sociatry822

[Adam Blatner]

this also got blocked, so sending again:
  Hi Anath Garber in New York,    I half agree with you, and half disagree:
  You say,  "I think despair is "good"! If more people will  take less prozac and  accept 
that their despair, depression  may have something to do with reality: working hard to 
consume ever more, being defined by  "net worth",  disregarding how their behaviour 
affects others,the enviornment, etc , perhaps there would be a chance for each of us to 
become a therapeutic agent to another, consume more love and compassion, less fuel 
(especially if the former will come with no fees attached...)"
    Adam:
   1. I don't think SRI's like Prozac are being used to cope with environmental stresses, 
but more, a biological depression coming from demoralization at many personal as well as 
cultural levels. Stopping their use will most certainly NOT help things. See Peter 
Kramer's book, "Against Depression."
    2. You are again repeating what I consider to be magical thinking: The old saw (which 
is just a tiny bit true) that pain makes man think. That's as foolish as "no pain no 
gain." The grain of truth is that there is a measure of discomfort in thinking, and a 
measure of discomfort in motivating thinking, but it cannot be too general, too vague.
        My approach is not to use the negative reinforcement of fear and guilt, but rather 
the positive reinforcement that comes when people are empowered, helped not only to think, 
but to be rewarded for thinking. This involves among other things getting improvisation, 
spontaneity, some of the arts (done the right way---they can be done badly, too!)-- into 
education, sociodrama, critical thinking... instead of just giving back "right" answers on 
tests.  Plus many other approaches.
        Certainly I agree that consumerism and other factors are in the long run 
self-defeating. Confrontation without knowing what to do differently, or knowing how to do 
it or think about it more creatively, only increases the desire to retreat.
     I keep this discussion up in hope that others will also join in. It's a good 
question---what tactics should we use. Warmly, Adam