[cyborg]

My mother doesn't get it. She thinks people should not entertain such thoughts and should pull themselves up by the bootstraps. My dad was the same way but not as bad as my mom.

[netmilsmom]

Wow! Well, I guess if she were to have the fortitude to overcome Seratonin reuptake, God Bless her. Many people need just a little help. I liken taking Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft to taking insulin. Some people just need it.

(Maybe not as young as this article! If I had a preschooler come into my ex-boss' office, we'd be evaluating the family life)

[M-cubed]

might be some truth in that..... http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/science/health/020100hth-behavior-depression.html

[Cogadh na Sith]

Zoloft helps me keep the razor off my wrist and the gunbarrel from my temple.

Looking back on it, I suffered the first bout of depression when I was about 13. The bouts got progressively worse until was faced with the choice of getting help or snuffing myself.

It was a real act of will and strength to finally ask for help, but it beats dying.

So, call me weak or whatever, but at least I'm still here.

I went off of it last year and did pretty well for about 6 months and then the demon returned. It's like having all of your survival instincts and beliefs turned against yourself--that not only would the 'pain' end, but everyone would be better off without you.

People say suicide is a selfish act, but I think that in the case of depression, the individual believes at that moment that not only are they the source of their own pain, but they cause pain to everyone around them--the only solution is self-slaughter.

So, to the morons who argue against antidepressants, I ask you: "Which is more cowardly and wrong: putting a bullet through my head, or taking a pill and living?"

That's what it comes down to.