Mozart on Prozac

My not so little circle of friends, relatives, and acquaintances must constitute a "random sample" of the population. More than a few in this circle are taking some kind of anti-depressants.

A must read for people interested in the more extreme form of clinical depression is William Styron's book, "Darkness Visible". He was saved from the BLACK ABYSS by the RIGHT anti-depressant drug in just the right doses. You might ask if the drug affected his artistic sensitivity. But in any case he was pitifully non-functional in the extreme depressed state.

What may be alarming is the number of people taking anti-depressants just to cope with everyday life. Thinking about the individuals I know who admit needing them, I sense a certain loss of edge. I hear about things in their life that would simply break my heart if they were my burden.

Isn't it just better to FEEL? I reflect. To feel SAD is sometimes better for you than simply feeling in control. If a person is in some CREATIVE line of work, he or she has simply got to FEEL to produce anything. Feel HAPPY. Feel Sad. Feel Angry. Feel Miserable. Feel Hurt. Feel Jealous.

Is there a (my paranoia) CONSPIRACY to make the FEELING person obsolete? All this medication helps people to ADJUST and COPE when maybe if they LISTENED to their FEELINGS, they would REBEL instead.

Great ART may soon be a thing of the PAST because it is inspired by GREAT FEELING and indeed inspires GREAT FEELING. What modem music speaks to the soul?

Often when I begin to read a book or view a movie, I say to myself: "There is nobody here I can give a damn about because they arouse no FEELINGS, although they may "entertain". Can anybody imagine Mozart on PROZAC?