A Calculation of National Wellness

Abstract

d d W u t ocrates said of medicine, “This ‘medicine’ this philter, which acts as both remedy and poison . . . This charm, this spellbinding virtue, his power of fascination, can be—alterately or simultaneously—beneficent or aleficent.” The clear implication is that it is not the medication but the choice of how and when to use it, and the social context that leads to its use, that should be considered. But it is not the pharmacology per se upon which I wish to focus. Instead, consider: the usage of antidepressant drugs gives us a read out, as clear as any instrument measuring a patient, and it tells us something important about our national wellness. PsychCentral, the Internet’s largest and oldest fact-based mental health network, defines major depression as, “the kind of depression that will most likely benefit from treatment with medications, (that) is more than just ‘the blues.’ It is a condition that lasts 2 weeks or longer, and interferes with a person’s ability to carry on daily tasks and enjoy activities that previously brought pleasure. Depression is associated with abnormal functioning of the brain. An interaction between genetic tendency and life history appears to determine a person’s chance of becoming depressed. Episodes of depression may be triggered by stress, difficult life events, side effects of medications, or medication/substance withdrawal, or even viral infections that can affect the brain.” They should have