While scanning the program guide a couple of nights ago, I ran across a movie called Prozac Nation. The title caught my attention, and upon reading the synopsis provided by my cable provider, I decided to give it a look. The movie is apparently based on the writings of a young college girl dealing with depression and stars Christina Ricci… which is quite fitting when you consider the constantly depressed appearance of Ms. Ricci on and off of the screen.
Honestly, I didn’t expect much out of the movie for a couple of reasons. I have yet to see a Christina Ricci performance that was worth writing home about, save for her role as Wednesday Addams. I’m also usually less than impressed with Hollywood’s portrayal of mental illness. Needless to say, I was a bit surprised when the movie actually turned out to be decent in both regards. As I’d suspected, Ms. Ricci does a fairly good job of portraying a young, mentally disturbed girl. And although I think the character she plays is much more borderline personality disordered than anything else, the script did a decent job of showing the social and personal dynamics of mental illness.
The movie ends with a voice-over by the main character, followed by “statistics” on depression. This montage takes place outside of a pharmacy, and shows the rapid entering and exiting of customers… while the main character talks about all of the people seeking anti-depressant medication in this “prozac nation”. I can’t argue with the sentiment of the movie: anti-depressant medication use has skyrocketed in recent years. According to statistics released by the federal government, the use of AD medication has tripled in the last decade. One in ten Americans takes a prescription medication for the purpose of stabilizing their mood.
The part of the movie that I don’t agree with is its subtlety implicated explanation for this rapid increase in AD use. While it is never explicitly stated, one gets the impression that society itself is the cause for increased depression among Americans… that the very structure of American life sends millions to doctors and hospitals every year in search of chemical relief. I won’t completely argue against this. Things are a little more complicated today than they were several decades ago. Life can get pretty hectic. Maybe things are a little harder to deal with because of the shear number of “issues” facing people today. But while this may be one of many secondary causes of increased depression, I do not think it is the primary cause.
I think, in many cases, it boils down to pure and simple laziness.
Now before I continue, let me say a few words about depression. Not all depression is the same. There is a chemical component to depression that is out of our hands. For whatever reason, things fire funky in some people’s brain. Medication can help restore a chemical balance to these people’s brain. But there is also a cognitive component to depression. Some depression is just funky thinking that no amount of medication will ever fix. Picture a continuum:
Chemical Depression ——————-X—————- Cognitive Depression
Depressed individuals fall somewhere along this line, with some leaning more heavily toward the chemical side while others are shifted more in the cognitive direction. If your point on the line looks like this,
Chemical Depression —–X—————————— Cognitive Depression
medication may be all you need. Your depression may simply be a case of misfiring neurons. It still would probably be a good idea to seek therapy as well, just to be safe. But if your point looks like this,
Chemical Depression ——————————-X—- Cognitive Depression
all of the medication in the world isn’t going to help you in the long run. It may temporarily help you feel better, but unless you tackle the cognitive aspect of your depression, it will not be permanent. The best way to deal with cognitive depression is to seek the help of a trained professional. And I’m not talking about your medical doctor. While he or she is most certainly a trained professional, they are trained in a type of profession that will do little to help you cognitively. Ultimately, the treatment of depression with medication alone is almost never permanently successful.
But I think this is why so many Americans are medicated. They want an easy, effortless, quick-fix to solve their problems. We’ve been told that depression is an illness (which I agree with). However, it is not an illness in the traditional sense of the word. Many illnesses can be treated with medication alone. When we’ve got an infection, we take pills. When we’ve got this or that, we take pills. And so we assume that when we’ve “got” depression, we take pills. Simple enough, right? But most people can’t even be bothered to take their medication as prescribed. When was the last time you took an antibiotic on schedule for the entire extent of the prescription without ever missing a beat?
If we’re too lazy to do something as simple as to take a pill the way we’re supposed to, is it really too far a stretch to say that we’re too lazy to take the next step… and see someone about our depression? People say they’re too busy for therapy… or they don’t have time for it… or it’s too expensive… or it won’t do any good. But its funny that they make the time for soccer practice… or going out… or watching reality TV… or any of the other millions of things that take up time. Why “waste” time going to therapy when they make these nifty little pills that I can take and get better? And what would the neighbors think if they knew I was seeing a ’shrink’? I can take these little yellow pills in the privacy of my own home without anyone ever knowing…
Except that a lot of the time, the little yellow pills stop working. Maybe the doctor will trade out the yellow pill for a white one… and it will work… for a time. But eventually, they will all stop working. And it’s not because the drugs don’t work. Most of them do. But they do not address the issues causing the depression. They do nothing to work out the root of the illness. They mask symptoms and they might get a person back up to a baseline of functioning. A therapist can help with the rest. If you’re one of the people falling more on the chemical side of the depression spectrum, a therapist might be able to help you understand the illness… and a good one will even tell you there’s not much more they can do. A good therapist will be able to find your place on the continuum and know his or her limitations in your treatment.
But, as usual, the first step is ours. We have to find or make the time to start the process. Maybe you need to record Survivor and watch it after your therapy session. Maybe you need to skip a party or two. Maybe you need to sleep one less hour a week. Whatever sacrifice needs to be made, ultimately it is worth it.
Prozac Nation might be easier… but Therapy Nation is healthier.
