Thread by @erikaheidewald

We have to stop rejecting arguments like these by equating them to toxic positivity arguments like “depression isn’t real! Just decide to be happy!” They are NOT the same argument and they’re never being made by the same people. That binary thinking is destroying mental health

https://twitter.com/iwritecoolstuff/status/1371820387986718726

You don’t have to read this thread and throw your anti-depressants in the trash and do mindfulness exercises instead. You also don’t have to read their thread and immediately reject it as denying your personal experience, misinformation (OP is FAR from uninformed), or “dangerous”

You can read their thread and *not immediately form a judgment on it at all.* You can and - for most of you - probably should recognize it as part of a worldview you don’t know enough about and use it as a jumping-off point to further educate yourself.

TW: suicide

Personally, I have had some good experiences where anti-depressants and mood stabilizers kept me from killing myself when otherwise the chances were very good that one day the rational part of my brain that told me not to wouldn’t have been loud enough to stop me.

I’ve also had this experience at other times, I did feel somewhat lobotomized, and I was unable to access enough of my real feelings to see what situations I needed to get out of. I ended up going off that one bc I was so out of touch with my body that it stressed me out a lot

https://twitter.com/iwritecoolstuff/status/1371820402129973250

TW: suicide When I was in that suicidal place and was helped by meds, I was also not recognized as autistic and a lot of my problems came from 1) not knowing, and 2) systemic oppression of autistic people. Diagnosis wouldn’t have solved the second problem.

I’m actually glad now that I wasn’t diagnosed then because I think it would have kept me from recognizing the full scale of the second problem. I don’t even regret the depression I experienced because it was mostly caused by recognizing systemic oppression & cruelty (& death).

It’s rational as a ND person to feel depressed in a world with this much cruelty that you can FEEL. What are you supposed to do? Be happy we live in a cruel hierarchy that uses people and throws them away like trash? Yes we have to get through it. We have to survive.

It’s good to be critical and analytical of the solutions the same world that oppresses us presents to us to fix the effects of that oppression. Use what helps you. Decline the rest. Don’t angrily reject people who question the oppressor’s solutions. We are not fighting *you.*

The people telling you that you don’t need meds and should be able to handle this on your own ARE ALSO OPPRESSORS. Those pro and anti meds people are on the same fucking side because they’re both saying your brain is what must be fixed, society is not.

The people who criticize meds as tools of the oppressor aren’t saying you should be able to handle this society on your own! They’re saying you shouldn’t have to handle this society at all because this society is wrong, cruel, oppressive, destructive, and hostile to your survival

The people criticizing society are saying that no matter what kind of brain you have, no matter its tendencies and difficulties and strengths, society is harming that brain and it must be stopped. Life doesn’t have to be like this. This isn’t the only way. We can & must change it

I don’t necessarily have all the same opinions as OP on meds and I’m going to keep taking Wellbutrin bc I’m happy & not experiencing side effects & my brain is sharp as shit right now. But I’m glad they’re sharing these opinions and I might change some of mine over time bc of it