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[FiveNotions]

America’s Zoloft Problem: A Generation Grows Up With Antidepressants
http://www.thedailyb...epressants.html

" In Coming of Age on Zoloft: How Antidepressants Cheered Us Up, Let Us Down, and Changed Who We Are, Katherine Sharpe writes about people like herself: people who have never known a world without SSRIs."

"Twenty-five years after the birth of Prozac, a new book takes stock of a generation that’s grown up with antidepressants. But Cara Spitalewitz asks: do the drugs work?"

[Carleeta]

FiveNotions. ..It's so ironic you posted these...Not too long ago my 87 year old Aunt and the family were having a discussion...Somehow we ended up on the issue of depression...Out of my dear Aunt's mouth came this; "Depression? Why am I hearing about people being depressed? In my day they was no such thing as anyone becoming depressed..You got up every morning, did all the things you were told to do, or did your everyday cleaning, cooking, washing, and etc..You didn't have time to think about anything except your home, children, chores, and sleep." I'm thinking she really had a point very well made!

[FiveNotions]

That's exactly what I've been thinking about all afternoon....what the heck did people do before there was depression and meds...they did just what your aunt said.... Lincoln was deeply depressed and led us through the civil war....other great men and women were depressed....

Here is a blog article that talks about this....and gives examples of how these individuals coped with the depression...

How 7 Historic Figures Overcame Depression without Doctors
http://brucelevine.n...ithout-doctors/

For example:
In Lincoln’s Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness, biographer Joshua Wolf Shenk reports that Lincoln experienced two major depressive breakdowns at age 26 and age 31, which included suicidal statements that frightened friends enough to form a suicide watch. When he was 32, Lincoln wrote, “I am now the most miserable man living.” Lincoln’s longtime law partner William Herndon observed about Lincoln, “Gloom and sadness were his predominant state,” and “His melancholy dripped from him as he walked.” And another Lincoln friend reported, “Lincoln told me he felt like committing suicide often.”

Lincoln’s Antidotes: Abraham Lincoln, along with other famous depression sufferers such as Winston Churchill and Mark Twain, used humor as an antidote to depression. To boost his spirits, Lincoln told jokes and funny stories. A good story, said Lincoln, “has the same effect on me that I think a good square drink of whisky has to the old roper. It puts new life into me . . . good for both the mental and physical digestion.” Lincoln said, “If it were not for these stories—jokes—jests I should die; they give vent—are the vents of my moods and gloom.” Shenk concludes that “Humor gave Lincoln protection from his mental storms. It distracted him and gave him relief and pleasure . . . Humor also gave Lincoln a way to connect with people.” In addition to humor, Shenk discovered that Lincoln utilized other major depression antidotes, including his love of poetry and a strong belief that his life had an important purpose.

[FiveNotions]

11 Historical Geniuses and Their Possible Mental Disorders
http://mentalfloss.c...ental-disorders

[Carleeta]

FiveNotions. ..Great articles....It's truly amazing how people managed their depression years ago...They found what ever helped them, unknowingly! We live in an age where meds and antidepressents are popping up everywhere for a quick fix, no matter the consequences. ..There are so many antidepressents that doctors and patients just don't have the time to keep up with all of them...We ourselves (not you, me, and others on this forum) have caused this problem with always coming up with something new and improved (supposedily) yet not profected...Amazing..

Think I'm going to live like those in the time of Lincoln...Just doing the simple things for relief and pleasure, even if it's just temporary...and just living like my Aunt!