When 25-year-old Tracy Johnson was questioned by her doctor about whether she would be interested in SSRIs to treat her depression, she couldn’t have been more adamant about not wanting the drugs to change her personality, even though her personality is simply being depressed.
“I just feel like if I started taking Prozac or Lexapro, I would lose what really makes me unique,” Tracy says. “I mean, what exactly am I gonna do when I stop laying in bed for 20 hours a day? Go on a walk? Find a gratifying hobby?”
Friends of Tracy also explained their outlooks on the situation.
“I think it would be great for Tracy to go on antidepressants,” Sam Nicholls says. “Maybe then she would actually respond to our texts sometimes.”
But Tracy just doesn’t see the upside.
“Responding to texts?” she says. “That’s not my personality at all.”
“I’m mysterious, I’m sad,” Tracy said. “And I’m scared that antidepressants might take that all away from me.”
We spoke to another one of Tracy’s friends, 27-year-old Matthew Hewes, about Tracy’s concerns.
“I think Tracy is scared that if she goes on antidepressants then she’ll have to develop a real personality,” Michael said. “Which might not be so bad after all! Leaving the house can be really healthy.”
“Expressing myself is just so not me at all,” Tracy responded. “But eating bowls of cereal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? That’s me to a T, honey!”
While we don’t know where Tracy will land on the issue, we hope that she makes a thoughtful and well-informed decision, even if it means her personality might be something other than ‘never doing the dishes’!
