What if Van Gogh Had Taken Prozac
What if Vincent Van Gogh, or other great artists had Prozac? Wouldn’t that have deprived us of the some of the greatest art of humankind? Would there have been no spirituals written by the slaves, no blues heard in the honky-tonks of New Orleans and Chicago if the artists had taken an anti-depressant. Would we have been deprived of the great music like the ninth symphony of Beethoven?
Peter Kramer, author of the book “LISTENING TO PROZAC” might surprise you. After his first book, the question was asked at every book presentation where he spoke. In his new book, AGAINST DEPRESSION, Dr. Kramer answers the question quite simply about Vincent Van Gogh. If he had been taking Prozac, he probably would not have committed suicide and would no doubt have many paintings that he would have created in his time.
Kramer suggests that depression is experienced in our culture as somehow heroic. But he suggests that comes from a history of our not knowing how to help people her were depressed. But now that it is a clearly a disease that effects the body in many ways, we need to treat it as such and relieve people of needless suffering. To see a review of Dr. Kramer’s book, AGAINST DEPRESSION: Click
Click Below For Other Articles by Dr. Walkup
What Depression Feels Like
Factors that Lead to Depression
Online Resource: PBS Special on Depression
