I'm a fan of mysteries, especially of the cozy variety. I really enjoyed the USA TV show "Monk" for about 2.5 seasons. Then came the episode "Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine." For those not familiar with it, the show follows Monk, a former San Francisco police detective who suffers from OCD. The death of his wife took him from being able to still function as a detective to non-functioning. He seems to be improving, and he has a nurse with him who helps monitor his condition and serves as a de facto Watson. In this particular episode, his psychiatrist prescribes a medication, with what the viewer is supposed to understand are disastrous results. His OCD is clearly cleared away, but he no longer cares at all about his work, and he can't remember his wife clearly anymore. So, he goes off the meds. (You can read a more detailed summary here.) This blew my enjoyment of the show, and I stopped watching not long after that.
This episode epitomized, for me, that the media seems so often to portray mental health medication as a bad thing. Monk was not himself on medication. Artists who take medication for mental health issues lose the ability to create. The message is that, if I take medication, I will not be myself. Yet medication and mental health issues are so much more complex than that.
Personally, I feel much more like myself on medication. I am not as obsessed with other people's opinions of me. It was like taking off a heavy coat. I am very, very lucky. First, I found a working medication with relatively little back-and-forth with the doctor. My side effects are relatively mild. My medication has continued to work. I have been able to deal with a lot of the issues that contribute to my depression. These things are not true for everybody. Some people have to try a number of different medications and combinations thereof. Some have to fiddle with dosages. Others have debilitating side effects, especially for those dealing with
schizophrenia. Some have medication that works for a time, then stops
working. Some have medication that work, but have difficulty in dealing with the non-physical aspects of their conditions, or with overcoming addictions or other bad habits formed as coping mechanisms prior to medication.
Another more insidious message from this episode is that people struggling with mental health issues have a choice. There's some magic formula that will cure them. If they aren't well, it's because they choose not to be well. Never mind if they haven't been able to find medication that works, or can't afford it, or have to deal with life-altering side-effects. This is, for me, a reflection of the message of "Just get over it." Everybody is down some times. Just get over it. Everybody is angry sometimes. Deal with it. Everybody feels a little nervous sometimes. What's the big deal?
Sure, I understand that the producer's probably didn't want to change the show's formula so drastically as to follow Monk as he starts to take back his life as he find a balance with his new medication. That wouldn't work for the very episodic format of the show. Yet the off-hand way that they treated the changes that the medication worked in his life also did not serve the many people who struggle with mental health issues.
