Andrew Solomon has published an adaptation of a new final chapter to his book, Noonday Demon in today’s New York Times magazine. After a dramatic and sad opening the pieces settles into the an exploration of the lethality and stigma of depression in pregnancy, and the risks and benefits of medicating depression during pregnancy — it’s not as obvious as you might think. Bottom line? There are no easy answers. It’s really thoughtful piece. Recommended.
“we’ve had a lot of trouble with western mental health workers…”
Oh?
They would do this bizarre thing. They didn’t take people out into the sunshine where they would begin to feel better. They didn’t include drumming or music to get their blood going. They didn’t involve the whole community. They didn’t externalize the depression as an invasive spirit. Instead what they did was they took people, one at a time into dingy little rooms and made them talk for an hour about bad things that had happened to them!
A Rwandan, speaking to Andrew Solomon, author of Noonday Demon (previous two posts).
On the East Side of Los Angeles? Need to get out of your dingy little room? Why not pick up a copy of the book at a local bookstore? Get out of the house!
Some options:
Skylight Books (Los Feliz)
Alias Books East (Atwater)
Stories (Echo Park)
The opposite of depression is not happiness, but vitality
“There is no point treating a depressed person as though she were just feeling sad, saying, ‘There now, hang on, you’ll get over it.’ Sadness is more or less like a head cold- with patience, it passes. Depression is like cancer.” ― Barbara Kingsolver, The Bean Trees
Emily Dickinson on Depression
She really gets it right. Andrew Solomon (previous post) opened his Ted talk by quoting it.
I felt a Funeral, in my Brain, (340)
I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,
And Mourners to and fro
Kept treading – treading – till it seemed
That Sense was breaking through –
And when they all were seated,
A Service, like a Drum –
Kept beating – beating – till I thought
My mind was going numb –
And then I heard them lift a Box
And creak across my Soul
With those same Boots of Lead, again,
Then Space – began to toll,
As all the Heavens were a Bell,
And Being, but an Ear,
And I, and Silence, some strange Race,
Wrecked, solitary, here –
And then a Plank in Reason, broke,
And I dropped down, and down –
And hit a World, at every plunge,
And Finished knowing – then –
Kay Redfield Jamison on Depression
Others imply that they know what it is like to be depressed because they have gone through a divorce, lost a job, or broken up with someone. But these experiences carry with them feelings. Depression, instead, is flat, hollow, and unendurable. It is also tiresome. People cannot abide being around you when you are depressed. They might think that they ought to, and they might even try, but you know and they know that you are tedious beyond belief: you are irritable and paranoid and humorless and lifeless and critical and demanding and no reassurance is ever enough. You’re frightened, and you’re frightening, and you’re “not at all like yourself but will be soon,” but you know you won’t.
― Kay Redfield Jamison, An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness
Kay, who is a psychiatrist, wrote about her experience with bipolar disorder. It’s a fascinating account of someone in the profession who also had to come to terms with the stigma of mental illness. She was quite wary of disclosing to colleagues, and when she did it was often with mixed results.
“That’s the thing about depression: A human being can survive almost anything, as long as she sees the end in sight. But depression is so insidious, and it compounds daily, that it’s impossible to ever see the end.” ― Elizabeth Wurtzel, Prozac Nation
“I didn’t want to wake up. I was having a much better time asleep. And that’s really sad. It was almost like a reverse nightmare, like when you wake up from a nightmare you’re so relieved. I woke up into a nightmare.” Ned Vizzini, It’s Kind of a Funny Story
I Felt a Funeral, In My Brain
Andrew Solomon opens his talk on depression, in which he recalls his own experience, with a quote from Emily Dickinson. Solomon is the author of the comprehensive Noonday Demon. This Ted talk touches upon many of the themes in that great book. It’s full of the same pithy insights, including the delusions depressives tend to harbor.
I want to say that the treatments we have for depression are appalling.
There are three things people confuse – depression, grief and sadness.
Depression is a slower way of being dead.
And so on. Definitely worth a listen.
Two Great Graphic Novels that Deal with Depression
Here are two great graphic novels that deal with depression.
Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh is not only one of the funniest things I’ve ever read, it has a section that covers depression. Not only does it cover depression, but it has one of the best descriptions of what it’s like to be depressed that I have ever read. And I say that as someone that works with a lot of depressed people. The narrative is gritty, hilarious, and heartbreaking. (It also has a great subtitle.)
Another terrific graphic novel is Marbles by Ellen Forney. A first-person narrative about her experience with bipolar disorder, Forney really conveys the journey — from denial, to diagnosis, and the ongoing frustration with managing the highs and lows, lapses in judgment, and getting her meds just right. Given everything that she went through, it’s encouraging she got it together to write the book.
For those of you in Los Angeles, why not stroll down to Secret Headquarters on Sunset Junction and pick up a copy of one or both?
los feliz psychologist 