Mother’s Little Helper

Why high antidepressant use in Utah?

Utah residents like their antidepressants. Maybe it’s something in the water?

Daniel K. Judd, a BYU professor, says, in effect, “its not our fault!”

This article seems a little too cheerleaderish and glazy (big surprise, Mormon church-owned paper). The elephant in the room that isn’t addressed is that there are reasons for the heavy usage of anti-depressants by Mormon women. And it doesn’t appear the church cares about them, based on this article. I think that would make a great graduate study. At the end of the article, there’s this gem, which will likely not get him fired because it’s not about a political wedge issue:

He also cautioned against perfectionism, acknowledging that LDS culture does lead some members to attempt too much.

“It’s not our theology that’s at fault,” he said during a question-and-answer session. “It’s our culture, at times. The doctrine isn’t, ‘Come unto me, all ye heavy laden, and I’ll give you more to do.’ ”

Mormons believe in a lay ministry, where everybody has a job to do. I think he’s dead right that the culture creates an impossible sense of perfectionism that is always hoped for but never achieved. Particularly in dense Mormon populations. I would imagine that is true of other religions as well. There’s a reason that Dana Carvey’s Church Lady resonated so well.

  • http://www.ozma.blogs.com ozma

    The sad truth is that there is high antidepressant use in women, period. It seems that what’s expected of Mormon women (I only went to Utah once–is constant chipperness one of these things?) is expected of women generally: The ability to maintain a state of high friendliness and cheerfulness is enough to drive most people insane. Many of our careers require this in some form or other. Americans in general, I think, have to be cheerful and friendly to such an excessive degree. It’s probably abnormal to be happy all the time. Easier just to medicate yourself. In the fifties it was amphetamines and tranquilizers. Now it’s prozac and zoloft.

    There’s the alpha male-types. They get to be assholes. So maybe they don’t need medication?

  • http://jenorama.com Jenorama

    God. That is *always* their rhetoric. The church is perfect, the people aren’t. Blah blah blah.

    ::Gets on soapbox::

    I take issue with the statement that the doctrine doesn’t promote this. For one thing, the church also teaches, “Endure to the end,” and part of that endurance means taking care of your church callings, your work, your family, and your own personal progress.

    If that isn’t heavy laden, I don’t know what is.

    There is very much the promotion of the idea (and if this isn’t doctrinal, then I would like to see the doctrine implement a strict change in the culture that teaches this in Sunday School, Sacrament Meeting, Primary, Young Adults, Relief Society, and Elders Quorum) that if you are living a *worthy* life and fulfilling all of the commandments, then you will be able to handle all that God gives you.

    I don’t know whether you (or any other LDS people reading this site) have ever read Charlie’s Monument, but the basic tenet of the book (and of Church Doctrine) is that God has given us all the unique talents we need to deal with everything that comes in our lives. That God will not give us more than we can handle. Ever.

    Maybe I am just naive or very obtuse, but if God has given us the toolbox to deal with every situation and will never give us more than we can handle (with the underlying warning that suicide is never justifiable, because you have to endure to the end, have all the talents you need, and God will never give you more than you can handle), then why should women need to take anti-depressants?

    But women do, because to suggest that you are overburdened is, in effect, to question doctrine that pointedly tells you that you can’t be.

    It’s bullshit rhetoric. The BYU may be correct that there is no doctrine specifically telling members to become overburdened. But in his soundbite, he neglected to mention that there IS doctrine that teaches that members CANNOT become overburdened. To become so suggests that God didn’t give you what you need to deal with your life– or that you are just not living a worthy enough life to receive God’s guidance.

    ::Gets off soapbox::

  • Leah

    I think that the sense of being overburdened and too busy comes not from specific sub-cultures such as religion, but from the American culture as a whole. We are so conditioned to think that more is better. More money, more things, etc. The busier you are, the more important you look. The businessman that has to squeeze a meeting with you into an empty square on his Blackberry is viewed as much more successful than the one that easily can accomodate you. It’s a much broader thing than just religion.

    But the real reason I commented was to share this with you. link to ajc​.com story on clogs.

  • Leah

    sorry, I didn’t read the note on no HTML. here’s the link:

    http://​tinyurl​.com/psc8c

  • http://www.hippestkid.com Be Still

    This story reminds me of my mom who takes Zoloft. When I asked her how she got started on it, she said that her job had been really stressful at one point and that it helped her deal with all the crying. I pointed out to her that maybe the real reason she was feeling better was because she had quit her job.

    She just looked at me and smiled her lovely Stepford Wife smile. I half expected her to sprout fangs and scream “Just leave me and my Zoloft alone!”

  • bomnomore

    I left the church for this very reason. If you are a perfectionist, like myself and most of my family, there is no end to what you are required to do by the church. Answering every call, fulfilling every promise and caring for every need of everyone around you can suck the very life out of you; every little moment with your children must be filled with spiritual guidance and teaching moments, you must never look less than honorable (i.e. My mother wouldn’t let us drink IBC rootbeer right out of the bottle because it looked like beer.…and that would be BAD), and there are 400 things per day that must be done to be a SAINT in the eyes of the “Lord” (and by Lord, I mean 70 rich white men). My wayward family members were ostercized, treated differently and often asked, “Don’t you want to live with us in Heaven one day?”. Why is it my Father in Heaven couldn’t just be happy that I was a good person, not killing or stealing and living a decent life? I had to take on all of the American ideals of how busy one is supposed to be and pile on the Mormon ideals of “Accept everything asked of you”, even if that sometimes meant completely neglecting my family or myself.

    I popped out children much too quickly, but was praised for it at every turn. What a strong and wonderful mormon woman I was to have 3 children in 4 years (starting at the age of 20 while still in school full time). It almost broke me. The only reason I’m still here is because I left the church and all of its perfectionist ideals(which can never be attained on this earth)behind me.

    I spiraled downward and almost went on depressants myself. My younger brother committed suicide at the age of 20 because he felt so unworthy to go on his mission he couldn’t go on living. He felt unworthy of the “Lord’s love”. or anyone else’s for that matter, on a constant basis because of the complex and unending requirements put out by the culture of the church. He couldn’t bear it and in his suicide note left, “It was not a hormonal imbalance. I am not bipolar. I am just not worthy.” He stood in front of a train going 45 mph.

    Also, aside from the daily requirements for women, the church has an incredible difficulty with abusive and repressive husbands, unfortunately. I would love to quote a statistic, but you know the church would never put those out. (Two of my bishop’s confessed to how much of a problem the church was having with abuse and pornography. Also, if you are mormon, think of how many times the prophet/apostles are beating the men with the “be good” stick and are just praising the women…) I had an abusive, 1950’s thinking husband and when I went to counsel with all of our 7 bishops about it, I was told to be a more supportive wife, pray more and read my scriptures with my husband. 8 other women in one of my wards was suffering from the same fate as me and were told the exact same thing. You unperfect woman, your husband is perfect and by default you must be subservient and prove yourself by supporting him. Its an “honorable” role to be a woman in the church.

    When I separated from my husband, committed an EMOTIONAL affair and confessed to the bishop, I was told I would be excommunicated. However, my husband in all of his abusive glory was offered counseling. (Which he never accepted)

    There is not a single word someone could utter to me to ever go back. Ever. I don’t want to have to treat my religion with prozac.

    If you’re depressed and mormon, put that prozac down! We have something for you! Be Agnostic for a while…it does wonders!!

    (Sorry for the long post.)

  • http://www.blurbomat.com blurb

    Thanks for sharing your story, bomnomore.