Meara date: Awwww.

EM: Has every reason to flip out, poor thing.

Amusement from Wired, about a wacko that claims soybeans are turning our children gay.

[link]

YAY good meara date.

Has every reason to flip out, poor thing.

Yes, this, and what Sparky1 said. Hec, I know (hope) you were being flippant, but honestly, Em has very good reasons for overreacting, and the Xanax comment hit me exactly the wrong way, even knowing you have been a huge support to her.

This rubs me the wrong way, Hec. I can't help but think that she's got a perfectly good reason for flipping out. And also, any time a male of the species suggests that a female of the species is getting hysterical over something and should be medicated -- well, my hackles are raised.

Undoubtedly, hysteria is a convenient guy-esque way to dismiss a woman's experience. And she's got reason enough. But she's also a mom with a child that needs her to marshall her resources and pull it together. I think Xanax is one of those resources now.

It's not lithium - it's an anti-anxiety med. I don't see any stigma in taking it, anymore than an AD. She's not sleeping, she's stressed out, she's endangering her job, and she's been through the mill lately. Xanax won't shut her down - it will just allow her to deal. She's used it before - sparingly - and it's been helpful.

Trust me enough that I (a) know her; and (b) am not into pharmaco-shackles on the female psyche.

I will say this. Xanax (and a few cocktails right after) helped me get through Prom without a panic attack this year.

(Not to compare my panic attacks to what EM has ben going through AT ALL. Just relating a bit.)

And now I feel bad for taking as a quip, Hec. Sorry about that.

Xanax is the only thing that allows me to cope if I have a full-blown panic attack (and I will admit that it was one of my emergency supply that was offered when Aimee was having one at Prom. I just couldn't stand idly by when I knew I could help her. I guess I have flexible morality when it comes to these things.). Luckily, Zoloft has made it a rarity for me. Still I do find there is a stigma attached to it, more so than with my AD.

Not that this has anything to do with any of your comments--just my own 2 cents on the stigma issue.

Kitties are okay if their fur gets a little glittered, yes? Kittenish's shiny black fur is a wee bit sparklier than normal. I suspect my Black Pearl bath last night is to blame. After all she's been through, I don't one reckless night with Lush to be her downfall.

I hate that Xanax, Zoloft *AND* lithium still get the bad rap and the stigma. It would be easier if mood disorders whether situational, biochemical or [some other kind that I can't think of but suspect there is] were something people in general didn't see as personal failings. Broken leg? Sure, take care of it medically and use a damn crutch while it heals. Panicking because you are personally being threatened along with your child by proximity? There's the overall sense that medication is an unneeded crutch. It rankles.

I'm sorry if what I said rankled you Cass and Kristin. I am a firm believer in using pharmacology to help where and when it is needed, and if that did not come across, I should have chosen my words better. I was reacting to what seemed like an off the cuff quip on Hec's part, and not the fact that someone would be helped by Xanax, or any other drug.

And a Xanax scrip. Seriously, she's flipping out like eighteen mammals.

This rubs me the wrong way, Hec. I can't help but think that she's got a perfectly good reason for flipping out. And also, any time a male of the species suggests that a female of the species is getting hysterical over something and should be medicated -- well, my hackles are raised.

I didn't read Hec's comment as "hysterical female; get the drugs" -- I read it as "She's going through -- and has *been* going through -- WAY too much uber-stressful crap and is therefore responding in the only sensible way, which is to flip out. The flipping out is making her unable to sleep, function, etc., and if Xanax will help her get some much-needed sleep/chill time, then get the meds."