To medicate, or not to medicate?

HILLARY
Jack, I talk to you about all the issues that trouble me about the world, and you know that I have really strong feelings. Recently, somebody suggested to me that instead of trying to cope with my fears and issues, that I could put myself on an antidepressant and, through modern science, find myself relieved of all of these doubts and worries. And part of me thinks … okay, that sounds good! I don’t have to worry about war in the Middle East anymore, I’ll just take a pill, and I’ll feel better about it? I don’t have deal with the effects left from the molestation that I suffered as a child, I can take a pill and, all of a sudden, I’ll feel better about that? That sounds good!

JACK
I am not a medical man. I’m not a psychiatrist. I just know certain things work in the real world, and certain things don’t work in the real world. I have an 80 year-old friend who wakes up every morning to Prozac. And every day he wakes up and says, "I love Prozac." And that’s his dance. I believe that someone who is terminally ill, for example, who does not have a correctable malaise should take any chemical, anything that’s available, to turn their spirits brighter and make the final days better. Without any equivocation, if someone is terminal, or is suffering beyond his or her control, and if a medical person who’s had the benefit of schooling and study says you’re going to feel better, if you take this, absolutely. Whatever it takes. I question, however, that this should be the course of action for someone your age. It’s more important to get to the core of what the problem is, which is not going to come from any medication.

HILLARY
Well, the depressed feeling that I’ve been having began after I met a woman at a party. We talked for several hours that day, and I hoped that we would stay in touch. A few days after I met her, her 11 year-old daughter died in a tragic accident. It was so shocking, and it made me take in how fragile our lives are. I started to worry about my nieces and all the people that I’m going to lose, and it really threw me. So, yes, maybe it threw me harder than it would’ve thrown someone else, but is it so bad to spend a week pondering that? Is a week worrying about that stuff reason enough to go on an antidepressant?

JACK
My feeling is that there is nothing wrong with being depressed. I saw so much death and dying in the eight intense months I spent in combat. I saw my buddies die on a daily basis, and depression is naturally built into that. I bring this up, to point out that we all go through some form of melancholy at some time, and when you are wrapped in a situation that is totally hopeless, I think, being depressed is a natural reaction. There’s nothing wrong with being in mourning. There’s nothing wrong to feel badly about the misfortunes of others. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with it, but it is part of the universal craziness, therefore, we have to get used to it. And in getting used to it, you must balance that out with all the joy that you have, and all, all of the opportunities you have to feel good. If you have ever once had joy and fun and excitement, and been in the midst of absolutely losing yourself, then you know it’s going to happen again. You’ve got to actually count on that happening. Feelings for your friend’s child are real. You can’t escape that. My God, I mean, a child just dies for no good reason. Someone is sitting in a hotel room in Tel Aviv and gets hit by a rocket and gets killed. These things really happen. And that’s one of the facts of life that you have to balance with all the good stuff.

Hillary
So I’m not going to take an anti-depressant, but I hope that we can sit down once a week and talk, because your perspective and experience is the best tool that I can think of to conquer my fears and succeed in this modern world.

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