to be the chemicals in her head, something outside of her. Don’t look at me, I’m only the parent, I’m not responsible for her upbringing. I’m not responsible for her, just like she is not responsible for her depression.”
The focus needs to shift from blaming something, from looking outside for answers, to seeking solutions. Let’s not worry about the fact that people are depressed (or, could it be, that they do not fit into the little paradigm the parents or society has set aside for them?), but rather what the causes are–causes that are internal and actually fixable through the wonderful, conceptual, human, tool of reason.