in today's New York Times there's an opinion piece by maureen dowd about women and mood-altering pills. specifically, more women than men these days are on some type of medication, and the reasons they're on these medications are often ridiculous. (my personal favorite is the anecdote about high school seniors who are on anti-anxiety drugs so they can compete better for spots in ivy-league colleges.)

maureen dowd thinks the whole country has turned into the valley of the dolls. i think she's probably right. having a hard time concentrating? have some ritalin. shy? try some paxil. nervous about your new job interview? here, have a prozac. and the new one: period got you down? have some sarafem (that would be prozac in drag). people are taking medications to counter the effects of living.

i'm not anti-medication; i'm a proud member of club paxil. but i don't go around touting the wonders of the drug...if you've got a serious chemical imbalance, chances are you already know it. if you need medication, by all means get it. but if you just feel a little down, or kind of anxious, try changing things in your life around before you decide you need the medication quick-fix. for instance, my sister went to counseling because she was in an emotionally unhealthy relationship. instead of telling her to get the hell away from the guy, the doctor prescribed prozac. as if numbing herself is going to make the situation go away.

which brings us back to the main issue: why all the women on drugs? according to this article, women in most cultures have twice the rate of depression that men do. one psychiatrist quoted in this article says women pop more pills because they're "hormonally more complicated and biologically more vulnerable. Depression is the downside of attachment, and women are programmed to attach more strongly and punished more when they lose attachments." what the hell does that mean? sounds like the same old freudian song to me: women are complex, we can't figure them out, they're unstable, their uterus controls their emotional and intellectual life, yadda yadda yadda. bring in the Sarafem.

it really is prozac in drag; little pink and lavender capsules marketed for this brand-new disease called PMDD, the PMS from hell. i'm not necessarily disputing the existence of PMDD, but i will say i doubt the frequency of its occurence, and the fact that its diagnostic beginning coincides exactly with the drug used specifically to treat it. blame the bad feelings women have on their reproductive cycle, and then tell them you have the cure. excuse me but didn't we already go through the victorian era? does everyone still think that biology is destiny?

in a culture which persistently undervalues (or downright devalues) a specific population's worth, that population will experience symptoms of inferiority, low self-esteem, depression, and the host of related illnesses. so twice as many women as men are depressed. i find that hardly shocking. we still make 78 cents to the dollar, are told that we should choose careers, motherhood, nurturing, etc. we should be tallthinunblemished. be successful but not more successful than our husbands. smart but not intimidating. the kind of balance that could make someone unbalanced.

i don't know what the answer for any of this is; i'm just here to point out the things that don't make sense. just one thing: don't believe everything everyone tells you. chances are, you're not crazy, even if you do need medication. look inside yourself for the answers about the world. it's screwier than any of us.

peace love and prozac -beatpoetgrrl

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