When Kurt Cobain shot himself in the head at his Seattle, Washington, home in 1994, his band, Nirvana, was a chart-topping rock act on the brink of superstardom. Feelings of depression, cynicism and withdrawal infiltrated Cobain's lyrics, and yet to this day, rock fans around the world immortalize him.
Although Prozac was readily available during the years leading up to Cobain's death, the people behind some of history's most famous works of art did not have the option of taking medication for their condition. Had Prozac existed hundreds of years ago, perhaps William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven, would not have been created.
Although historically, depression has been romanticized, the condition has now become increasingly viewed as a disease for purposes of health care. But depression is also a source of inspiration and enlightenment and thus should not necessarily be written off as an illness that must be treated with medication and therapy.
In his book, Against Depression, psychiatrist Peter Kramer writes about how some of his depressed patients feel about their condition:
"To be depressed—even quite gravely—is to be in touch with what matters most in life, its finitude and brevity, its absurdity and arbitrariness. To be depressed is to adopt the posture of a rebel and social critic."
Feeling depressed provides many people with insight. It's a source of creativity and inspiration.
Kramer, who also wrote the 1993 best-seller Listening To Prozac, points to the tradition of heroic melancholy as the reason why depression isn't considered a typical illness. Shakespeare's Hamlet, for example, was crippled by paralysis—the inability to sort through his anxious mind and take action. But audiences applauded his suicidal thoughts, passivity and alienation. Characters like Hamlet made melancholy fashionable. Depressive thoughts became admirable.
Today, more people than ever are depressed. According to the National Institute of Mental Health approximately 18.8 million American adults—or 9.5% of people older than 18—have a depressive disorder. But three out of four depressed people do not seek treatment.
Doctors attribute the dismal treatment rate to the fact that many depressed people do not recognize their symptoms. But perhaps many people leave their condition untreated because they find something positive in their feelings of depression.
The debate as to whether depression is more of an emotion that provides inspiration or a pervasive illness is not over. Nor does it have a simple resolution. But in deciding whether depression is worthy of decisive treatment, it is important to think about all of the astounding works of art that might never be created if doctors around the world provide medication to every depressed patient.
Right now, the next Shakespeare might be popping in his morning dose of Prozac.
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