Holden and Diagnoses

helena kim (helenak@geocities.com)
Thu, 02 Apr 1998 01:51:05 +0100 

It's all
absolute poison. I'm not against use of psychotropic drugs, but let's just
say, I remain very,very sceptical of them. It's true though, these days
they would have just tipped Prozac into his vanilla malt and be done with
it.

Camille



'I never thought that this antidote to a disease as serious as depression -
a malady that easily could have ended my life - would become a national joke.'
            -Elizabeth Wurtzel

I'm not about to start coming out with the intimate details of my mental health,
especially at a time when I'm starting to feel like an intruder in a mens club, but
let me say this: If it were not for psychpharmocology, I, for one, would be very,
very dead.

Quite frankly, it's none of any of your business what prescription drugs I
am/was/will be taking or not taking, and I'm being especially concious of the fact
that this is all being archived. Camille, I admire your skepticism; it's a healthy
attitude to have. But please, please can you try and show a little bit more
sensitivity? It was the last sentence of your post that really stung.

Bowing out humbly,

:helena, the poisoned lump (allegedly)

P.S. Might I suggest that your relative has the doctor to blame for prescribing the
drugs. Your attitude almost reminds me of someone who gets a bad haicut and blames
the scissors. (This is a terrible analogy, but it's late and it's the best I can come
up with.)

P.P.S. Back to the original point of this thread as put, rather impartially, by Tim.
If you look at Holden as suffering from Clinical Depression, how does it change your
opinion of him? This reminds me of studying Lord of the Flies in school. Simon, whom
I thought on first reading was an intruiging mystic, is, allegedly, an epileptic.
Does this take away from the importance of what he experiences? When you look at his
'episodes' with the pig's head in the forest as symptoms, does it lessen their
importance? Similarly, when you percieve Holden's attitudes/emotions as symptoms,
does this make them less valid?

I'm not trying to start a debate on whether/not Holden is 'Clinically Depressed', it
would be as futile as the 'Is Franny pregnant?' thread. My question is, if you assume
that he *is*, how does it change your reading of him?