You know what I don't understand? I don't understand why Pat Robertson insists on telling the same old lies about mental illness, specifically depression. News reports today discussed a large increase in the use of antidepressant medication in the United States.
Large Upswing In Anti-Depressant Use In America
Is this good news or bad? Is this healthy? Well, those would be logical question to ask, and one would hope that a fact based thoughtful discussion would ensue. It would seem that "fact based" and "logical" are beyond Robertson's grasp.
Observe:
Robertson Blame Rise In Antidepressant Use On People Not Believing In God
Where shall we begin?
Lie: We will take a Prozac and share a "happy moment".
Fact: Antidepressants are not "happy pills". Antidepressants effect brain chemicals, specifically serotonin and norepinephrine, in order to assist people suffering from depression from experiencing the severe, persistent low moods and sadness that can be crippling enough to affect the person's ability to function in both personal and work settings. They do not prevent normal sadness and anger. They do not prevent a person from feeling anything at all, and they most assuredly are NOT happy pills.
Lie: The message is "stay stoned".
Fact: One does not get "stoned" on antidepressants. They do not have intoxicating effects. They are not narcotics, nor are they street drugs or alcohol. When they are prescribed, it is to build them to a therapeutic level in order to achieve the desired outcome as outlined above.
Side Note: "What are some other antidepressants? I don't know."
You obviously don't know anything about depression or the medications used to treat it either.
Lie: Having "blessings" is a reason not to suffer from depression.
Fact: Depression, nay, mental illness as a whole, affects people from all walks of life from all around the world. One can realize that one has a good life and still be depressed. Depression is not flawed thinking, nor is it a refusal to understand that one has positive things in one's life. Indeed, it is an imbalance in chemicals within the brain. It is oblivious as to whom it afflicts.
Lie: To paraphrase, if you don't have God in your life, you have no hope; and that is what leads to depression.
Fact: Mental illness does not care if one is pious, a heathen, or something in between. The most devout can suffer from mental illness just as the most ardent non-believers. Wealth, social status, education, religious affiliation, gender, race, sexual orientation, or anything else of this nature has no bearing on the likelihood of having a mental disorder. No one suggests that cancer strikes those who don't believe in God more that those who do because it doesn't. Mental illness is exactly the same.
Lie: "They use this term 'self-medicating'".
Fact: Self-medicating occurs when someone uses a substance (ie alcohol or OTC medication) to try to alter the way one feels. One gets antidepressants by prescription only. By definition, this is NOT self-medication.
Friends, mental illness has, for hundreds of years, carried a stigma. The mentally ill were thought to be possessed by Satan or demons. They were locked into what were essentially dungeons and subjected to unspeakable abuse and maltreatment. They were subjected to ice baths, shock treatments, straitjackets, isolation, lobotomies, and inhumane restraints. The mentally ill were thought to be morally weak or criminal. They were thought to merely be seeking attention or using "insanity" as an excuse to commit offenses against society.
Mental illness is no different from physical illness. It strikes without warning. It doesn't care about your lot in life. It is not a source of shame or embarrassment. It is not an effort to seek attention or an excuse for bad behavior. It is an illness. Nothing more, nothing less.
Sadly, Robertson's comments only go to further the stigma and negative baseless stereotypes. His remarks could be dismissed on face value if he did not have thousands of followers who believe his every word, no matter how inane. We must treat the mentally ill with unconditional positive regard. We must not believe the nonsense that is being promoted by Pat Robertson.
Peace and love, my brothers and sisters.
No comments:
Post a Comment