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The Noonday Demon

Page 83

by Solomon, Andrew


  I had never employed a research assistant until I started work on this book. I was wildly fortunate to find the gifted artist Stephen Bitterolf, who has taken hundreds of hours away from his canvases and has worked on The Noonday Demon as hard as I have. Whatever rigor I have achieved here would not have been possible without his rigor; and many of my ideas were formed by ideas of his. This book could not exist in anything like its current form without his contribution. Furthermore, he has shown himself to be a man of character; his wit, affection, and kindness have been a source of constant pleasure to me.

  My father was sixty-seven when I had my first episode of depression. He is to be praised not only for his love and generosity, but also for the flexibility of mind and spirit that has consistently allowed him to understand and arrest my illness over these last six years. I have never known anyone who so beautifully integrates the imaginative vitality of youth with the considered wisdom of age. He has been, always, my unfailing mainstay and my great inspiration. I have dedicated this book to him with all my heart.

  Index

  Page numbers from 445 to 499 refer to notes.

  A

  AA (Alcoholics Anonymous), 228, 240, 241, 365

  Abraham, Karl, 285, 323–24, 325

  Abrams, Richard, 122

  abyss imagery, 27–28

  acedia, 293–94, 300

  acetylcholine:

  initial isolation of, 331

  in sleep, 145

  tricyclic inhibition of, 117–18

  ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), 379, 380

  Across-Species Comparisons and Psychopathology (ASCAP) Society, 405

  acupuncture, 148

  ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), 366, 370, 392, 491

  addiction, 217–42

  avoidance of, 224–25

  to benzodiazepines, 119

  brain function and, 222–23

  depression as enabling factor in, 242

  to heroin, 232

  variability in cultural standards of, 226–27

  see also alcoholism; substance abuse specific addictive substances

  ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), 175, 181–82, 186

  adolescents:

  depression of, 187–89, 461

  substance abuse and, 221, 467

  suicides of, 257–58, 264–65

  adrenal glands:

  excessive sugar intake and, 139

  long-term cortisol elevation and, 59–60

  adversity, value of, 434–35, 438–43

  AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children), 338

  African Americans, 195–200, 351

  Age of Reason, 308–9, 314

  aggression:

  self-destructive impulses vs., 424

  serotonin levels and, 114, 253–54

  stress released in, 253–54

  treatment enforced as safety measure against, 380

  agitated depression, 48, 123, 220, 229, 290

  agricultural societies, 407

  Agrippa, 296

  AIDS/HIV, 71–73, 77, 203, 353–55, 362, 437

  Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), 338

  airline pilots, depression stigmatization and, 367

  Ajax (mythological figure), 289

  alcohol consumption:

  anxiety relieved by, 226

  cultural differences in normal levels of, 226–27

  fetal neurological damage due to, 254

  medication absorption and, 467

  Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), 228, 240, 241, 365

  alcoholism:

  antidepressant treatment for depressives with, 220, 222, 466

  of children of depressed parents, 181

  depression symptoms caused by, 219, 227, 467

  dual-diagnosis cases of, 219–21, 228, 238–42, 468

  endorphin levels and, 223

  genetic predisposition for, 65, 223, 450

  of men vs. women, 175

  physical debilitation due to, 228

  rates of, 218

  REM sleep patterns of, 220–21

  serotonin levels and, 217, 228

  suicidality and, 227, 255

  treatment options for, 219–22, 228–29

  withdrawal from, 228–29

  see also substance abuse

  alienation, late Victorian/early modernist sentiments of, 320–22, 329

  allergies, 80, 139

  alpha-2 antagonists, 116

  altruism, 410–11

  Alvarez, A., 208–9, 244, 263, 280

  Alzheimer’s disease, 192–93, 232, 463

  amantadine, 116

  Ambien, 119, 234

  Ambrosini, Paul, 460

  American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), 379, 380

  Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 366, 370, 392, 491

  amphetamines, 116, 222, 231

  amygdala, 55, 60, 172

  anaclitic depression, 183, 460

  Anafranet, 118

  Anafranil, 114

  Anatomy of Melancholy, The (Burton), 301–4, 310, 323, 480

  Anderson, Laura, 92–98, 106, 262, 438, 442

  Andrews, Paul, 409–10

  Angel of Bethesda, The (Mather), 313

  anger:

  evolutionary role of, 413–14

  repression of, 197, 198

  anhedonia, 19, 67, 445

  animals:

  dominance in, 113–14, 404–6

  emotions of, 402–3, 412–14

  hibernation of, 406

  learned helplessness observed in, 348

  self-destructive behaviors of, 256–57

  serotonin studies conducted on, 113–14, 253, 254

  short-term stress responses of, 407

  animist ritual, Senegalese, 165–70

  “Annabel Lee” (Poe), 359

  anorexia nervosa, 313

  Antabuse, 229, 469

  Anthony, Saint, 16

  antidepressant medications, 111–20

  adverse reactions to, 80–81, 98

  and alcoholics, 220, 222, 466

  atypical, 114, 118, 193

  basic principle of, 111

  body temperature and, 113, 452

  while breastfeeding, 83

  broad uses of, 435

  changing combinations of, 86, 87, 93–94, 118–20, 121

  for children, 184–85, 460

  classes of, 114

  cortisol-reduction approach in, 58

  cost of, 60, 353

  cultural attitudes and, 195, 343

  current research on, 120, 171–72

  delays in responses to, 60, 112–13, 120, 189–90, 237, 333, 450

  dependency concerns and, 235–36

  depressed substance abusers treated with, 220, 222

  developmental history of, 330–34

  directions of research on, 120

  disabling effects in high dosages of, 423

  effectiveness of, 60, 86, 103–4, 120

  elderly and, 189–90, 192, 193

  employment and, 366–67

  excessive use of, 26–27

  HMO usage of, 90, 107, 384

  illicit substance abuse vs., 217, 235–36

  inconsistency of, 118–19

  lawsuits based on noncompliance with, 380

  long-term effects of, 80–81

  as maintenance strategy, 79–80

  mania induced by, 48, 118, 453

  MAOIs, see monoamine oxidase inhibitors

  mild depression relieved by, 399

  mood stabilizers for bipolar patients on, 48, 106

  over-the-counter drugs vs., 398–99

  palliative use of, 435

  personal volition combined with, 102

  pharmaceutical industry promotion of, 394–97, 495

  pregnancy and, 83, 93

  psychoanalysts’ aversions to, 48, 50–51

  receptor theories of, 112, 333

  REM sleep altered by, 113, 146, 452

  resistance felt toward, 60, 369

&nbs
p; responsiveness lowered after interruptions of, 57

  reuptake mechanism blocked by, 332

  rights of refusal of, 380, 393

  selection criteria among, 114, 120

  sexual side effects of, 91–92, 115–17, 157

  shame of responsibility for illness relieved by, 330

  short-term efficacy of, 103–4

  side effects of, 78, 80, 83, 87, 91–92, 93–94, 114–18, 124, 153–54, 157, 161, 171, 421–22, 423, 425

  for single neurotransmitters vs. multiple systems, 397

  societal intolerance exacerbated by, 62–63

  SSRIs, see selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors

  stress-reduction strategies vs., 125

  in suicide prevention, 115, 251–52

  suicide risks associated with, 48, 80–81

  TRH as, 56, 448

  tricyclic, 114, 115, 117–18, 148, 171, 222, 331, 332

  see also specific antidepressant medications

  anxiety, 50, 175, 202, 303

  alcohol used for relief from, 226

  coffee intake linked to, 139

  cognitive-behavioral therapy for, 111

  depression accompanied by, 65–66, 229, 239–40, 323–24, 405

  exercise and, 137–38

  marijuana and, 229–30

  modern society as cause of, 406–9

  physical manifestations of, 65, 422

  protective role of, 410

  psychopharmacological treatment of, 51, 63, 78, 87, 111, 119, 129, 234, 422

  serotonin and, 65, 119

  suicide as response to, 275

  anxiolytics, 222

  Aquinas, Thomas, 62, 293, 450, 479

  Areopagitica (Milton), 439

  Aretaeus of Capidoccia, 290–91

  aristocracy, melancholy as illness of, 299, 300, 311

  Aristotle, 288, 289, 295, 299, 301, 316, 334

  Arnold, Matthew, 321–22

  Arnsten, Dorothy, 171

  Artaud, Antonin, 78

  Åsberg, Marie, 253

  ASCAP (Across-Species Comparisons and Psychopathology) Society, 405

  Asendin, 62, 114, 118

  Ashcroft, George, 487

  Astbury, Jill, 177, 178

  asylum system, establishment of, 317–19, 320–21

  asymmetrical brain, 415–19

  As You Like It (Shakespeare), 299

  Atay, Joanne, 494

  Ativan, 118, 119, 422

  attachment:

  evolutionary role of, 411–14

  role of grief in formation of, 412, 435

  attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), 175, 181–82, 186, 460

  attention span, medication effects on, 88–89, 423, 425

  atypical antidepressants, 114, 118, 193

  atypical depression, 48, 114

  Augustine, Saint, 292, 306, 478

  autism, 175

  autoreceptor agonists, 116

  Axelrod, Julius, 332

  Aztecs, hallucinogenic drugs used by, 291

  B

  Ball, H. Irene, 447–48

  Ballenger, James, 65, 111, 119, 124, 406

  Baltimore, Md., depression treatment study on indigent HIV/AIDS populations in, 340

  Barbey, J. T., 495

  barbiturates, 254

  Barlaeus, Caspar, 304

  Baron, Richard, 368

  basil, 288

  batterers, 178–79, 180

  Baudelaire, Charles, 315

  Bazelon Center, 381

  Beck, Aaron, 107, 471

  Beckett, Samuel, 285–86, 329–30

  Beddoes, Thomas, 319

  Bedlam, 309, 318, 481–82

  behavioral control, 328–29

  see also cognitive-behavioral therapy

  Bell Jar, The (Plath), 66

  Benshoof, Janet, 109, 237, 438

  benzodiazepines, 119, 193, 234, 469–70

  Berger, M., 145

  beta-adrenergic receptors, 333

  bethanechol, 116

  Biathanatos (Donne), 247

  Bible, 292–93, 478

  Bicàtre, 309, 482

  Bielik-Robson, Agata, 201

  Bingen, Hildegard von, 294

  bipolar illness, see manic-depressive (bipolar) disorder

  bipolar two, 92

  birds, nesting behavior of, 406, 413

  Birtchnell, J., 405

  bisexuals, 202, 207–8

  Bisgaard, Poul, 210

  black bile, melancholy as excess of, 286–87, 288, 290, 291–92, 298, 306

  black people, depression experiences of, 195–200, 351

  Blair-West, G. W., 447

  Blake, William, 309

  blood-brain barrier, 123

  blood sugar levels, 136, 139

  Bloom, Harold, 470

  BMAP (Brain Molecule Anatomy Project), 171–72

  body, mechanistic models of, 306–8

  body net, 423

  body temperature, 56, 452

  Boerhaave, Hermann, 307, 308, 309, 481, 483

  Book of Common Prayer, 302

  Boorstin, Robert, 370, 371, 441

  Bostwick, J. M., 447

  Boswell, James, 309–10

  bowel problems, 65

  Bower, Bruce, 459

  brain:

  asymmetry of, 415–19

  autopsies of, 319

  blood circulation within, 307, 417, 418

  “decade of the,” 369

  in imaging technology, 254, 362, 417

  magnetic stimulation of, 139, 418

  medical model of, 320

  nervous system supervised by, 289

  psychosurgery on, 137, 163–65, 441

  as seat of emotion/mental illness, 286, 413–14, 418, 419

  triune model of, 414–15

  brain chemistry, 20–22, 111–14

  anxiety problems and, 65, 111

  ECT effects on, 121, 123

  emotional mind vs., 102, 111

  neural electrical impulses vs., 330

  suicidality and, 252–54

  talking therapy effects on, 111

  theories of antidepressant actions on, 331–33

  see also neurotransmitters; specific neurotransmitters

  brain function:

  adaptability of, 56, 112–13, 307

  Alzheimer’s disease and, 192–93

  cellular adaptive capacity in, 56

  evolution of, 413–19

  flexibility of, 416

  genetic research project on, 171–72

  impact of depressive episodes on, 55, 56

  substance abuse effects on, 217–18, 219–20, 222–23, 231, 233

  Brain Molecule Anatomy Project (BMAP), 171–72

  breakdowns, 17, 39–99

  cumulative causation of, 48–49

  defined, 48

  eating difficulties in, 50, 54, 55

  immobility experienced in, 52–53

  physiological functions affected by, 55–56, 448

  sleep patterns in, 51

  breastfeeding:

  antidepressant medications and, 83

  childhood loss of, 325, 326

  Brecht, Bertolt, 321

  breech birth, 40

  bromocriptine, 116

  Brontë, Charlotte, 133–34

  Brown, George, 62, 63, 65, 175, 347, 450, 458

  Brown, John, 311

  Brown, Thomas, 455

  Buckingham County, Va., depression treatment studied in women of, 339–40

  Bucknill, John Charles, 485–86

  Bukowski, Charles, 250, 472

  Bulgakov, Mikhail, 7

  bupropion, 116, 118

  Burke, Edmund, 311

  burns, self-inflicted, 421, 422, 424

  Burton, Robert, 301–4, 310, 323, 480

  BuSpar (buspirone), 78, 86, 87, 116, 119, 235, 383, 422, 447

  B vitamins, 138–39

  C

  caffeine, 224, 225, 230, 397

  Callahan, Roger, 142, 454–55

  Cambodia, depression
of trauma survivors in, 32–37

 

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