Since it's been making the rounds...
Click to viewI feel the need for full disclosure here, because mental health stigma is A Thing and People Are Jerks About It. We talked about this a lot in my counseling courses. I went to Denver Seminary for my MA in counseling, and there were plenty of M.Divs (basically pastors-in-training) who believed that prayer, bible reading, and maybe some quality talks with your pastor and/or small group could take the place of therapy and/or medication. (There were also a fair few that thought depression was caused by demons, and if you prayed them out, you'd be fine. We won't go there right now.)
And, while most of us were too polite to say this exact thing out loud, we were pretty clear about our feelings on the matter: fuck that shit.
I've been clinically depressed on and off since I was a kid. I've been passively suicidal for a good portion of my life, and actively suicidal at various points. I have lost one job at least partially because of my depression/anxiety. I have tried more than a few medications, and I've finally found a cocktail that works for me. I'm on the maximum dosage of Remeron (the weight gain sucks, but I rarely have the stomach problems I started having as a teenager, and I can eat something other than yogurt and oatmeal without wanting to puke), Ativan (as needed, but I've needed it a lot lately), and I just recently added the beta blocker propranolol as suggested by my psychiatrist. I also take Lunesta to help me sleep, because I basically have to be blackout drunk to sleep otherwise, and I'd like to keep my liver, thank you very much. Also, weeks without sleep is a fast track for me to being suicidal. Been there, done that, don't need the t-shirt.
And look, all of that is STILL not always enough to beat back the demons sometimes. I feel pretty stable right now. I'm sad, of course, because there are sad things happening in my life, and I'd have to be inhuman not to be sad. But other than the awful physical symptoms of panic attacks that keep popping up randomly, I'm really okay.
But I'm okay because my wonky brain chemistry is pretty much under control. Better living through pharmaceuticals, indeed.
So, let me tell you: if you need medication to get you through, DO IT. Keep at it. Keep trying things out, because there are a lot of options out there right now, and chances are, you'll find something that works for you. It took me years, but I'm healthier now than I've ever been, or at least since I've been when I was 10 or so, and I first confronted depression and suicidal thoughts.
If you can manage your depression, anxiety, whatever through diet and exercise and meditation, and whatnot, that's awesome. I'm happy for you. I think it's great. But please, please, please do not perpetuate the myth that somehow medication for mental health is a shitty substitute for, IDK, sunshine. The reality is that those medications may be the only thing that allow some of us to actually enjoy the fucking sunshine, instead of hiding under our beds or worse.
Because telling someone who needs those medications that they can manage their illness through sunshine and exercise and whatever is a bit like telling the cancer patient that the chemo isn't necessary, and if only they got a tan, they'd feel better.
Trust me. It's just as deadly.