When I was thirteen, I took an overdose of Quaaludes. I was depressed, and my depression recurred for decades, through prep school, college, law school, and the early years of my career and marriage. Ive had excellent treatment, though, and even when, with respect to life generally, and my own life, I could truly take it or leave it, and debated and planned how and when to end it just to get some relief, I had a secret weapon. My dad took care of women his whole career as a physician, knew depression when he saw it, took it seriously, and kept on me to keep getting help. Even today, I see my psychiatrist, Dr. Daniel Barton, in Sylvan Park, monthly, and my therapist, Rebekah Walker, in Belle Meade, weekly. I recommend both to you. I do great with just 20mg of fluoxetine each day now. I was thrown by the suicide last week of a beautiful, loved, accomplished, and respected young professor at our law school. Her doctor released her for a birthday weekend from her inpatient treatment for depression, she bought a gun, and killed herself, a suicide just like one hundred five other Americans that day and every day--like Robin Williams today--nearly 40,000 in the U.S. every year. I want to say to you first: go easy on each other, particularly on kids, regardless of what theyre into and whom you think theyre emulating. Most everything youre going to encounter in raising your kids is small stuff. Let it go. And second, when it occurs to you to talk to someone about how you or someone you love may be feeling, make the appointment. Its expensive whether you have insurance or not: try to at least get started anyway; resources are somewhat available. Treatment is hard work but the professionals are good at it and theyre why Im alive and annoyingly Im sure, for the spouse on the other side of the mattress, spring out of bed in the morning, all excited for my day. And third, the state of our mental health in our country is holding us back as a nation. We should all be insisting that good mental health care be available without a wait, and free, paid for by our tax dollars in a sort of mental health Medicare for all. xo
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 02:35:49 +0000
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