Don't Mess with Crazy People

I read an article in The Huffington Post that made me so mad I was actually shaking. So I emailed the editor. I'm gonna go ahead and just let the email speak for itself:

'To Whom it May Concern,

I recently read Melanie Curtin's article entitled, "Turning 30: 10 Things I Now Know About Getting Older".

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/melanie-curtin/turning-30-was-amazing_b_1520790.html

Despite the fact that articles about turning 30 are becoming as insipid as they are cliche, I decided to read the article. I myself am 28-years-old, so I'm always hoping to glean some self-congratulatory sense of value from these sorts of articles. Also, I'm a big fan of Huffington Post, and I generally really enjoy the pieces you publish/post. 

However, I made only made it to the second paragraph in the blog before I wanted to punch my PC. The first bullet point Ms.l Curtin makes reads:

"Since graduating, I've supported myself with limited credit card debt (<$6k) and without relying on things like antidepressants. This is probably a better track record than at least 40% of the American population. I'm going at life full-out, experiencing it all without numbing it or dumbing it down. Every day. That makes me proud."

Wow. "...relying on things like antidepressants."

Ms. Curtin seems to be of the opinion that the millions of Americans who require antidepressants do so because of an inherent personal weakness. That is just awesome. The Huffington Post just officially regressed to the 1950s by posting an article that blatantly implies that mental illness is the result of feeble-mindedness. She also implies through her use of the words "numbing it" (life) that those of us who do suffer from diagnosed diseases like depression or anxiety are only capable of coping by drugging ourselves up. According to Ms. Curtin, people with a legitimate depression are the lotus eaters of society, and she's damn proud that she's not one of them.

In case you haven't gathered by the tone of this email, I personally suffer from diagnosed depression. It is not a result of weakness. It is not due to irresponsibility. It is not an escape from the world. If anything, it has made me stronger. I've had to learn to fight tooth and nail to experience the happiness that others take for granted because I have a disease that affects my brain.

And yes, depression is a real disease. It's caused by my brain's inability to produce adequate levels of serotonin. It's not caused by my psyche's inability to handle reality (as Ms. Curtin so confidently declares). I no more "dumb down" my reality by taking antidepressants than a diabetic "dumbs down" their endocrine system by taking insulin.

Ms. Curtin's article is insulting, ignorant, and uninformed. People with mental illness struggle as much with their disease as they do with public opinion of it. And for someone with a readership like The Huffington Post to publish/post such grossly misinformed depictions of the disease has only served to exacerbate the struggle for acceptance for people like myself.

I am almost 30. I too have no credit card debt. I paid cash for a used car that I still drive despite the fact that it's now 12-years-old. I have a mortgage and a husband and a son. And yet I suffer from depression. I am highly functional and responsible, and the fact that I take medication for a legitimate disease is an earmark of that responsibility, not a detriment to it.

Ms. Curtin is so proud of herself for her many accomplishments. According to herself, she is worldly, professional, spiritual, enlightened, sensitive, and hot. It's just too bad she couldn't add "compassionate", "educated", "open-minded" or "kind" to the list. Because had she achieved any of those things, she wouldn't have made such ignorant and harmful comments.

I'm very disappointed in Ms. Curtin and The Huffington Post.

Sincerely,

Claire Goodman'

I wanted to add, "PS: You're not hot", but I thought that cattiness might detract from the overall message.

Anyway, this is why you don't mess with crazy people. Because we send scathing emails.