Monday, December 4, 2006

Wellbutrin and SAD

I think the most promising thing about this discussion of Wellbutrin is that it's only recommended to be taken during the dark months. It's very easy to get into a maintenance program with depression, and it's often not necessary. Long-term medication creates a dependence in a way that isn't defined by the scientific community; it's a belief that develops that one cannot be well without a drug, which becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you're depressed you're already extremely susceptible to the belief that you are simply not a strong person, and drugs can easily reinforce that by becoming a security blanket. Properly used, a medication for most depression victims should be a trainer, showing their minds what health looks like so that they can reproduce it in themselves.

That being said, I'm glad that Wellbutrin might be useful for SAD sufferers. If it gets you through the darkest times, and allows you enough energy and motivation to modify your behavior for health (exercising, exposing yourself to more sunlight), then it could be a godsend for many. Only for a very small percentage of depression victims is a permanent drug solution logical. And I know how you think if you're depressed, so let me make this clear: you're not one of that small percentage. Don't believe it. The light is inside you, and the drug is only a tool that can bring you back to the level where you can find and use what you've had all along.

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