Taking a pill to feel normal, even a pill sanctioned by the medical profession, led to a strange situation: it made people wonder what “normal” really was. What does it mean when people feel more like themselves with the drug than without it? Does the notion of “feeling like themselves” lose its meaning if they need a drug to get them there?
—Valium and the New Normal - NYTimes.com (via fotzepolitic)
Going to read this.
No! It doesn’t lose its meaning! People wouldn’t say “I feel more like myself” if they didn’t have some reason to. Does the notion of “breathing normally” or “breathing more like myself” lose meaning if I’m asthmatic and need a drug to “get me there”? If you “feel more like yourself,” you’re usually saying something like “I feel more comfortable and less like something is ‘off’ or wrong all of the time.” Should probably actually read this article, but I always instinctively get side-eye-ready at anything that gives off a hint of “everyone is too medicated,” “kids can’t just be kids without getting pumped full of pills,” etc. etc. For a frame of reference here, prior to about 1920 if I’d been born with Type 1 diabetes I would have just DIED when I was 13, end of story. Then they invented a drug, and I now plan to live a normal life. “Does the notion of ‘feeling like yourself’ lose its meaning if I need a drug to get me there?” No! It just means that I don’t die. Effective medications and therapies for depression, anxiety, and other conditions aren’t “miracle drugs” like insulin, but plenty of people genuinely need them to function — and the question shouldn’t be about how we define “normal” etc., but how to best help people who need the help.
EDIT: And I guess my unpopular opinion (from the NYT view) is that everyone needs the help, period. Not seeing a therapist ever is no different from not seeing a dentist ever. Unfortunately in my experience going to see a therapist without lots of existing knowledge would be like going to one dentist and getting an oral surgeon and going to another and getting someone with a big mallet and a bottle of whiskey.
EDIT 2: Ugh, any piece that calls treating anxiety or depression as “brain styling” can just fuck off forever.
oh hey look at you hate-blogging @ the same quote i was trying real hard not to hate-blog about earlier, look at you doing a way better job at it than i would have, appreciate this dude <3
also as i mentioned in my passive-aggressive non-blog, the punch line is when you scroll down to the bottom and it’s like “this writer has a book coming out real soon about how twentysomethings are a mess.” i’m not saying it’s literally impossible to write an article worth reading if you have a book coming out, but come on, that’s funny.
I swear to god, when I see people responding to mental illness (which, I’ll remind you, ruins lives and kills people), by going off on this freshman-philosophy-class bullshit—
It’s nice that this asshole is enjoying a thought experiment, but people like this never seem to see what vapid jerk-offs they look like to the rest of us. You know, those of us for whom this is actual life, not a writing prompt.
Enjoy your stale “insights,” you human skidmark! I’m going to double-check that I took my medication.
It’s to the point that whenever I read something this moronic stated as though it’s the first time anyone has ever had this thought, I just hear it in Otto’s voice.
(via hypocritelecteuse)
