Christoph Reuss wrote:
>
> Judi Kessler wrote:
> > In reply to the numerous responses re. SSRIs...
> > I have received many more private messages from futurework subscribers who
> > are taking SSRIs and feel as if their lives have been given back to them.
>
> You still didn't "get it". Addressing/removing the causes would *really*
> give them back their lives (and if removal isn't possible, at least using
> better approaches like nutrition and excertion). Filling them up with
> drugs which at best mitigate the symptoms for a while, and at worst turn
> depressed persons into mad killer-machines (as in Littleton etc.),
> isn't a good solution at all.
[snip]
I am aware that Prozac may be today's opiate of the middle
classes. *In principle*, Mr. Reuss is right.
But individual persons' lives are not principles (ars longa,
vita brevis, etc.). Given the choice between self-destructing
in an inescapable bad social situation and surviving on
an SSRI, I think many persons are sensible to choose the
latter route.
What is not so good is if the person does not *understand* that
the medication is a "crutch". But if the person does
understand this, then the medication seems to me something
like a person in a sunken submarine choosing to breathe compressed
air instead of suffocating, while waiting for possible rescue.
To the best of my knowledge, Prozac, Paxil, etc. have *not*
turned many persons into "mad killer machines" or otherwise
seriously hurt them. Not everyone wishes to sign up to
be a martyr, especially a martyrdom that doesn't
have any prospect of changing anything.
Read Elsa Morante's _History: A Novel_ (1974/1977).
+\brad mccormick
--
Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works.... (Matt 5:16)
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21)
<![%THINK;[SGML+APL]]> Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / [EMAIL PROTECTED]
914.238.0788 / 27 Poillon Rd, Chappaqua NY 10514-3403 USA
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