Reply #130: I have had the "boot-strap" lecture

[kineneb]

from well-meaning relatives, including my step-father. I can no more change my brain chemistry than my husband can change being an insulin-dependent diabetic.

I don't mind the numbing effect of my medications, it allows me to actually enjoy life as it comes. Without meds, I slowly slip into depression and panic disorder. I am sure that is why my great-grandma killed herself at age 27, leaving behind a confused husband and two small children, ages 2 & 4.

And I too worry about those returning from Iraq. I went to junior college with Vietnam vets who were pretty screwed up. Iraq seems to be even more traumatic than Nam, if such a thing is possible.