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Coming of Age on Zoloft: How Antidepressants Cheered Us Up, Let Us Down, and Changed Who We Are – Investigative Journalism on Psychiatric Medication and Identity
A compelling and troubling exploration of a generation raised on antidepressants, and a book that combines expansive interviews with substantive research-based reporting, Coming of Age on Zoloft is a vitally important and immediately engrossing study of one of America’s most pressing and omnipresent our growing reliance on prescription drugs. Katherine Sharpe, the former editor of Seed magazine’s ScienceBlogs.com, addresses the questions that millions of young men and women are struggling with. “Where does my personality end and my prescription begin?” “Do I have a disease?” “Can I get better on my own?” Combining stout scientific acumen with first-person experience gained through her own struggle with antidepressants, Sharpe leads the reader through a complex subject, a guide towards a clearer future for all.
314 pages, Paperback
First published June 5, 2012
78 people are currently reading
1937 people want to read
About the author
Katherine Sharpe
7 books72 followersKatherine Sharpe was born in Arlington, Virginia. She attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon, where she studied anthropology and English. She has a master’s degree in literature from Cornell University. Previously she worked as the editor of Seed magazine’s ScienceBlogs.com, and the online editor of ReadyMade. Her writing has appeared in n+1, Nature, Prevention, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Rumpus, Washington Post Magazine, GOOD, Seed, ReadyMade, The Village Voice, Scientific American Mind, and a number of other publications. Coming of Age on Zoloft is her first book.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
May 12, 2012
First off, full disclosure: I went to college with Katherine Sharpe, I know Katherine Sharpe. Katherine Sharpe is a friend of mine. And you, honey, are no Katherine Sharpe.
Only... well to be honest, if you're under age thirty-five and on this website, there's a fair chance that you more or less are.
When I first heard Katherine was writing a memoir about growing up on antidepressants, I secretly felt a small twinge of dread. As you may know, I hold a perhaps unreasonable prejudice against memoir, and having worked for years with very poor people diagnosed with psychotic disorders, I have a certain bristly impatience with the problems of the more privileged, less-sick mentally ill. And so initially I was worried, like, "Oh how awkward if I don't like her book."
Fortunately, though, reading it made me realize what an ignorant asshole I was for ever thinking such things! Though to be honest, Coming of Age on Zoloft isn't exactly a memoir. Rather, Sharpe draws on her life experience in the lovely prose associated with that genre as she uses research (a massive wealth of cited psych literature and interviews she conducted) to describe what growing up in the age of antidepressants is like.
The result is a very good book that will help a lot of people. Basically, Growing Up on Zoloft is about two things: the rise and ubiquity of SSRIs, and the experience of growing up (middle-class and college educated yes, and yet still, you self-hating bourgie moron, subject to psychic pain on occasion) in America, and then of course how these two things have interacted. One surprising aspect of this book is its calm tone and balanced, unbiased commitment to nuance. This isn't a jeremiad or a polemic, and Sharpe isn't screaming about how everyone or no one should be taking these drugs. Instead, she's coolly taking a step back, observing that huge numbers of young people do and have been taking them -- by now, many since childhood -- and she's trying to answer the question of what this all means. As she observes, antidepressants are often said (and marketed as a means) to make depressed people "feel like themselves again." But for a young person who has grown up taking them, what does that mean? Does someone who reached adulthood on medication have a self to return to?
While most people accept that some of us suffer from depression so severe that needing medication is not a question, we also know there's a large grey area of folks for whom it is more open to debate. Katherine tells of a visit to the college health center her freshman year, while having a really tough time emotionally. After a twenty minute conversation, the provider she met with wrote her a prescription for Zoloft. The following year, hanging out on a porch with a group of six other girls, Katherine discovered that every single one of them was taking antidepressants. Coming of Age is her effort to explore what this all means.
Which she does, using her own ten-year antidepressant experience as a case study, interviewing dozens of people, and filling an eight-page bibliography chockablock with peer-reviewed science articles. I felt she did an especially good job of describing Big Pharma's role in all of this, in particular in the way that our culture has so wholeheartedly embraced the biomedical model. One real accomplishment of this book is its success in discussing such a charged topic in fair and moderate tones. Yes, diagnoses of depression and prescription of drugs just keep on climbing, and much of this is driven by commercial interests. But as one of Sharpe's interviewees' mother asks, "Why not just do the thing that makes you feel better?"
Why not indeed? Being depressed is terrible, and there are pills for it. Are we Christian Scientists? Is there some kind of masochism here, or perceived nobility in suffering? Sharpe doesn't prescribe a particular path to take -- meds or no meds -- which is a major strength of the book. Rather, she presents a level and informative discussion of the issues involved, filling a need for honest discourse about something that is still in many ways a very isolating and mysterious experience: being depressed, perhaps... or perhaps just being young. And of course, either way, taking these meds.
One of the important points this book makes is that being young just fucking sucks for a lot of people. Sharpe worries that our culture has come to pathologize the normal developmental pain of life. The director of mental health services at Swarthmore tells her that these days, "there's almost not a language for normal distress." As Sharpe puts it, "To live in America today is to be invited, again and again, to ask ourselves whether our problems are symptoms, to consider whether we need or would simply benefit from a psychiatric medication." Given such a context, I would definitely recommend this book to teenagers and people in their twenties who do take or might take or have taken antidepressants, as well as to their parents. I would also recommend it to older people who have taken or considered taking these drugs, and also to mental health providers.
One person I kept thinking of as I read was a former client of mine. She was a young women who had experienced a difficult childhood, and she had a severe psychotic disorder which had caused serious disruptions and delays in her life. She had finally become psychiatrically stable while I knew her, and was left to deal with the normal and often very painful problems of a woman in her twenties trying to establish a life. Towards the end of my working with her, most of our discussions consisted of me trying to convince her that her current experiences and pain were not pathological at all, but completely normal. She just didn't believe me, no matter how hard I tried, and she wouldn't consider longterm talk therapy because she associated it with sickness and stigma. If I were still working with her, I would definitely give her this book, because I think there is a huge benefit in seeing the way that others -- whether they take medication or not -- struggle with feelings that, even if they're not pathological, totally fucking suck. I recommend this book to people who have had them, which should be everyone... unless you've been taking handfuls of these meds since you were born, in which case boy, have I got a book for you.
Only... well to be honest, if you're under age thirty-five and on this website, there's a fair chance that you more or less are.
When I first heard Katherine was writing a memoir about growing up on antidepressants, I secretly felt a small twinge of dread. As you may know, I hold a perhaps unreasonable prejudice against memoir, and having worked for years with very poor people diagnosed with psychotic disorders, I have a certain bristly impatience with the problems of the more privileged, less-sick mentally ill. And so initially I was worried, like, "Oh how awkward if I don't like her book."
Fortunately, though, reading it made me realize what an ignorant asshole I was for ever thinking such things! Though to be honest, Coming of Age on Zoloft isn't exactly a memoir. Rather, Sharpe draws on her life experience in the lovely prose associated with that genre as she uses research (a massive wealth of cited psych literature and interviews she conducted) to describe what growing up in the age of antidepressants is like.
The result is a very good book that will help a lot of people. Basically, Growing Up on Zoloft is about two things: the rise and ubiquity of SSRIs, and the experience of growing up (middle-class and college educated yes, and yet still, you self-hating bourgie moron, subject to psychic pain on occasion) in America, and then of course how these two things have interacted. One surprising aspect of this book is its calm tone and balanced, unbiased commitment to nuance. This isn't a jeremiad or a polemic, and Sharpe isn't screaming about how everyone or no one should be taking these drugs. Instead, she's coolly taking a step back, observing that huge numbers of young people do and have been taking them -- by now, many since childhood -- and she's trying to answer the question of what this all means. As she observes, antidepressants are often said (and marketed as a means) to make depressed people "feel like themselves again." But for a young person who has grown up taking them, what does that mean? Does someone who reached adulthood on medication have a self to return to?
While most people accept that some of us suffer from depression so severe that needing medication is not a question, we also know there's a large grey area of folks for whom it is more open to debate. Katherine tells of a visit to the college health center her freshman year, while having a really tough time emotionally. After a twenty minute conversation, the provider she met with wrote her a prescription for Zoloft. The following year, hanging out on a porch with a group of six other girls, Katherine discovered that every single one of them was taking antidepressants. Coming of Age is her effort to explore what this all means.
Which she does, using her own ten-year antidepressant experience as a case study, interviewing dozens of people, and filling an eight-page bibliography chockablock with peer-reviewed science articles. I felt she did an especially good job of describing Big Pharma's role in all of this, in particular in the way that our culture has so wholeheartedly embraced the biomedical model. One real accomplishment of this book is its success in discussing such a charged topic in fair and moderate tones. Yes, diagnoses of depression and prescription of drugs just keep on climbing, and much of this is driven by commercial interests. But as one of Sharpe's interviewees' mother asks, "Why not just do the thing that makes you feel better?"
Why not indeed? Being depressed is terrible, and there are pills for it. Are we Christian Scientists? Is there some kind of masochism here, or perceived nobility in suffering? Sharpe doesn't prescribe a particular path to take -- meds or no meds -- which is a major strength of the book. Rather, she presents a level and informative discussion of the issues involved, filling a need for honest discourse about something that is still in many ways a very isolating and mysterious experience: being depressed, perhaps... or perhaps just being young. And of course, either way, taking these meds.
One of the important points this book makes is that being young just fucking sucks for a lot of people. Sharpe worries that our culture has come to pathologize the normal developmental pain of life. The director of mental health services at Swarthmore tells her that these days, "there's almost not a language for normal distress." As Sharpe puts it, "To live in America today is to be invited, again and again, to ask ourselves whether our problems are symptoms, to consider whether we need or would simply benefit from a psychiatric medication." Given such a context, I would definitely recommend this book to teenagers and people in their twenties who do take or might take or have taken antidepressants, as well as to their parents. I would also recommend it to older people who have taken or considered taking these drugs, and also to mental health providers.
One person I kept thinking of as I read was a former client of mine. She was a young women who had experienced a difficult childhood, and she had a severe psychotic disorder which had caused serious disruptions and delays in her life. She had finally become psychiatrically stable while I knew her, and was left to deal with the normal and often very painful problems of a woman in her twenties trying to establish a life. Towards the end of my working with her, most of our discussions consisted of me trying to convince her that her current experiences and pain were not pathological at all, but completely normal. She just didn't believe me, no matter how hard I tried, and she wouldn't consider longterm talk therapy because she associated it with sickness and stigma. If I were still working with her, I would definitely give her this book, because I think there is a huge benefit in seeing the way that others -- whether they take medication or not -- struggle with feelings that, even if they're not pathological, totally fucking suck. I recommend this book to people who have had them, which should be everyone... unless you've been taking handfuls of these meds since you were born, in which case boy, have I got a book for you.
June 13, 2012
I picked up this book in the psychology section of my local bookstore -- unfortunately and unintentionally chasing a portly middle-aged man away from the shelves upon my approach -- and I've spent the past three afternoons blasting through it. This is a really great and significant book. In addition to being a beautifully written, entertaining, and informative read, it's also surprisingly non-polemical and really effectively captures a broad range of experiences with medication through interspersed individual stories and quotes from the dozens of people interviewed for the project. The book is neither preachy nor fluffy but rather manages an artful balance of critical evaluation and respectful phenomenology that challenges readers who may think themselves decided on the matter to hold both sides of this complex and complicated issue. And, in addition to the topic of medication, the book very nicely explores the topic of psychotherapy. In fact, I thought the sections detailing the author's own experience with therapy in grad school were tremendously moving and hinted beautifully at how therapy can work when it's working well.
October 30, 2016
This book could have been far more interesting, it felt very repetitive and wordy at times. I felt like yes she went through a difficult period in her life, but I find it difficult to understand whether anti-depressants change the way young people see themselves, as my personal experience has not allowed me the "luxury" to ponder such questions, because I have been far too occupied with finding the right medications to help me in my daily functioning, which is something she discussed towards the end of the book with a man named James, who had a number of suicide attempts, and for him his depression meant not being able to function, whereas for the author, it seems like her depression was the result of her environment, rather than the chemical imbalance that results in severe psychomotor retardation and complete apathy. I am being critical I know, but I just found the concept of the book so alien to me, I think this book may help those with mild depression consider whether they require meds, but for someone like myself who can barely function as a result of long- term severe depression, I found this book failed to grasp my experiences of meds or psychiatry.
September 14, 2012
Katherine Sharpe's investigation into the causes and effects of the current explosion in anti-depressant usage is both academically responsible and confessionally intimate. It offers a well-rounded treatment of the implications of these drugs from the personal, the medical, and the socio-political standpoints. It does not take sides, or come down too hard in any direction, but it also doesn't shy away from the inherent importance of feelings and anecdotal testimony where the medicating of our moods is concerned. The book is equally fair to those who have been helped by these drugs and to those who choose to fight depression without them, but neither side gets off without an inquiry. The book covers all the territory that someone making a decision about anti-depressant drugs should consider, and it does so conscientiously, without veering into the didactic or the overtly rhetorical. And that's why I gave it the first four stars. I gave it the fifth one because the author's voice, despite all attempts to restrain itself with objectivity, has not been hampered from permeating the material with a uniquely warm and human undercurrent. Sharpe's excavations of her own interior, and her balanced self-questioning about her personal relationship to depression and drugs, come off both thoroughly sincere and touchingly candid. I came away not only armed with more information, but also with the sense that I had been invited into the most private and fragile corners of another person's life. This rare treat heightened the stakes of the issue at hand, as well as deepening my investment in the author herself. I couldn't help noticing the natural tendancy to poetic description that Sharpe seemed to be constantly reeling in, and the clever turns of phrase that hinted at her long loving relationship with words. I understood precisely why she chose to ease up on the throttle in that department, and I think in this case that it served the subject quite well, but I did find myself hoping that she will soon get the chance to put her foot to the floor. And I greatly look forward to my next opportunity to ride along with her, on whatever subject she chooses to tackle next.
June 21, 2015
This book is a fascinating look at how antidepressants have changed our world and the problems that come with that. My view may be different as a consumer of SSRIs and a stroke survivor with a known physiological change in brain function, but overall an interesting look at how we as the world view depression
June 9, 2012
Taken from my blog at www.takemeawayreading.com
Although I'm not as passionate about the topic of medication as I once was, it's still a subject I find interesting and that, at times, still does enrage me. It's not that I think medication is bad. On the contrary, I think it is very beneficial for some people. But I have also found that we live in a society that relies on them too much and that has allowed medication to become a quick fix (specifically as it relates to children). My first job out of college was as a case manager in a foster care group home, so I sometimes had to take children to appointments. I will never forget the maybe three minute conversation that the psychiatrist had with a child I took there. He literally said, "are you sad?" and received a shrug in reply. He prescribed this child an antidepressant. The group home I worked in was a regular foster care group home, but "med checks" were a regular thing, and most of the children were on medications. That was several years ago and now I'm a mental health therapist so I feel much more justified in my now "clinical" opinions and still find that people are way over-prescribed medication. Keep in mind that my issues are mainly regarding children, but I find the topic interesting overall which is why I was drawn to this book about antidepressants.
Katherine Sharpe's Coming of Age on Zoloft is part memoir, part interview, and part expose on the history and current trends of antidepressant use. Sharpe's motivation stemmed from her own experiences with antidepressants throughout high school and college that left her wondering about how using these medications for an extended period of time affected her personal development. She also interviewed many other individuals about their experiences and thoughts of how they were affected both by the use of medication as well as the stigma of their mental health. She also provides the history of mental health, specifically depression, and of antidepressants.
Overall, this book was informative, and I'm sure every reader will get something different out of it based on their backgrounds and personal experiences. I do think that for those who are considering starting the use of antidepressants or putting their children on antidepressants that this would be a beneficial read. Not only does Sharpe provide her viewpoints, she provides a plethora of quotes from other people in their 20's and 30's who have used antidepressants, many from a young age. Their thoughts are varying so this would be a good way to gain a thorough understanding of the different factors that might affect you or your child. I also like that she included her experiences with therapy and really provides her evidence for why therapy can be completely beneficial in its own way, maybe even more (or at least differently) than medication.
I do wish, though, that this book had included a larger variety of sources. The interviews for this book were mainly done with college students, likely upper middle to upper class. I think that there are whole populations of people whose input would have added a ton to this book and for whom there are different types of implications. There were times when I felt the information or arguments in this book became repetitive, so I think there would have been room to add those other sources. I also had a couple personal gripes with the clinical information provided... while it was technically accurate, I didn't always agree. She remarks on how easy it would be to be diagnosed with "depression" when really it might just be a normal reaction to a stressful event. She states that this person would fit the criteria for the diagnosis. But my thought is that yes, someone could justify that, but a good clinician would make a better judgment and use critical thinking skills to provide more accurate assessment. And another thing is yes while, technically, the new diagnostic criteria slated for 2013 will be the first to have a rating scale, current diagnoses of depression can be specified as mild, moderate, or severe, so the argument that all depression is depression is depression is the same wasn't quite accurate in my mind.
So overall, I do think there is benefit, for sure, to reading this book, but I would only recommend it to those who have an invested interest in the topic.
Although I'm not as passionate about the topic of medication as I once was, it's still a subject I find interesting and that, at times, still does enrage me. It's not that I think medication is bad. On the contrary, I think it is very beneficial for some people. But I have also found that we live in a society that relies on them too much and that has allowed medication to become a quick fix (specifically as it relates to children). My first job out of college was as a case manager in a foster care group home, so I sometimes had to take children to appointments. I will never forget the maybe three minute conversation that the psychiatrist had with a child I took there. He literally said, "are you sad?" and received a shrug in reply. He prescribed this child an antidepressant. The group home I worked in was a regular foster care group home, but "med checks" were a regular thing, and most of the children were on medications. That was several years ago and now I'm a mental health therapist so I feel much more justified in my now "clinical" opinions and still find that people are way over-prescribed medication. Keep in mind that my issues are mainly regarding children, but I find the topic interesting overall which is why I was drawn to this book about antidepressants.
Katherine Sharpe's Coming of Age on Zoloft is part memoir, part interview, and part expose on the history and current trends of antidepressant use. Sharpe's motivation stemmed from her own experiences with antidepressants throughout high school and college that left her wondering about how using these medications for an extended period of time affected her personal development. She also interviewed many other individuals about their experiences and thoughts of how they were affected both by the use of medication as well as the stigma of their mental health. She also provides the history of mental health, specifically depression, and of antidepressants.
Overall, this book was informative, and I'm sure every reader will get something different out of it based on their backgrounds and personal experiences. I do think that for those who are considering starting the use of antidepressants or putting their children on antidepressants that this would be a beneficial read. Not only does Sharpe provide her viewpoints, she provides a plethora of quotes from other people in their 20's and 30's who have used antidepressants, many from a young age. Their thoughts are varying so this would be a good way to gain a thorough understanding of the different factors that might affect you or your child. I also like that she included her experiences with therapy and really provides her evidence for why therapy can be completely beneficial in its own way, maybe even more (or at least differently) than medication.
I do wish, though, that this book had included a larger variety of sources. The interviews for this book were mainly done with college students, likely upper middle to upper class. I think that there are whole populations of people whose input would have added a ton to this book and for whom there are different types of implications. There were times when I felt the information or arguments in this book became repetitive, so I think there would have been room to add those other sources. I also had a couple personal gripes with the clinical information provided... while it was technically accurate, I didn't always agree. She remarks on how easy it would be to be diagnosed with "depression" when really it might just be a normal reaction to a stressful event. She states that this person would fit the criteria for the diagnosis. But my thought is that yes, someone could justify that, but a good clinician would make a better judgment and use critical thinking skills to provide more accurate assessment. And another thing is yes while, technically, the new diagnostic criteria slated for 2013 will be the first to have a rating scale, current diagnoses of depression can be specified as mild, moderate, or severe, so the argument that all depression is depression is depression is the same wasn't quite accurate in my mind.
So overall, I do think there is benefit, for sure, to reading this book, but I would only recommend it to those who have an invested interest in the topic.
September 24, 2020
It is a great book for people who wants to get a view on antidepressants experience. The book does not fall in an extremist. It does not see the medication as a panacea nor as the worst treatment ever created.
If you are struggling with the idea of taking meds - like a lot of us - this book will help you decide if it's a good idea to start a medical treatment. If you know people that is strugglin with mental help, this book will also help you to understand and help them in their fight.
The most important part for me was the explication of mental health as a "biopsychosocial" disease. This will open your eyes on why antidepressants maybe they don't do the work, but why sometimes you need them to start healing in the other parts, like psychological and behavior.
If you are struggling with the idea of taking meds - like a lot of us - this book will help you decide if it's a good idea to start a medical treatment. If you know people that is strugglin with mental help, this book will also help you to understand and help them in their fight.
The most important part for me was the explication of mental health as a "biopsychosocial" disease. This will open your eyes on why antidepressants maybe they don't do the work, but why sometimes you need them to start healing in the other parts, like psychological and behavior.
January 10, 2020
Interesting, but I found the repetition of stories redundant and somewhat boring. I was looking for the bottom line weigh in on the debate of antidepressant’s value or harm, and that part of the book was tepid.
August 6, 2012
You guys know I'm really open and up front about my depression on here, so you also probably know that this is a book that appealed to me right away. It's about the use of anti-depressants among such a large portion of society with a focus on the fact that many people start using anti-depressants in their teens and how that affects the development of their personality. Does the use of anti-depressants at a time when you are forming your most basic ideas of who you are as a person make a difference?
Writing
I feel like I'm having a hard time giving an objective review of the writing in this one because of my expectations going into the book. I reread the publisher's summary and I don't think they necessarily got it wrong, I think the problem is more with me interpreting it the way I wanted it to be. I thought the book would be very science-based. I was expecting studies on the brain chemistry of teenagers and the long-term effects of anti-depressant use. That's not what this book is about. It does start with the history of the development of anti-depressants, which was very useful, but it quickly moves into memoir/anecdotal territory. And as a memoir/summary of anecdotes, the book does a fine job. There's no criticism of the writing, it just wasn't what I was expecting and I was disappointed. Definitely not the author's problem, but it made it hard for me to enjoy the writing. But like I said, for a memoir, the writing was fine and the science included at the beginning is well-cited. I think the author succeeded at what she was trying to do.
Entertainment Value
Like I said above, I found the book less entertaining once I realized it wasn't about what I thought it was about. It was still a good read, though. I would still be interested in reading a more science-based take on the topic, but Sharpe expresses some of the very important issues regarding medicating teens for depression that I think go unnoticed. She certainly brought up several issues that I hadn't considered, but that make sense. I never went through a time of wondering whether or not I would be the same person if I hadn't started taking Prozac at 16, but I can see why it would be such a concern for many and I appreciate that aspect being introduced.
Overall
I was somewhat disappointed that there was less science and fewer empirical studies in the book, but I also got a lot out of it as a memoir. On the one hand, I agree with the author that Americans are over-medicated, especially with anti-depressants, and in situations where it isn't necessary. On the other hand, I feel like a complete hypocrite for feeling that way because I'm on anti-depressants and have been off and on since I was sixteen. And they've made a HUGE difference in my life. One huge thing that Sharpe makes a point of is the importance of therapy in conjunction with anti-depressant use. Rather than just prescribing anti-depressants to everyone who is feeling sad, it's important for psychologists, counselors, and physicians to meet and talk for more than just 20 minutes to determine if anti-depressants are an acceptable approach.
I recommend giving this one a try, but with the caveat that you know it's mainly personal experience and opinion from the beginning. I saw some other reviewers mention that they also were looking for more science, but if you know from the beginning that this is more of a memoir, I think it's a good read and brings up some important topics for consideration regarding the medication of teenagers.
I received a copy of this book for review from Haper Perennial.
Writing
I feel like I'm having a hard time giving an objective review of the writing in this one because of my expectations going into the book. I reread the publisher's summary and I don't think they necessarily got it wrong, I think the problem is more with me interpreting it the way I wanted it to be. I thought the book would be very science-based. I was expecting studies on the brain chemistry of teenagers and the long-term effects of anti-depressant use. That's not what this book is about. It does start with the history of the development of anti-depressants, which was very useful, but it quickly moves into memoir/anecdotal territory. And as a memoir/summary of anecdotes, the book does a fine job. There's no criticism of the writing, it just wasn't what I was expecting and I was disappointed. Definitely not the author's problem, but it made it hard for me to enjoy the writing. But like I said, for a memoir, the writing was fine and the science included at the beginning is well-cited. I think the author succeeded at what she was trying to do.
Entertainment Value
Like I said above, I found the book less entertaining once I realized it wasn't about what I thought it was about. It was still a good read, though. I would still be interested in reading a more science-based take on the topic, but Sharpe expresses some of the very important issues regarding medicating teens for depression that I think go unnoticed. She certainly brought up several issues that I hadn't considered, but that make sense. I never went through a time of wondering whether or not I would be the same person if I hadn't started taking Prozac at 16, but I can see why it would be such a concern for many and I appreciate that aspect being introduced.
Overall
I was somewhat disappointed that there was less science and fewer empirical studies in the book, but I also got a lot out of it as a memoir. On the one hand, I agree with the author that Americans are over-medicated, especially with anti-depressants, and in situations where it isn't necessary. On the other hand, I feel like a complete hypocrite for feeling that way because I'm on anti-depressants and have been off and on since I was sixteen. And they've made a HUGE difference in my life. One huge thing that Sharpe makes a point of is the importance of therapy in conjunction with anti-depressant use. Rather than just prescribing anti-depressants to everyone who is feeling sad, it's important for psychologists, counselors, and physicians to meet and talk for more than just 20 minutes to determine if anti-depressants are an acceptable approach.
I recommend giving this one a try, but with the caveat that you know it's mainly personal experience and opinion from the beginning. I saw some other reviewers mention that they also were looking for more science, but if you know from the beginning that this is more of a memoir, I think it's a good read and brings up some important topics for consideration regarding the medication of teenagers.
I received a copy of this book for review from Haper Perennial.
May 12, 2015
This is pegged as a memoir, but it's surprisingly full of information and detailed interviews alongside the author's own experiences. This is an effective style because it keeps the topic from becoming too stagnant or repetitive. It's a good blend of personal musings from the author, accounts from others, and factual information surrounding psychiatric medications (anti-depressants in particular).
I also expected this to be very anti-psychiatry, and while it there are certainly criticisms, it's surprisingly balanced in its look at medication. The book devotes a lot of time to explaining how medications helped the author and those interviewed and how they can be a necessity or even life-saving in more severe cases. She explores what we do and don't know about their effects on our physical health and overall long-term health and whether or not it's worth the risk, without taking sides.
A favorite aspect of the book was her experiences with talk therapy and how it worked as an alternative or adjunct with medication. The two most well-known treatments for mental health problems are medication and therapy. I always like to know how people regard both and if they see one as being more advantageous. While the author clearly favors using at least some talk therapy as an intervention, she's once again fair in how she compares it to medication and discusses how they can work together.
Perhaps most importantly, she posits the idea that as a society we may be too quick to label general emotional distress or life struggles as problematic or even pathological. If we're not constantly happy and high-achieving, we see ourselves as "broken". While I do think many people genuinely need help with depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems, she makes a good point about how many of us are now under so much pressure that what was once seen as normal life challenges now call for diagnosis and intervention. If this is the case, are medications the most effective solution? Perhaps we need more help with managing stress and reducing expectations instead.
My one criticism is that the book centers mostly on the same demographic - middle-to-upper-class, college educated, white people in their twenties or early thirties. This is understandable since that's who the author relates to, and it didn't bother me because I also relate and believe that mental health among this demographic does deserve attention. But those looking for a more diverse perspective won't find it here. Still, highly recommended for anyone interested in mental health and treatment among young adults, both psychopharmacological and not.
I also expected this to be very anti-psychiatry, and while it there are certainly criticisms, it's surprisingly balanced in its look at medication. The book devotes a lot of time to explaining how medications helped the author and those interviewed and how they can be a necessity or even life-saving in more severe cases. She explores what we do and don't know about their effects on our physical health and overall long-term health and whether or not it's worth the risk, without taking sides.
A favorite aspect of the book was her experiences with talk therapy and how it worked as an alternative or adjunct with medication. The two most well-known treatments for mental health problems are medication and therapy. I always like to know how people regard both and if they see one as being more advantageous. While the author clearly favors using at least some talk therapy as an intervention, she's once again fair in how she compares it to medication and discusses how they can work together.
Perhaps most importantly, she posits the idea that as a society we may be too quick to label general emotional distress or life struggles as problematic or even pathological. If we're not constantly happy and high-achieving, we see ourselves as "broken". While I do think many people genuinely need help with depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems, she makes a good point about how many of us are now under so much pressure that what was once seen as normal life challenges now call for diagnosis and intervention. If this is the case, are medications the most effective solution? Perhaps we need more help with managing stress and reducing expectations instead.
My one criticism is that the book centers mostly on the same demographic - middle-to-upper-class, college educated, white people in their twenties or early thirties. This is understandable since that's who the author relates to, and it didn't bother me because I also relate and believe that mental health among this demographic does deserve attention. But those looking for a more diverse perspective won't find it here. Still, highly recommended for anyone interested in mental health and treatment among young adults, both psychopharmacological and not.
November 19, 2012
I heard about this book through a starred review in a professional library journal. Although I found the book interesting, it was not quite what I expected. I thought it was going to delve more deeply into what it means for a child's development and personality to be on drugs like Zoloft during the important and formative years of adolescence, and in turn, what it means for society that so many children are on these drugs during these years. Although the book did touch on all of these issues, it was more of a study of individuals - how and why they were on these drugs and whether they felt good or bad about it.
I appreciated the fact that the book wasn't just a tirade against drug companies. The author acknowledges the fact that these drugs are a big help to many people that might otherwise not be able to fully function in society. She touches on the question of when is a drug needed and when will time take care of a problem, but she doesn't explore it enough. I felt like she mingled people with serious problems like debilitating depression and OCD and those with less serious depression or anxiety over specific situations too much. Her questions and concerns would have been clearer if she addressed those groups of people in separate chapters.
I very much like the last chapter or two in the book where she starts to fully ask questions such as "Are we pathologizing normal feelings?" and "Why are so many more Americans on anti-depressants than Europeans?" and "Could the nature of our society be as much of a cause of depression as chemical imbalances." I wish she had started talking about these sorts of questions sooner and the book had explored those sorts of questions more.
I appreciated the fact that the book wasn't just a tirade against drug companies. The author acknowledges the fact that these drugs are a big help to many people that might otherwise not be able to fully function in society. She touches on the question of when is a drug needed and when will time take care of a problem, but she doesn't explore it enough. I felt like she mingled people with serious problems like debilitating depression and OCD and those with less serious depression or anxiety over specific situations too much. Her questions and concerns would have been clearer if she addressed those groups of people in separate chapters.
I very much like the last chapter or two in the book where she starts to fully ask questions such as "Are we pathologizing normal feelings?" and "Why are so many more Americans on anti-depressants than Europeans?" and "Could the nature of our society be as much of a cause of depression as chemical imbalances." I wish she had started talking about these sorts of questions sooner and the book had explored those sorts of questions more.
November 6, 2014
Unlike Andrew Solomon's "The Noonday Demon," this thoughtful exploration of depression and some of its treatments mostly focuses on the questions surrounding the use of antidepressants for those whose symptoms and situations allow for the contemplation of such questions. Throughout the course of the book, the author becomes fully aware that the use of prescription antidepressants is not a choice for many, no matter what the possible long-term effects of the drug(s) may prove to be. But Sharpe doesn't hide the fact that this is a slow and unfolding realization, even to her. And she certainly doesn't shy away from any criticisms of her own relative privilege in that arena, nor does she pretend to come to a definitive answer about any of the questions she raises--questions about the stigma surrounding mental illness and mood disorders, the proliferation of consumer-facing prescription drug ads, the effectiveness of talk therapy, and the range of human emotions. Instead, what she offers is an open, honest conversation about the myriad ways that being prescribed and taking a certain class of drug can shape a person's view of and relationship with herself.
April 3, 2013
Fascinating. If you've ever taken (or take), or know someone who takes/en anti-depressants, it is well worth the read. Thoroughly researched, if a little awkwardly presented at times. She includes a lot of quotes/testimonials from people she interviewed throughout her research, and they all begin to run together. I can't remember from one chapter to another who "Kate" or "Adam" was, so when they are suddenly referenced, I had no context. It didn't matter to make her point, but it was a consistent stumbling point. The author herself took antidepressants for many years, and it was interesting to watch her perceptions of use switch between what she thought in her late teens/early college years to when she was an adult and also seeking behavioral therapy treatment. The interviews served a very strong purpose when they were with people on another end of the spectrum (ie chronically depressed, versus "typical" depression), as it showed perspective and depth to her thinking. Would recommend.
June 25, 2012
I am so glad that Katherine wrote this book. Finally, there's a book about anti-depressants, that embraces my experience as a depressive. I think that a lot of people could benefit from reading this. Katherine talks about the power and the ambivalence that many of us experience in regards to anti-depressants. She talks about the rise of antidepressants and how they became more popular and why. She talks about how life circumstances can propel people towards antidepressants, how depression can come about and change, and the struggle that people have with finding the right medication.
One thing that I thought was good was the emphasis on therapy. I'm a firm believer that antidepressants are a tool- not the solution and that therapy and life changes and monitoring are also necessary.
I am so glad that this book was written. I recommend it highly and think that anyone who has ever had to use antidepressants should read it.
One thing that I thought was good was the emphasis on therapy. I'm a firm believer that antidepressants are a tool- not the solution and that therapy and life changes and monitoring are also necessary.
I am so glad that this book was written. I recommend it highly and think that anyone who has ever had to use antidepressants should read it.
September 22, 2012
I was really excited to read this book because it seemed to be centered around a vital and controversial issue that is not only pertinent to those with mental health concerns, but to everyone.
The author tries to write from a very informed perspective, but anyone who has researched SSRIs extensively can tell that most of her "evidence" is hokey at best. Even evidence from reliable sources is clearly not always well-understood by the author.
The anecdotes and interviews were not compelling for me, which I believe is due to the author's presentation rather than the stories themselves.
Overall, it was quite a disappointment for me and very difficult to get through (it took me about 3 months to convince myself to finish it). The entire novel felt too distant and like the author was trying too hard.
The author tries to write from a very informed perspective, but anyone who has researched SSRIs extensively can tell that most of her "evidence" is hokey at best. Even evidence from reliable sources is clearly not always well-understood by the author.
The anecdotes and interviews were not compelling for me, which I believe is due to the author's presentation rather than the stories themselves.
Overall, it was quite a disappointment for me and very difficult to get through (it took me about 3 months to convince myself to finish it). The entire novel felt too distant and like the author was trying too hard.
July 15, 2012
Eh: first 25% is good, historical information and whatnot, then it devolves into random snippets of personal accounts amidst the author's oh-so-average I was depressed as a teen, I didn't know what I wanted to do, I went on and off meds as my life went up and down. Skimmed the rest, more of same. The brief touch on ADHD meds was far more interesting to me (special educator, elementary), but was the briefest of touches while talking about US's embrace of meds and multiple meds while dispensing with counseling/talk therapy. Maybe someone with correlating experiences would find more of a connection to it but it was just another girl's fairly uninteresting growing up story masquerading as a sociological essay.
May 2, 2016
Absolutely a phenomenal read. Anyone interested in the rise in antidepressant and related medications in youth in the 1990s and 2000s should read this book. Part memoir, part sociological cross-section of society, this was a beautifully put-together book on the complexities of treating mental illness, both with medications, with therapy, and with a combination of the two. It focuses on young people being treated with medications and how it impacts the quest all young people go on to find themselves. It is carefully done and covers all opinions and facets. Marvelous book. Researched and digestible. I would assign this book in a social work & mental health 101 or a psychology 101 class for sure.
August 1, 2017
As a person who has dealt with depression from a really early age and has been treating it with different antidepressants and anti-psychotics this book really makes me feel like I am not alone and the thoughts and fears that I have had on my own without sharing were touched in this book and it really made me breathe a sigh of relief. I think anyone who has thought of, or does use any drugs to help with mental illness should take the time to read this book.
I think it is a book that I will be recommending for a long time.
I think it is a book that I will be recommending for a long time.
September 10, 2016
It got a little long towards the end but overall very thorough and accurate description of the rise of antidepressant use among teenagers and young adults. As someone roughly the same age as the author I felt particularly akin to the story she tells. Great analysis and call for attention to the way we use antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication in the US (which is significantly higher than other countries). Are we using drugs to mask and deal with a reality that isn't making anyone happy?
May 12, 2013
An informative read on the ethnics of taking anti depressants. Enlightening to learn about the increasing trends of anti depressant usage in recent times. The perspectives of those who have been using anti depressants for long periods of time is also interesting. The questions on identity and ability of anti depressants to change the chemistry of ones brain has also been discussed in depth. All in all, a really insightful read. :')
December 9, 2013
In the middle of college, Katherine Sharpe admits to a crowd of friends that she's taking anti depressants, and is astonished to learn that many of them have also been prescribed various mood lifters. The book takes a look at the history of antidepressants and various other therapies, interspersed with first person accounts from young people who have been helped and hindered by various medications. I thought it was really well researched and I learned a lot while reading it.
January 10, 2014
Very insightful interesting read but I was very disappointed that she blatantly leaves out the biological and hormonal causes of depression for adolescent girls. There's an entire chapter on gender issues and how developing identity and self esteem contributes to depression in the formative years and why that may be why depression often first appears during puberty but nothing, nothing?!?! on how hormonal changes might also be a cause. That's a huge error in my view.
August 15, 2012
I wish I could give this 2.5 stars. The end sort of veers off into other pharmaceutical issues, and it wasn't until 3/4 of the way through that she acknowledged that the esoteric questions she was asking about meds were luxuries, compared to those who needed the drugs to function and live. Mixed feelings all around about this one.
June 2, 2017
Fantastic book!! I ploughed through this in no time. I can't say how much it means to connect with Katherine's story. I picked this up from my local library as I have decided to begin the tapering process off of the SNRI I've been on for 7 years. and it began much the same as Katherine's. This book is special and sheds a lot of light on so many things for me. thank you thank you thank you!!!
August 25, 2012
This book gave me anxiety too much going on.
September 11, 2024
A YOUNG WOMAN'S STORY (PLUS THOSE OF OTHERS) OF TEN YEARS ON ANTIDEPRESSANTS
The author wrote in the Introduction to this 2012 book, "This is a book about what it's like to grow up on antidepressants. It attempts a faithful description of an activity that has become remarkably common---using antidepressants as a teenager or young adult---but still engenders intense, complicated, and often conflicted feelings... It is also an experience that can be substantially different for a young person than it is for an adult... I ended up taking antidepressants for most of ten years, and the story of that unfolding relationship---during which my perspective on myself, on medication, and on the nature of health all changed significantly---is part of what structures this book...
"In order to write this book, I interviewed forty people, ranging in age from eighteen to forty, about their own experiences... and I corresponded by e-mail with about a dozen more... Stories like the ones collected here may help us to a more realistic assessment of what antidepressants can and can't do, when they are a good idea, and when the detriments outweigh the benefits."
After starting to take Zoloft, he recalls, "And then one day, Zoloft started to work... A day or two later, I stopped crying just like that... [I] walked out into the street, surprised to find myself thinking about something other than life, death, the infinite... for the first time in weeks they didn't seem any more interesting than anything else... I began to feel less anxious---about everything: not just free of my recent panic, but calmer in every single realm of my life... but even afterwards, I held onto the worry that some deep and necessary inner balance might have been shifted, and that the consequences... would be bad." (Pg. 27-28)
She later notes, "When I began to conduct interviews for this book, I realized that I was far from the only antidepressant user who described feeling different from a young age." (Pg. 55) She adds, "everyone I interviewed for this book ... received a diagnosis... Getting a 'label' is an important step. Not only does it usher one into the world of pill-taking, but... it also has a bearing on one's sense of identity...
"About half of the people I talked to found getting a diagnosis to be an enormous relief... Thinking of their problems as concrete and physical allowed them to say, at last, 'It's not my fault!' They also mentioned the benefits of feeling like they were part of a group, and of finally having an explanation for a set of feelings that had once seemed frighteningly strange." (Pg. 67-68)
She observes, "Therapy didn't convince me that antidepressants were useless, but it did move me toward a more specific estimation of the things they can and can't do... But as I continued in therapy, I saw more clearly that there were things I had needed for a long time, as much or more than I needed drugs. Antidepressants had gotten me moving, but they hadn't given me the sense of direction I craved... I found in antidepressants a perfect reason for questioning whether the things I did were real, or whether I truly deserved credit for them." (Pg. 158-159)
She later adds, "combination therapy makes a certain kind of intuitive sense, particularly in cases of severe depression. Someone who's stuck deep in a rut of ruminative thoughts or lacks the energy for basic self-care is less likely to benefit from psychotherapy than somebody else who has a bit of energy for the struggle." (Pg. 174-175) She concludes, "I am a big believer in therapy. I think it offers a unique set of benefits that often make it a wise addition to medication... It's worrisome, then, to watch therapy's decline relative to antidepressants." (Pg. 181-182)
She summarizes, "you might ask... what's the harm?... The first is ... the idea of a 'culture of silence.' Keeping quiet with peers reinforces unrealistic expectations... so they assume that their own bad feelings must be abnormal... Second, medications can harm if the hurried approach to recovery that they represent discourages students from taking a deeper look at what's wrong... Third, psychiatric medication teaches students to look for the source of their pain inside of themselves, not in the world they live in... Finally, the question of criticizing the world... is especially important in light of the fact that a majority of the young people who use antidepressants are girls." (Pg. 271-273)
This is a fascinating, very personal, and insightful book that will be of great interest to anyone concerned with the effects of psychopharmaceutical drugs.
The author wrote in the Introduction to this 2012 book, "This is a book about what it's like to grow up on antidepressants. It attempts a faithful description of an activity that has become remarkably common---using antidepressants as a teenager or young adult---but still engenders intense, complicated, and often conflicted feelings... It is also an experience that can be substantially different for a young person than it is for an adult... I ended up taking antidepressants for most of ten years, and the story of that unfolding relationship---during which my perspective on myself, on medication, and on the nature of health all changed significantly---is part of what structures this book...
"In order to write this book, I interviewed forty people, ranging in age from eighteen to forty, about their own experiences... and I corresponded by e-mail with about a dozen more... Stories like the ones collected here may help us to a more realistic assessment of what antidepressants can and can't do, when they are a good idea, and when the detriments outweigh the benefits."
After starting to take Zoloft, he recalls, "And then one day, Zoloft started to work... A day or two later, I stopped crying just like that... [I] walked out into the street, surprised to find myself thinking about something other than life, death, the infinite... for the first time in weeks they didn't seem any more interesting than anything else... I began to feel less anxious---about everything: not just free of my recent panic, but calmer in every single realm of my life... but even afterwards, I held onto the worry that some deep and necessary inner balance might have been shifted, and that the consequences... would be bad." (Pg. 27-28)
She later notes, "When I began to conduct interviews for this book, I realized that I was far from the only antidepressant user who described feeling different from a young age." (Pg. 55) She adds, "everyone I interviewed for this book ... received a diagnosis... Getting a 'label' is an important step. Not only does it usher one into the world of pill-taking, but... it also has a bearing on one's sense of identity...
"About half of the people I talked to found getting a diagnosis to be an enormous relief... Thinking of their problems as concrete and physical allowed them to say, at last, 'It's not my fault!' They also mentioned the benefits of feeling like they were part of a group, and of finally having an explanation for a set of feelings that had once seemed frighteningly strange." (Pg. 67-68)
She observes, "Therapy didn't convince me that antidepressants were useless, but it did move me toward a more specific estimation of the things they can and can't do... But as I continued in therapy, I saw more clearly that there were things I had needed for a long time, as much or more than I needed drugs. Antidepressants had gotten me moving, but they hadn't given me the sense of direction I craved... I found in antidepressants a perfect reason for questioning whether the things I did were real, or whether I truly deserved credit for them." (Pg. 158-159)
She later adds, "combination therapy makes a certain kind of intuitive sense, particularly in cases of severe depression. Someone who's stuck deep in a rut of ruminative thoughts or lacks the energy for basic self-care is less likely to benefit from psychotherapy than somebody else who has a bit of energy for the struggle." (Pg. 174-175) She concludes, "I am a big believer in therapy. I think it offers a unique set of benefits that often make it a wise addition to medication... It's worrisome, then, to watch therapy's decline relative to antidepressants." (Pg. 181-182)
She summarizes, "you might ask... what's the harm?... The first is ... the idea of a 'culture of silence.' Keeping quiet with peers reinforces unrealistic expectations... so they assume that their own bad feelings must be abnormal... Second, medications can harm if the hurried approach to recovery that they represent discourages students from taking a deeper look at what's wrong... Third, psychiatric medication teaches students to look for the source of their pain inside of themselves, not in the world they live in... Finally, the question of criticizing the world... is especially important in light of the fact that a majority of the young people who use antidepressants are girls." (Pg. 271-273)
This is a fascinating, very personal, and insightful book that will be of great interest to anyone concerned with the effects of psychopharmaceutical drugs.
August 18, 2020
Not my typical read, but I was drawn to it for the close comparison I felt between the author's background and my own in regards to medication. I started Zoloft in my first year of university, struggling with anxiety and depression. It was given to me without hesitation by my GP. Worst decision of my life. I have been on it 10 years now and have had a couple unsuccessful attempts at getting off it. Unlike Sharpe, I suffered severe withdrawal symptoms including heart palpitations, panic attacks, sensory distortion, and chronic lightheadedness. All of this led me to have to take a leave of absence from work as I couldn't get out of bed, much less do anything but sleep. I had several ER visits due to my symptoms before being put back on it.
While I commend Sharpe for opening up the conversation about medication (and I admit reading about the background of it was interesting), I think where she missed the mark for me is in her lack of discussion about prolonged withdrawals and the severity of them (some symptoms can last a year or longer). Most of the interviews seemed to end in "talk therapy helped, got off meds, few small symptoms for a couple weeks, all is good, yay." It became very repetitive reading all these cases and definitely made me feel worse about my own situation. However, I know I'm not alone. Simple internet searches will provide you with enough cases of people experiencing withdrawal like my own.
I do believe we live in a world where mental health is dealt with reactively rather than proactively, resulting in prescription meds being doled out to the masses in startling numbers. These prescriptions create addictions and the fight to break free from them feels futile. I thought this book would explore that struggle but it focused more on positive personal experiences from people who've quit the meds either through their own sheer will power or with the help of talk therapy. The more the book went on it felt less informative and more like a conversation that tried to convince the audience to "join us in our med free life, it's easier than you think!"
1 star for writing about the topic and another 1 star for the research that went into the book. I wouldn't recommend to anyone on medication that is having difficulty getting off them. I think it will only leave you feeling unfulfilled and with less positivity than you had when you opened the book.
While I commend Sharpe for opening up the conversation about medication (and I admit reading about the background of it was interesting), I think where she missed the mark for me is in her lack of discussion about prolonged withdrawals and the severity of them (some symptoms can last a year or longer). Most of the interviews seemed to end in "talk therapy helped, got off meds, few small symptoms for a couple weeks, all is good, yay." It became very repetitive reading all these cases and definitely made me feel worse about my own situation. However, I know I'm not alone. Simple internet searches will provide you with enough cases of people experiencing withdrawal like my own.
I do believe we live in a world where mental health is dealt with reactively rather than proactively, resulting in prescription meds being doled out to the masses in startling numbers. These prescriptions create addictions and the fight to break free from them feels futile. I thought this book would explore that struggle but it focused more on positive personal experiences from people who've quit the meds either through their own sheer will power or with the help of talk therapy. The more the book went on it felt less informative and more like a conversation that tried to convince the audience to "join us in our med free life, it's easier than you think!"
1 star for writing about the topic and another 1 star for the research that went into the book. I wouldn't recommend to anyone on medication that is having difficulty getting off them. I think it will only leave you feeling unfulfilled and with less positivity than you had when you opened the book.
January 2, 2015
Once, I sat in the office of a new psychiatrist, who asked about a very personal incident in my childhood. Like pushing upon a bruise, I felt the pain all over again, and immediately began crying. She picked up her prescription pad and said, "I'm prescribing an antidepressant."
I was surprised. "You think I'm depressed?" I asked. "But I'm here for anxiety and OCD."
"You're crying," she said, looking surprised. "Of course you're depressed."
In Coming of Age on Zoloft, Katherine Sharpe had similar issues with her diagnosis of depression in college. Unlike me, she didn't trash the prescription as soon as she walked out the door and call someone who would listen before diagnosing; instead, she embarked on nine years of on-and-off use of antidepressants.
In this book, Sharpe focuses particularly upon young adults, particularly those who recently completed college, who struggle to understand their depression in the context of their identity. Who am I without my pills? How much of this is me, and how much is it the medication?
While Sharpe does not discount the value of medication for some people, she firmly believes, based on her own experience, that talk therapy is much more effective. "Antidepressants had gotten me moving, but they hadn't given me the sense of direction I craved," she writes. "They had picked me up, but they hadn't made me more self-confident in any meaningful way."
Sharpe makes a lot of excellent points about the over-diagnosis of depression and anxiety. But, it seems to me, in her pursuit of that thesis, she overlooks the many people who have found solace in medicating mental illness.
This book doesn't fit neatly into one genre--is it memoir? reporting? a collection of interviews?--and so to some extent it suffers from the identity crisis. I was never quite sure what to expect from a chapter; I would find myself pulled in by a study, and feel frustrated to move on to Sharpe's specific experiences and conclusions.
My frustration, I think, stems from the limitations of those experiences and conclusions. Because this is a memoir, she's able to guide her reporting according to her experiences. CBT didn't work for her, and so she speaks of it almost snobbishly: "My sense now is that CBT and psychodynamic therapy cover a lot of the same ground, but pyschodynamic therapy tills deeper." It left me wondering about the many people who have benefitted from CBT--not to mention those who are alive and well today because of their (often long-term) use of antidepressants. Just because something didn't work for Sharpe, doesn't mean it's not a lifesaving intervention for someone else--a point that she acknowledges throughout the book, but then moves on to make strong conclusions about mental health based on her experiences.
At first, I wasn't sure about the extensive use of interviews - I was surprised to see them in what I thought was a memoir. But soon, the varied experiences of other people, in their own words, became the best part of the book for me. So often, depression is an isolating experience, and so hearing from so many different people about their interpretation of the same condition was very heartening.
Of all the interviews Sharpe recounts, her conversation with James, a 32-year-old web developer, displays my thoughts about this book the best. When he recounts his crippling experience of depression, Sharpe reflects that the main questions she's pursuing in the book--Do antidepressants shape who I am? Am I really sick?--are "luxury questions." She writes: "Worrying about the finer points of antidepressant use, like what it means to your sense of self, is a privilege denied to those for whom the pills never fulfill their basic promise in the first place. And they are not likely to be top concerns for people who are dealing with a whole other order of problem." I'm glad Sharpe relates this insight. I'm the last person to judge whether Sharpe was "really" depressed and whether she "needed" to go on antidepressants. But often, as she made sweeping statements about the value of pills, particularly compared to talk therapy, I wondered about those who are truly, deeply paralyzed by depression. This book, I'm afraid, would be rather off-putting for them; it is, Sharpe points out, geared more toward those who fall somewhere between sick and well--not so depressed such that medication is the only clear answer, but not so well that they don't question whether a pill might help.
When she writes about uncertainty knowing your "true self" on antidepressants, she gives short shrift to those for whom antidepressants have been a vehicle to discover themselves more fully. She mentions that her respondents might be skewed in a similar direction to herself--after all, she's asking all the questions, and she clearly has a certain point of view. But I thought she could have spent more time on the way depression--not medication--can obscure one's personality and interests. I wanted to here more from the other side, of those who felt a new freedom on medication to explore who they really are.
Furthermore, when she interviews those who say antidepressants made them feel isolated and unknowable, I couldn't help but wonder how much of that is adolescence itself. Who doesn't feel estranged from the rest of the world in high school?
I found the discussion of pharmaceutical marketing fascinating. I hadn't realized that before 1997, drug companies could not market directly to consumers in the U.S., and that in Europe direct-to-consumer marketing is still illegal. In fact, I wondered if perhaps Sharpe should have written a book about pharmaceutical marketing--that seems to be her main beef with easy diagnoses of depression, and she comes across as quite cynical about pharmaceutical companies.
Yet I found myself agreeing more with the words of one of Sharpe's interviewees, Anastasia: "I mean, I think that pharmaceutical companies are very interesting in f***ing people; I don't believe they're these benevolent forces. On the other hand, I'm looking out for myself... if my goal is to function, then I'm going to use what I can from them to the best of my ability."
As I discovered in my encounter with the prescription-happy psychiatrist, some doctors are more eager to prescribe pills to solve problems than to talk through the issues at heart--and that can be a serious problem, especially as antidepressant use rises.
It is good and useful to question an orthodoxy of medication in psychiatry, especially as concerns children and young adults who are still developing, both physically and emotionally. But the blend of the personal and the factual in this book constantly made me question the limits of Sharpe's experience and the prevalence of her opinion throughout the book. However, it was plenty of food for thought, and I particularly enjoyed discussing this book at book club!
I was surprised. "You think I'm depressed?" I asked. "But I'm here for anxiety and OCD."
"You're crying," she said, looking surprised. "Of course you're depressed."
In Coming of Age on Zoloft, Katherine Sharpe had similar issues with her diagnosis of depression in college. Unlike me, she didn't trash the prescription as soon as she walked out the door and call someone who would listen before diagnosing; instead, she embarked on nine years of on-and-off use of antidepressants.
In this book, Sharpe focuses particularly upon young adults, particularly those who recently completed college, who struggle to understand their depression in the context of their identity. Who am I without my pills? How much of this is me, and how much is it the medication?
While Sharpe does not discount the value of medication for some people, she firmly believes, based on her own experience, that talk therapy is much more effective. "Antidepressants had gotten me moving, but they hadn't given me the sense of direction I craved," she writes. "They had picked me up, but they hadn't made me more self-confident in any meaningful way."
Sharpe makes a lot of excellent points about the over-diagnosis of depression and anxiety. But, it seems to me, in her pursuit of that thesis, she overlooks the many people who have found solace in medicating mental illness.
This book doesn't fit neatly into one genre--is it memoir? reporting? a collection of interviews?--and so to some extent it suffers from the identity crisis. I was never quite sure what to expect from a chapter; I would find myself pulled in by a study, and feel frustrated to move on to Sharpe's specific experiences and conclusions.
My frustration, I think, stems from the limitations of those experiences and conclusions. Because this is a memoir, she's able to guide her reporting according to her experiences. CBT didn't work for her, and so she speaks of it almost snobbishly: "My sense now is that CBT and psychodynamic therapy cover a lot of the same ground, but pyschodynamic therapy tills deeper." It left me wondering about the many people who have benefitted from CBT--not to mention those who are alive and well today because of their (often long-term) use of antidepressants. Just because something didn't work for Sharpe, doesn't mean it's not a lifesaving intervention for someone else--a point that she acknowledges throughout the book, but then moves on to make strong conclusions about mental health based on her experiences.
At first, I wasn't sure about the extensive use of interviews - I was surprised to see them in what I thought was a memoir. But soon, the varied experiences of other people, in their own words, became the best part of the book for me. So often, depression is an isolating experience, and so hearing from so many different people about their interpretation of the same condition was very heartening.
Of all the interviews Sharpe recounts, her conversation with James, a 32-year-old web developer, displays my thoughts about this book the best. When he recounts his crippling experience of depression, Sharpe reflects that the main questions she's pursuing in the book--Do antidepressants shape who I am? Am I really sick?--are "luxury questions." She writes: "Worrying about the finer points of antidepressant use, like what it means to your sense of self, is a privilege denied to those for whom the pills never fulfill their basic promise in the first place. And they are not likely to be top concerns for people who are dealing with a whole other order of problem." I'm glad Sharpe relates this insight. I'm the last person to judge whether Sharpe was "really" depressed and whether she "needed" to go on antidepressants. But often, as she made sweeping statements about the value of pills, particularly compared to talk therapy, I wondered about those who are truly, deeply paralyzed by depression. This book, I'm afraid, would be rather off-putting for them; it is, Sharpe points out, geared more toward those who fall somewhere between sick and well--not so depressed such that medication is the only clear answer, but not so well that they don't question whether a pill might help.
When she writes about uncertainty knowing your "true self" on antidepressants, she gives short shrift to those for whom antidepressants have been a vehicle to discover themselves more fully. She mentions that her respondents might be skewed in a similar direction to herself--after all, she's asking all the questions, and she clearly has a certain point of view. But I thought she could have spent more time on the way depression--not medication--can obscure one's personality and interests. I wanted to here more from the other side, of those who felt a new freedom on medication to explore who they really are.
Furthermore, when she interviews those who say antidepressants made them feel isolated and unknowable, I couldn't help but wonder how much of that is adolescence itself. Who doesn't feel estranged from the rest of the world in high school?
I found the discussion of pharmaceutical marketing fascinating. I hadn't realized that before 1997, drug companies could not market directly to consumers in the U.S., and that in Europe direct-to-consumer marketing is still illegal. In fact, I wondered if perhaps Sharpe should have written a book about pharmaceutical marketing--that seems to be her main beef with easy diagnoses of depression, and she comes across as quite cynical about pharmaceutical companies.
Yet I found myself agreeing more with the words of one of Sharpe's interviewees, Anastasia: "I mean, I think that pharmaceutical companies are very interesting in f***ing people; I don't believe they're these benevolent forces. On the other hand, I'm looking out for myself... if my goal is to function, then I'm going to use what I can from them to the best of my ability."
As I discovered in my encounter with the prescription-happy psychiatrist, some doctors are more eager to prescribe pills to solve problems than to talk through the issues at heart--and that can be a serious problem, especially as antidepressant use rises.
It is good and useful to question an orthodoxy of medication in psychiatry, especially as concerns children and young adults who are still developing, both physically and emotionally. But the blend of the personal and the factual in this book constantly made me question the limits of Sharpe's experience and the prevalence of her opinion throughout the book. However, it was plenty of food for thought, and I particularly enjoyed discussing this book at book club!
June 15, 2023
In "Coming Of Age On Zoloft," Katherine Sharpe describes her experiences with the mental healthcare system in the U.S. in the early 2000's- though this book is only partially about her own experiences.
In "Coming Of Age On Zoloft," Ms. Sharpe describes some of the gross inadequacies in the ways that psychologists and psychiatrists in the U.S. routinely interact with their patients, and this can lead to misdiagnoses.
Katherine Sharpe does a beautiful job describing how many doctors routinely end up damaging patients because they're relying far too heavily on medications. She describes how doctors expect medications to somehow magically solve everything, how doctors routinely overprescribe certain medications, and how doctors routinely fail to notice that some of the behaviors that they're observing in their patients are likely very natural responses to the society which we live in.
Ms. Sharpe also describes how in some situations, these same medications which are routinely overprescribed can be beneficial to some patients who are experiencing certain symptoms.
Prior to the 1990's, there were only a handful of books which addressed the gross inadequacies which are widespread within the mental healthcare system in the U.S. "Coming Of Age On Zoloft" is part of a growing body of literature in which people who have had negative experiences with the mental healthcare system in the U.S.
I'm writing this in 2023, by now there are rows of shelves in some bookstores which are filled with books which are very critical of the mental healthcare system in the U.S., and a number of the books which describe the problems which are present within the mental healthcare system in the U.S. discuss the very common phenomenon of doctors who expect medications to accomplish far more than the medications are actually capable of accomplishing, which usually creates problems rather than solving anything.
Unfortunately, the events which Ms. Sharpe describes are not at all unique, the events that the people whom we read about in this book experience are far too commonplace.
While the phenomena that Ms. Sharpe describes in this book are common, her approach to describing these phenomena as well as her wording style are quite unique.
Anyone who is interested in reading about the problems which are present within the mental healthcare system in the U.S. will want to read this book.
In "Coming Of Age On Zoloft," Ms. Sharpe describes some of the gross inadequacies in the ways that psychologists and psychiatrists in the U.S. routinely interact with their patients, and this can lead to misdiagnoses.
Katherine Sharpe does a beautiful job describing how many doctors routinely end up damaging patients because they're relying far too heavily on medications. She describes how doctors expect medications to somehow magically solve everything, how doctors routinely overprescribe certain medications, and how doctors routinely fail to notice that some of the behaviors that they're observing in their patients are likely very natural responses to the society which we live in.
Ms. Sharpe also describes how in some situations, these same medications which are routinely overprescribed can be beneficial to some patients who are experiencing certain symptoms.
Prior to the 1990's, there were only a handful of books which addressed the gross inadequacies which are widespread within the mental healthcare system in the U.S. "Coming Of Age On Zoloft" is part of a growing body of literature in which people who have had negative experiences with the mental healthcare system in the U.S.
I'm writing this in 2023, by now there are rows of shelves in some bookstores which are filled with books which are very critical of the mental healthcare system in the U.S., and a number of the books which describe the problems which are present within the mental healthcare system in the U.S. discuss the very common phenomenon of doctors who expect medications to accomplish far more than the medications are actually capable of accomplishing, which usually creates problems rather than solving anything.
Unfortunately, the events which Ms. Sharpe describes are not at all unique, the events that the people whom we read about in this book experience are far too commonplace.
While the phenomena that Ms. Sharpe describes in this book are common, her approach to describing these phenomena as well as her wording style are quite unique.
Anyone who is interested in reading about the problems which are present within the mental healthcare system in the U.S. will want to read this book.
January 5, 2022
What is the authentic you? Anyone who has taken, or considered taking, antidepressent medications are bound to ask that question.
Coming of Age on Zoloft is a thoughtful book on the author's and the society's ambivalence towards the medicalization of mental illness, especially depression. Speaking from personal experience, Katherine Sharpe, presents a cautionary view on the use of pills to treat depression, especially for adolescents and children. Stepping lightly here is good advice.
The author is unnecessarily dismissive towards Cognitive Behavior treatment as a talk therapy for depression. In constrast, she favors more costly and labor-intensive talk therapies which insurance typically does not cover (at least not to the extent needed for effective treatment). As wonderful a personal journey as the latter may be, it is not reasonable to expect insurance companies (and by proxy, society) to pay for that journey.
Coming of Age on Zoloft is a thoughtful book on the author's and the society's ambivalence towards the medicalization of mental illness, especially depression. Speaking from personal experience, Katherine Sharpe, presents a cautionary view on the use of pills to treat depression, especially for adolescents and children. Stepping lightly here is good advice.
The author is unnecessarily dismissive towards Cognitive Behavior treatment as a talk therapy for depression. In constrast, she favors more costly and labor-intensive talk therapies which insurance typically does not cover (at least not to the extent needed for effective treatment). As wonderful a personal journey as the latter may be, it is not reasonable to expect insurance companies (and by proxy, society) to pay for that journey.
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