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What a crock. You can't possibly believe that. They treated depression with other drugs, particularly tricyclics, long before Prozac was invented.
My mother had to drop out of school in the 1940s and take care of her invalid sister because my grandmother had a "nervous breakdown". Years later I asked my mother what that meant exactly.
She said my grandmother could not get out of bed, that she cried all the time, that she was unable to function.
Classic clinical depression symptoms, but back then it was called a nervous breakdown.
Tuberculosis being called consumption didn't mean that tuberculosis didn't exist.
And think of Queen Victoria taking tea made of coca leaves for her "melancholy".
You are assuming quite a lot. A "nervous breakdown" could mean that grandma wasn't being treated well, that one or some of her kids were ill, that she didn't have enough money or support, that someone she loved had died, etc. It could mean anything. It would be a "response" to life, and people who spout traditional medical model ideas about "depression" love to say it is not situational, and has nothing to do with anything, which you seem to be disputing in your explanation of what a "nervous breakdown" is.
For those of you who have been around for a while, have you noticed than in today's world that depression and anxiety is so common? I look at my current situation:
My mother is depressed and anxious. Four of my best friends are dealing with anxiety and depression. I can continue on with how many more people I know in that situation. It just seems like it's grown so much in some of the last few years.
It seems like so many people nowadays need validation, have very low self esteem, are insecure or overworked. Part of it makes me sad to see this, and I try to help as I can, but it just feels as if a lot of people are suffering now. I am 33 and 10 years ago, I felt like things were different and people weren't like this.
What gives? I wonder if this is how it's always been and I am just noticing now, or if we really have seen in the past decade an increase in depression and anxiety?
It's not necessarily more common, just more known and talked about.
Each of my grandmothers suffered from depression and mental illness. One was institutionalized for a year, but nobody in the family ever knew while we were growing up. It was only shared after she died. The other had classic symptoms of deep depression, but we just chalked it up to her being "unhappy". Meds probably would have helped her.
I worked for a psychologist once who commented that lots of his "patients" could be "cured" with money - they didn't have enough money, and if they had more, they could take better care of themselves, do fun things, get themselves out of predicaments, etc.
I worked for a psychologist once who commented that lots of his "patients" could be "cured" with money - they didn't have enough money, and if they had more, they could take better care of themselves, do fun things, get themselves out of predicaments, etc.
If that were the case, every person with lots of money would never suffer from depression. Which is hardly the case.
R.D. Laing. Thomas Szasz. "The Theology of Medicine" etc. There are also feminists viewing mental illness in women as a response to their relationship to society. See "Women and Madness" by Phyllis Chesler.
It's an interesting way to look at issues of mental health.
I believe I've read a quote similar to, "Mental illness is a rational response to an irrational situation."
The other person I was thinking of was Michael Washburn. Love his theory.
It's not necessarily more common, just more known and talked about.
Each of my grandmothers suffered from depression and mental illness. One was institutionalized for a year, but nobody in the family ever knew while we were growing up. It was only shared after she died. The other had classic symptoms of deep depression, but we just chalked it up to her being "unhappy". Meds probably would have helped her.
So could booze. Just kidding.
A lot of things might have helped her if she was "unhappy."
You are assuming quite a lot. A "nervous breakdown" could mean that grandma wasn't being treated well, that one or some of her kids were ill, that she didn't have enough money or support, that someone she loved had died, etc. It could mean anything. It would be a "response" to life, and people who spout traditional medical model ideas about "depression" love to say it is not situational, and has nothing to do with anything, which you seem to be disputing in your explanation of what a "nervous breakdown" is.
I'm not assuming anything. I KNOW my grandmother suffered from depression, and that at one point it was so bad that she could not function. Yes it was exacerbated by her situation of caring for a special needs child in a time when there were no services for kids like that, but it was still severe depression, which was called, in that era, a nervous breakdown.
My mother also had bouts of depression. They gave her Valium for it back in the day, Mother's Little Helper, a the Stones called it. Made her feel like a zombie, so she flushed them.
Some people have more of a predisposition toward depression or other mental illnesses, and there often seems to be a genetic connection.
I'm not assuming anything. I KNOW my grandmother suffered from depression, and that at one point it was so bad that she could not function. Yes it was exacerbated by her situation of caring for a special needs child in a time when there were no services for kids like that, but it was still severe depression, which was called, in that era, a nervous breakdown.
My mother also had bouts of depression. They gave her Valium for it back in the day, Mother's Little Helper, a the Stones called it. Made her feel like a zombie, so she flushed them.
Some people have more of a predisposition toward depression or other mental illnesses, and there often seems to be a genetic connection.
So your grandma was depressed because she had to care for a special needs child, with no outside support. Anyone would be depressed under those circumstances. The point I was trying to make is that people who believe in the medical model, often say that "real" depression (which they call "clinical depression" - I assume because it sounds more official) has nothing to do with a situation. They claim that this "special" depression just swoops down and overtakes them, with no apparent cause.
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