The Moms at the camp sound like the Stepford Wives.

But you feature Therese Borchard's Beyond Blue on your blog roll, and she writes frequently about taking medication while facing similar dilemmas to this woman (though, unlike this woman, Therese is clearly clinically depressed).

Yoga vs. Prozac is a false dichotomy in that case. Or maybe it's just because Therese is more eloquent?

Philip Dawdy responds: the yoga thing was a small joke. i have all kind of people on my blogroll who take meds, advocate for the same

I WISH my mother had taken meds. She was freaking psycho.

Well, I am torn about this post. On the one hand, after being depressed since I started high school, and literally trying every homeopathic, alternative treatment out there, I finally got to the point where I tried medication, 10 years later. The result was much more than I could ever have hoped for, and I think in many ways medication helped me to pick myself back up.

That being said, you make an excellent point. One of the saddest and scariest things to me, is people going to see their GP, and getting a prescription to Prozac without any sort of specialized care or therapy. In fact, I find it irresponsible of a GP to do this, rather than referring someone to a psychiatrist. As someone who has been helped by medication, I can't disregard some of the positive effects it has had for me. BUT, it wasn't a magical cure, I had to work very very hard in lots of therapy to better understand my depressions etc.

What I'm trying to say is, medication can be great, as long as it's in conjunction with some kind of talk therapy, or hell, even yoga if it helps you to relax. Medication simply gives you a little more stability from which you can work out things for yourself. Clearly, if you have issues yelling at your kids, a pill isn't going to cure that by itself!

Ooh, too bad about about the joke. I'm famous for saying, "Say No to Psych Drugs and Yes to Yoga!" (I have no problems with people who decide to take psych drugs, though)

Parenthood (childhood and adulthood too) can be stressful but it would seem a lot healthier for this woman to take responsibility for her actions and unwind every so often with a glass of wine and/or a joint (after her yoga class). Maybe she should make changes in her daily routine to relieve some of the stress she's feeling.

One problem with SSRI's is they cause continuous 24/7 intoxication and can't be taken just when you need them thus when under the influence of ssri's you become more dangerous than someone who is drunk or high on another drug that is better understood and safer.

Still if someone wants to experiment with these drugs it's probably better to get them from a gp and research them yourself as a gp won't give you a psych label and unfortunately psychiatrists are much less likely than a gp to have a complete medical history, consider drug interactions, and view you as a human being wanting to relax rather than as a defective sub human to be labeled and controlled than a gp.

Peace be with you Philip

"And though she's not really ill
There's a little yellow pill
She goes running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
And it helps her on her way, gets her through her busy day."

You nailed it Philip. I noticed she mentioned that she should try yoga, and exercise and such, but she doesn't. She also doesn't mention giving up coffee, alcohol, or junk food.

The same type of people who are victims of psychiatrist today are the same types as in the past, and "hysteria" was of course the first.

And Lindsey, you haven't "literally try[ed] every homeopathic, alternative treatment out there." I believe you have tried many, but not "literally every" one. There are ways to get off these meds. The problem is that makes us responsible for our feelings, not our "brain chemistry." I know taking a pill in the morning is an easy attempt at keeping the depression in remission, but I also know that drastic changes towards a healthy life makes the depression fade away and not come back. If those meds disappeared tomorrow I still wont be depressed. I pulling for you.

love eternal
tad

I don't intend to make light of the challenges, burdens and responsibilities of motherhood but I could not help being reminded of the Rolling Stone's 1966 hit, "Mother's Little Helper." The lyrics include,

Kids are different today, I hear ev'ry mother say

Mother needs something today to calm her down

And though she's not really ill, there's a little yellow pill

She goes running for the shelter of a mother's little helper

And it helps her on her way, gets her through her busy day

Has our nation's mental health system progressed so little since 1966?

I have no issues if someone takes psych drugs, and is being treated correctly.

There just isn't a pill to solve everything. Some doctors act as if there is, and are more than happy to whip out a prescribing pad if you simply ask about a medication.

I think we've crossed the Rubicon when we start seeing psychiatric drug abuse cross into the recreational realm, becoming the unquestioned subject of mainstream media lifestyle columns. I would not be at all surprised to see a future TV Made Men-esque sit-com celebrating the trials and wacky tribulations of the medicated mom or bipolar bob....

Tad, I stand corrected, I tried MANY alternative treatments. My brother who is severally bipolar also tried many different things (hippie parents, which I am forever grateful), despite all our efforts, he consistently ended up in the hospital multiple times every year. He now takes Lithium and a few other things, sees a therapist twice a week who is AMAZING, and is doing alot better these days.

I was never intending to say that "taking a pill in the morning" is a cure for depression. Of course it isn't, and I have never believed that. I have always believed that first and foremost, that a healthy lifestyle should be at the forefront of any treatment of depression. However, I also firmly believe that medication was invaluable in coming back from my last depressive episode, and don't plan on going off them anytime soon. I have been as anti-drug as anyone in the past, but I suppose that for me (I can't speak for anyone else), they helped me out a lot.

Also, I would have to disagree with you Sally when you say that: "thus when under the influence of ssri's you become more dangerous than someone who is drunk or high on another drug that is better understood and safer." I'm pretty sure my dad was never on an SSRI, was a horrible drunk, and used to treat my family like shit. I'm also pretty sure that there is a strong case that alcohol causes a good number of deaths. I take medication, but I can't for the world tell I am taking anything. I don't feel drugged up, or artificially happy. I just feel even, when I'm living that healthy lifestyle along with it. Just kind of seems like a ridiculous statement to make.

i am very concerned about overmedication. i have been suspicious of my mother and her prescription drug use. she seems to have valid prescriptions, most from the same docter and same pharmacy, but her cabinet has valium, ambiem, lunesta, vicodin, lexapro, fuerenol, and all kinds of cold meds. she seems to always be taking pseudophedrine, and she never seems to have a stuffy nose. i have had a hard time confronting her about it, she's very defense and just says that her docter knows what she's on and that she doesn't take all of them all the time. i woory so much because she doesn't eat very much. i feel like so many of her "problems" with focus, depression, anxiety, and sleep would be easily solved with a healthier lifestyle - wholesome nutritious food, exercise, and social and mental stimulation. instead, it seems she is just fine with popping a pill. she's had a brain injury for a long time, and when she's clumsy or slurring her speech or forgetful, she blames it on the stroke but i just know in my heart that it is really all those chemicals floating around in her body - with no food to serve as a buffer. overmedication is a serious problem, and docters are definitely part of it. i used to have the same docter as my mom, i got someone else because i never felt like she listened to me. i wonder if this is what goes on during my mother's appointments; if the docter just half-assed listens and then writes a 'scrip. i'm so frustrated.

Lindsey,

Sounds like your dad was a troubled man who drank alcohol. Alcohol certainly is not known for making bad people good, still, it is a widely understood drug. SSRI's are not widely understood. Again, to me, psych drugs are like birth control pills, they don't treat a disease but certainly are things that can be useful. Pregnancy is not a disease but that doesn't mean it's wrong to want to control the amount of children one has. Uncomfortable feelings are not abnormal or diseased but that doesn't mean one should be prohibited from taking drugs to make one comfortable, but remember, comfort is not the same as behavioral improvement. I would suspect that your father drank because he was cruel to his family, not that he was cruel to his family because he drank. Had he stopped drinking, he might have found he had to change his bad behavior towards his family to live with himself, but because he drank he might not have been aware of it. The woman in this piece seems to have a nagging fear that she's a bad parent though it's not obvious from the piece that she is. Taking drugs won't make her stop yelling at her kids, it will just make her stop feeling guilty for yelling at her goods. Are you really certain this is a good thing?

Tad, I think you nailed the issue in saying:

"There are ways to get off these meds. The problem is that makes us responsible for our feelings... I know taking a pill in the morning is an easy attempt at keeping the depression in remission, but I also know that drastic changes towards a healthy life makes the depression fade away and not come back...."

I am one of those depressed persons who was on SSRIs (among other things), and finally said enough is enough. I made those "drastic" lifestyle changes, and I've been a stable, happy drug free 'depressive' ever since. The problem is, the non-drug approach requires a lot of hard work and dedication, much more work required than chemically recreating 'happiness' via meds. And you are so right in saying that once drug-free, one is forced to confront one's moods and take responsibility for them. It's not easy, but if you stick with it, the benefits will come.

I think meds have some role to play for a small minority of the hardest core mental health cases, and even outside that I take a 100% pro-choice stance. To each their own. It's just too bad the psychiatric and medical establishment doesn't encourage or allow an informed, critical choice among patients. The non-drug approach becomes all the more difficult in the face of a health sector that offers little support for this route. My doctor almost threw my entire case file in the trash when I told him, "no more drugs, doc." He threatened me, scolded my like a naughty school child but eventually relented. I had to do all the subsequent work on my own.

I don't want the point of the above article to be lost in all this: the abuse and misuse of pharma drugs has reached epidemic rates, so much so that it's becoming the accepted norm within pop culture, the stuff of casual, lifestyle columns. Troubling.

Lindsey, I hear your points. I've been where you are. I think SSRIs can serve as a bridge from utter hopelessness to a more healthy lifestyle, but it's gonna require a lot of hard work and long-term dedication to cross that bridge, and you're likely going to be doing it against the advice of your medical advisers. Good luck.

Could it be that Miley and Hannah are a cause of domestic mental health problems? If so, is the solution to get rid of the TV? :P

Skeptic- that's what gets me so much about psychiatrists. They want to be treated like other doctors, but they don't ACT like other doctors. Look, if you're treating a medical problem that is supposedly "just like cancer or diabetes" (which is baloney but anyway), then please do me a favor, and skip the lectures. I swear I have PTSD from it- I went in to tell my neurologist I wasn't going to take a nerve medicine he recommended because I didn't think it helped, and he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Oh well, then why bother taking it?" I was completely shocked at his reaction- obviously, I'd spent too much time around my psychiatrist.

Wow- as a relatively new mom (my daughter is almost 5) who is older (mid-40s) and living with an unmedicated man with ADD I have frequently considered that SOMEONE in my household should be medicated. I also work in the pharma industry and am somewhat med-avoidant, be they OTC or prescription, so the desperation that I feel that leads me to believe that someone should be on drugs is rather intense. It's obviously a desperation shared by so many other moms. It was never a problem for me before becoming a mom, and since I waited so long to procreate, I had a fair number of years of living as a non-depressed, non-stressed out "sane" person. Which leads me to believe there must be some trigger- whether biochemical, social or the combo of both, I dunno, after women have the added burden of children in their lives. I watched my own mother struggle with depression for years. She coped by locking herself in the bedroom whenever she was not alone in the house. But had it been a decade or so later, she probably would be one of the prozac nation.

It seems to me that there is much less talk of this type coming from men. And maybe that's just what it is, less talk, not necessarily less of it going on. But given that people have been medicating for so long leads me to believe there is something greater missing in our lives.

No real answers, but glad that the conversation is continuing.

Are these same mothers preaching the "Just Say No" line about drug use to their kids?

Fat chance their kids will listen after watching mom take a pill in attempt to alter every mood change and behavioral experience under the sun.

People do not have it worse today than they did 50 years ago. Far from it. It was better 50 years ago when people had to work harder at everything in life and had less time to sit around gauging their every response to life's trials and tribulations in order to fit them into some type of mental disorder.

Michele,
I remember a friend of mine telling me how she'd felt exhausted ever since she'd had her first child. I realize now, looking back, that she was chronically depressed. I wonder about the state of her thyroid (yep, my little hobby horse, but still worth checking out, IMO). I can say she was totally responsible for all the child care, cooking, etc. in the household, which I now realize is more overwhelming than one would realize if one hasn't been in that position. It's the 24/7 nature of it that drains you, I think. You're simply never "off."

I didn't have kids because I knew from the time I was a teenager that I am a sprinter, not a marathoner. Parenting is a marathon activity. I'm only good for a few hurdles.

I keep thinking of the picture of your mother. I can so relate to that. I find having people around a lot very stressful. I need a LOT of time alone to stay in balance. At the moment I work part time and my sweetie works full time. It should be interesting when he retires. Fortunately, we've done a lot of work on learning to say "I need about X minutes/hours alone now." He came from a family where everyone was joined at the hip so being alone was a foreign concept for him when we first married.

I am a therapist. I personally have a book full of diagnoses, and find that SSRI's are very helpful to me on a cyclical basis. What is at least as helpful and more stabilising are lifestyle commitments - food, sleep and fun. I have been reared in the biochemical model, and I need to know more about factual bases for rejecting it - do not food, sleep, excercise, fun, etc., change the body responses? Are our bodies and minds separate - I think not...I consistently employ mindfulness as my major self regulator and teach it to anyone who will stay for a moment. And when something beyond me happens, I employ the SSRI till I feel I can cope alone. A childhood of stress may be my achilles tendon (does anyone here know about the neurological effects of stress in childhood - the Aces studies?) I guess I am defending biochemical as an approach, but willing to be dissuaded if the facts can be found.