NO. NO, NO, NO, ROBIN HOBB. Mental illness is NOT the same thing as an "artistic temperament"! No, artistic temperment is not "often spelled 't e n d e n c y t o m a n i c d e p r e s s i o n'" AUGH SD:LFKJSD:LKJ JESUS FUCKING CHRIST STOP SPREADING THIS STUPID HARMFUL BULLSHIT MYTH, FUCK YOU.

FUCK.

YOU.

I'm sorry, I cannot bring myself to be civil about this anymore. I couldn't even read past the "often spelled 'tendency to manic depression'" part. This isn't a difference of opinion, this is just plain wrong and harmful. People suffer and DIE because of this insidious, disgusting, illogical bullshit.

It makes no SENSE. I don't understand why people have so much trouble wrapping their minds around the necessity of treating mental illness! Do you question people's need of their heart medication? Of their insulin? Then why do you persist in imagining that all mental illnesses are made up fantasies to - to - I don't even know what people imagine the purpose of making up mental illnesses is.

And where, for god's sake where did this myth that all psychoactive medications will BRUTALLY CRUSH AND SURGICALLY REMOVE your ~*~special snowflake artistic creativity~*~ get started? You would think the number of artists and writers who have taken them or currently take them and manage to keep producing art just fine would put some kind of a dent in this myth, but no! IT REFUSES TO DIE.

Yes, psychoactive meds are serious shit. They can have all sorts of unintended, serious consequences. Just like many, many other very necessary medications for a host of other illnesses. That is why you take them under the close supervision of a doctor! Just like with those other medications! The fact that they have potentially dangerous side effects doesn't mean that they aren't life-saving and necessary for many people to function!

And guess what? If you take a little pill that makes you go so blank you can't write/draw/what-have-you? YOU TELL YOUR FUCKING DOCTOR AND HE FUCKING CHANGES YOUR PRESCRIPTION. A prescription is not a life-sentence! Yes, I realize some patients with some of the more serious mental illnesses have trouble with losing their autonomy, and that is a scary problem that needs addressing, but people, if you have anxiety or depression or ADD or the like and you go to the doctor for help, the doctor is not going to shove pills down your throat and turn you into a -GASP- uncreative person against your will. He or she is going to work with you to find a solution that helps. That is a doctor's job. (And seriously, there are much more serious potential side-effects to watch out for than that. My god, people. Writer's block is not the end of the fucking world.)


...Wow, that rant was unexpected!


eta: avendya notes that actually, yes, people get questioned about their need for pain medication and insulin and so forth all the time, and it is a very good point. Just because people seem to have an especial mental block as to accepting mental illnesses being "real" illnesses deserving of treatment doesn't mean that society doesn't have a tendency to deny people's right to the treatment they need for any number of ailments, or that those ailments even exist.

I also want to note that I am aware there are very bad psychiatrists - doctors who will try to bully you into taking this or that, or not taking this or that, and ignore the patient's very valid reasons of why a certain course of treatment is not right for them, and I don't want to try and erase those who've had such experiences. This isn't any different than the rest of the medical field, and there are plenty of people with non-mental ailments who experience this sort of mistreatment as well. But that doesn't detract from the fact that many of us desperately need treatments for our ailments, whether mental or physical (false dichotomy, but I'm not sure of what wording to use other than that), and to discourage someone from seeking the help that they need goes beyond irresponsible into downright monstrous.

Also, I am unlocking this post, because so many people are raging about it publicly that I'm beginning to feel silly for having locked it in the first place.