In the course of writing this blog, I get a lot of flack from some people. That’s fine, because I know I’m not always right. But there’s a certain class of people who get under my skin: those who claim to have all the answers.
Mood music:
There’s the reader who bristles whenever I write about medication for depression, OCD and other disorders of the brain. She knows the answer to just about any mental disorder, you see. It’s simple: Adopt a gluten-free diet.
There’s the fitness fanatic who thinks people talking about their weaknesses are some lower form of life. Just lift weights and adopt a paleo diet. All else is the stuff of someone who cries a lot and makes excuses for everything.
While I respect their opinions and am thrilled they found something that works for them, their one-size-fits-all school of thought is flawed.
Sure, there are plenty of cases where medication is the wrong answer. People are misdiagnosed all the time, and they end up on meds that make things worse. But there are also many others who turned to medicine when all else proved inadequate. Like me. There’s a science to mental disorder, and the meds are designed to address specific problems. A gluten-free diet may help a few people. But a universal treatment? Smoke another one.
And though a lot of people get by just fine without discussing their weaknesses, others need to talk in order to address the things that hold them back.
I will continue to discuss my challenges. Not because I want sympathy, but because doing so leads me down more useful, effective avenues. Also, the vast majority of feedback tells me it helps other people do the same.
Those who don’t agree can keep telling me so. Or they can go read something else.
