Addiction, Depression and Antidepressants
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I read with great interest this piece on The Fix called The Dumbest Article You'll See About Addiction, and that's about right. The writer, Maia Szalavitz, is responding to a criticism of her original piece, in which she shares howZoloft had saved her from a deep depression after kicking a serious heroin andcocaine habit she picked up during college. Twenty years later, while still prescribed Zoloft, she describes how it dramatically improved her mood and the way she responded to the world (depressed people, she says, tend to misread other people's facial expressions), that she has had a successful writing career and a very satisfying life.
I read with great interest this piece on The Fix called The Dumbest Article You'll See About Addiction, and that's about right. The writer, Maia Szalavitz, is responding to a criticism of her original piece, in which she shares howZoloft had saved her from a deep depression after kicking a serious heroin andcocaine habit she picked up during college. Twenty years later, while still prescribed Zoloft, she describes how it dramatically improved her mood and the way she responded to the world (depressed people, she says, tend to misread other people's facial expressions), that she has had a successful writing career and a very satisfying life.
The second writer, critiquing on Slate,says that Szalvitz merely replaced one addiction with another, and asks the astoundingly naive question why weare easier on pill poppers than alcoholics. It's difficult to believe that her editor or anyone else on staff, let slide her ignorance and insensitivity toissues of mental health. While it’s true Big Pharma has integrityissues, the fact is anti-depressant medications and other psychopharmaceuticalsdramatically improve, if not save, the lives of many, many people.
Be sure to read the many comments on both pages. It's a serious subject matter that affects many people.