Comment by tptacek
10 years ago
When someone on HN relates their personal experiences with a serious illness, there is no list of mitigating phrases you can apply that makes second-guessing or criticism of their handling of that illness civil. Please don't do that.
HN provides plenty of other venues for airing your feelings about medications; some of them are subthreads of this very story. Here, though, was just about the worst place you could have done that.
Why do you think that "personal experiences with a serious illness" are so special that any second-guessing or criticism is not appropriate?
Simply, that is not how compassionate, caring people respond to such stories in a polite, civilized society.
In this particular instance, a doctor chose to prescribe a drug based upon a person's complete set of symptoms and medical history. And, the person, knowing his or her own set of symptoms and history, chose to follow through and begin taking an anti-depressant. This was the result of a consultation between a victim and a medical professional. Another doctor would not criticize the prescription without doing a full work up. Who are you to criticize without doing the same?
Moreover, this is a mental illness and people who suffer from a mental illness deserve nothing but support. One of the 'joys' of depression is that while you are under the cloud, you are a master at criticizing yourself.
When you add in the stigma still attached to mental illness, simply telling a personal story requires huge amounts of bravery. If you criticize or second guess the story, you provide a strong reason to stay bottled up. This is the exact opposite of what our world needs right now.
In essence, carefully criticize the system not the victim.