Anti-Deppresants and if they hinder your true musical emotion/feel.

[BassistKhrist]

Hello,

What if Bach and Mozart were prescribed anti-depressants at the age of 18 for depression; what effect would of this had on there music? What effect has it created on today's music? I wonder if this is why I like Heavy Classic Rock, like Deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix, the Doors and such because these guys were not on anti-depressants, therefore they were able to project more emotion out of there instrument. Lets not ignore the fact that these artists were all extremely extremely talented too, so start ur engines and respond away Thanks

[Pilgrim]

If you need medication, you should be taking it. Concerns about "hindering your true emotion" takes a back seat to your health.

Many people would be better off if their "true emotions" were inhibited.

[carl h.]

Think how much better the new compositions are from living composers than from dead composers. No choice there. Staying alive trumps a couple good tunes.

Don't F*** with depression!!!!!!

[Bongolation]

Antidepressants are neither safe nor effective.

They are incredibly dangerous and have permanent neurotoxic effects.

Read this:



No, I am not a $cientologist.

Antidepressants totally eliminate most people's musical (and intellectual) abilities, about like removing your brain and filling your skull with dirty socks.

[JayB]

While a lot of these "rocker" guys might not have been on zoloft or whatever, they were not without their medication. Heroin, booze, speed, nicotine, weed, and the list goes on. A good deal of drug users don't use to party, but to numb. Something to consider.

If you are medicated, do not stop taking it without your doctors supervision. Please.

[Stingray89]

I think that's the problem with half of our kids these days. They have some problems that all kids have growing up and their parents drug them with anti-depressants. I'm not saying some people don't need medication for certain conditions, but I believe it should be a LAST resort. But to answer your question, I think todays music would still be the same if we had anti-depressants or not. Music changes every 10 years or so.

[Bongolation]

Originally Posted by Stingray89

. But to answer your question, I think todays music would still be the same if we had anti-depressants or not.

Watch this



and note Grivo's transformation.

Fantastic movie.

[kesslari]

Yes, psychotropic medication is not a fail-safe.
Yes, many people who are not on prescribed medications self-medicate with booze and drugs. Also not safe.

Mental illness is a serious thing. Jaco Pastorius would, in all likelihood, still be alive, and still be creating great music if he had been willing to take a mood stabilizer to deal with his bipolar disorder. Unfortunately, like many people with bipolar disorder, the high of being "manic" seemed preferable to the "boring" stability of being "in the middle". So Jaco, like many bipolar people, did not take meds, and his death (at the hands of a bouncer at a bar to which he was demanding admission) was pretty directly attributable to his bipolar disorder and self-medication.

[superbassman2000]

Originally Posted by Bongolation

Antidepressants totally eliminate most people's musical (and intellectual) abilities, about like removing your brain and filling your skull with dirty socks.

is there any scientific study behind this or is this an opinion?

sounds like an opinion to me...

[Fetusyolk]

Originally Posted by Bongolation

Antidepressants totally eliminate most people's musical (and intellectual) abilities, about like removing your brain and filling your skull with dirty socks.

you obviously don't have much experience with anti-depressants. I was heavily depressed most of my childhood, and at one point had no other choice than to get medical help. It saved my life, and didn't hinder my personality or emotion in any way. It felt as if i had finally been set free to enjoy the world as it was.

I'm no fan of the drug industry, and i know (and have witnessed) that there ARE some horrible things that can come about as side-effects of certain anti psychotics etc., but your comment appeared to me as negative and uninformed, i also hope this doesn't appear as a personal attack.

I am no longer on anti-depressants, but when i was on them (SSRIs and stabilizers) my musical interest and ability were in no way hindered, and i felt i was more able to focus on what i loved about it and put that into practice.

[Handyman]

Please, whatever you do, DON'T TAKE MEDICAL ADVICE FROM A BUNCH OF STRANGERS ON THE INTERNET.

Talk to your doctor, or find another doctor, and talk to him.

[mongo2]

Originally Posted by BassistKhrist

Hello,

What if Bach and Mozart were prescribed anti-depressants at the age of 18 for depression; what effect would of this had on there music? What effect has it created on today's music? I wonder if this is why I like Heavy Classic Rock, like Deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix, the Doors and such because these guys were not on anti-depressants, therefore they were able to project more emotion out of there instrument.

Maybe not antidepressants but several other drugs were in play.

[OtisRocks]

The speculation is that Mozart and Beethoven, and many others who exhibited great genius, including Jaco, suffered from bipolar disorder (alternating mania and depression). The prescribed treatment would be mood stabilizers not anti-depressants. Use of anti-depressants can increase the likely-hood of a manic episode.

Symptoms of mania include increased energy and creativity whereas depression is diagnosed in patients who are more likely to be lethargic and apathetic. By this reasoning treatment with anti-depressants could, in theory, lead to increased output by the afflicted genius. Unfortunately the other symptoms of mania (recklessness, hyper-activity, confusion, and lack of moral compass) can be severely debilitating and can lead to imprisonment or death by misadventure. The outlook for advanced depression is equally bleak.

Proper psychiatric treatment is essential for any severe mood disorder and increases the odds of living a long, productive life.

[Skitch it!]

Originally Posted by kesslari

Yes, psychotropic medication is not a fail-safe.
Yes, many people who are not on prescribed medications self-medicate with booze and drugs. Also not safe.

Mental illness is a serious thing. Jaco Pastorius would, in all likelihood, still be alive, and still be creating great music if he had been willing to take a mood stabilizer to deal with his bipolar disorder. Unfortunately, like many people with bipolar disorder, the high of being "manic" seemed preferable to the "boring" stability of being "in the middle". So Jaco, like many bipolar people, did not take meds, and his death (at the hands of a bouncer at a bar to which he was demanding admission) was pretty directly attributable to his bipolar disorder and self-medication.

Jaco should have been taken off the street basically and had some time out to get some self awareness, coping strategies and some vision into his behavior. He was an accident waiting to happen in that state, I know, I've been there a few times myself.

Bipolar type 1, I've tried the prescripts, but not for long, I found them depersonalizing and nullifying, but that's me, others experiences will be different. They are meant as a support system, which should be a temporary one imo.

Any port in a storm though, if it does alleviate, then it's working. I would be inclined to look for the root's of your problems though, obscuring them never free's them. My 2 cents.

[Bongolation]

Originally Posted by Fetusyolk

you obviously don't have much experience with anti-depressants.

Wanna bet?

Read Whitaker's book and shut up.

[WalterBush]

Originally Posted by superbassman2000

is there any scientific study behind this or is this an opinion?

I wouldn't extend that analysis to all antidepressants, mood stabilizers, etc personally since I'm not a pharmacist, but the creativity-squashing side effects of older antidepressants and mood stabilizers such as Lithium or Trazadone are well-documented. I discussed them with my psychiatrist while I was still seeing one.

It wouldn't surprise me in the least to learn that modern medications have similar effects on a percentage of users.

Personally, I got much better results treating the underlying issues once my mood swings and anxiety were under control, and dropping medication as soon as I could do so safely. YMMV and talk to your doctor, etc.

[Bongolation]

Originally Posted by Handyman

Please, whatever you do, DON'T TAKE MEDICAL ADVICE FROM A BUNCH OF STRANGERS ON THE INTERNET.

Talk to your doctor, or find another doctor, and talk to him.

Unfortunately, very few doctors know **** about drugs beyond what they are told by drug company literature and sales reps, who are hardly disinterested parties.

That's a fact.

They don't listen to their patients because it takes too much time, which they don't have, and they don't have the inclination anyway.

Frankly, I know far more about the various drugs I am prescribed than my doctors do, and they more or less admit it. They also know that I refuse to take drugs that have not been on the market for at least five years because most drugs don't last that long before being recognized as dangerous or ineffective or both.

ALL of the antidepressant drugs I was prescribed fell into that category.

[PhiDeck]

Depending on your age and the symptoms, consider the possibility that the problem is low testosterone levels. Testing for low levels is simple, as is treatment. Don't waste years trying a succession of anti-depressants, to no avail, unless you've eliminated low testosterone as a cause.

Testosterone production declines after age 40, between 1% and 2% per year. Depending on the initial level and the rate of decline, by the time one is in one's 50s the effect on strength, energy, and mood can be significant.

[James Judson]

Doctors are trained in pills and surgery. If you need your life saved, please see a doctor. If you need to get healthy see a nutritionist (western medicine only treats symptoms). Doctors have their heart in the right place they just don't have a handle on health.

The drug industry is only interested in getting your money from your pocket to their pocket.

If you ask a really old person (90+) how they lived so long, most would say "stay away from doctors".

[escaraBAJO]

Why almost everybody here is responding to the OP like this is the "ask your bassist/doctor for advice" forum?

The question is a valid one in terms of the effect of antideppresants on musicians performance, creativity, feeling, etc.
Since these drugs tend to "stabilize" a certain mind problem and at the same time creativity and inspiration are per se unstable states one could think that antideppresants can have a negative effect on these atributes.

For me (this is an opinion) a majority of mind problems come from the inability to adapt to the system in which you are inmerse. This doesn't mean you are wrong, it could just mean the system cannot work for everyone. And I've realized that this system doesn't understand creativity because it usually falls away from safe ground. Some people gets scared and they try to push away the creative one.

This another opinion: if you look at the history of psychiatry you will see that it is a very young science and it tends to fall in "trends". Every 10 to 20 years psychiatrists have a new idea of what is "wrong" and they even discredit past ideas. So what now is "deppresion" might be normal in the future and viceversa.