Oh, instant karma's gonna get you... Tom Cruise's new agent must really be worth his/her weight in gold. How his new 'people' got him to eat crow, I'll never understand. Especially since the level-7 operative thetan has been so Scientology-centric for the past year or so. But, it looks like the Paramount fiasco is weighing on him and his image, and now he must try to clean up his mess where he can... I smell a wedding coming soon! A wedding will garner him just the amount of positive press he's been trying to grasp (see recent act of heroism). Course, he could fuck that up, too, and recite his vows in some Scientology mumbo-psycho-babble-jumbo...reminding everyone of the freak he was born to be.
Brooke Shields...said Friday on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. On Thursday, Cruise "came over to my house and he gave me a heartfelt apology," Shields, 41, told Leno. "And he apologized for bringing me into the whole thing and for everything that happened. "And through it all, I was so impressed with how heartfelt it was. And I didn't feel at any time that I had to defend myself, nor did I feel that he was trying to convince me of anything other than the fact that he was deeply sorry. And I accepted it."
Cruise's rep, Arnold Robinson, told the Associated Press in a statement, "It is true that his friendship with Ms. Shields has been mended. He has not changed his position about antidepressants, which, as evidenced by the black label warnings issued by the FDA on these types of drugs, are unhealthy." [people]
Nice of his reps to get that last word in there, eh? And when were they 'friends' so as one could actually say they had a friendship to 'mend"? Eh, this whole thing stinks of a publicity stunt. Heartfelt, my ass. I hope she's just being classy about this and doesn't really buy the whole 'pentinent Cruise' act. Cause it's crystal clear to everyone else he's full of Xenu's shit.
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15 comments:
It's true you know, they're not good for chicks, especially when breastfeeding a baby!
Johnny
I would say to stick with formula, then, and take the antidepressants if you need them. How can you be any good to your baby if you're too depressed to even take care of yourself, let alone a helpless, totally dependant infant?
Too little, too late, in my opinion.
amen to that! formulas are so good these days, there's virtually no difference between breast feeding and formula.
post-partum is a serious dilemma for a lot of women... and they shouldn't be made to feel as though they should get over it by just 'cheering up'.
it's like telling a diabetic: shut up already and make your own insulin.
meanwhile, if anyone could benefit from an mood stabilizer, it's mister TC himself.
"It's like telling a diabetic: shut up already and make your own insulin." Good comparison!
I think a woman who's suffering from post-partum depression is damned either way. Don't take the antidepressants and suffer through agony at a time that's supposed to joyful. Do take the antidepressants and feel like you have to keep it a secret, rather than suffer the social stigma...and, on top of that, feel like a failure because you can't breastfeed.
horrible comparison! metabolizing sugar vs mood altering? i'm not saying not to take drugs if needed, i'm saying they should be reserved for severe cases, not handed out like candy, and that they are not good for the baby which relies on the breast milk for all its early vaccination purposes! formulas are not able to do that!
johnny
It's not a horrible comparison. They're not simply "mood altering" drugs, like marijuana. They're not "happy pills," as I've heard them called. For some people, they're absolutely necessary, life-saving medications.
At the very least, depression robs you of any enjoyment of life. At its worst, it can be emotionally crippling, physically painful, and even life-threatening. And how severe is "severe," anyway? Do you have to wait until a mother tries to kill herself or her baby to say, "Oh, wait...maybe she could use a little help..."?
they are meant to battle a very real condition and it's up to the doctor to decipher who needs them and who doesn't. i happen to believe that doctors over-prescribe anti-depressants in general and especially to mothers who undergo normal levels of hormonal changes following a delivery. my point here is that breast-feeding is important for bonding and immune system purposes and the anti-depressants can't be good for the baby, i never said that people that truly need them shouldn't have them.
for me, this debate is general. once it becomes tied to a specific personal experience, it becomes fiery argument, as we saw between t.c. and brooks...this was meant purely as social commentary on this particular issue.
johnny
i think the idea that they're handed out like candy is very misleading.
and the 'insulin' comparison is a good one.
there is a medical term for depression, generalized anxiety disorders and more severe cases of mental infirmity: chemical imbalance. it's a very real condition. the brain is not producing enough of what the person needs to live a so-called 'normal' life.
for instance, seratonin levels are inhibited due to certain chemical imbalances. the adminstering of a SUI-Inhibitor increases the level of seratonin, therefore 'fixing' the chemical imbalance.
Too often anti-depressants are confused for "mood stabilizers". They are not valium. They are not muscle relaxers. They are replacing what the body cannot produce.
Thus, getting back to the insulin comparison -- it's a perfect comparison.
Unfortunately, there exists a huge stigma related to mental illness... which I find frustrating -- since the brain is an organ, just as the pancreas, the heart, the... There's no shame in taking heart medication. There shouldn't be shame in taking a drug that balances brain chemicals.
furthermore, no doctor worth is/her weight in salt would prescribe or advocate breastfeeding while taking anti-depressants. women have to make the choice: do i breastfeed and put off taking my anti-depressant until my baby is drinking cow's milk (or alternative) or do i feed the baby formula, a reliable alternative to breastfeeding, and take my anti-depressant to fix my chemical imbalance?
it's a tough decision. and in some cases, a life-saving one.
there are plenty of ways for a mother to bond w/her child... that begins in the womb. the simple act of bottle feeding the child is a form of bonding.
i'm more concerned about these idiot scientologists who advocate feeding the baby neither breast milk or formula, but a ridiculous concoction of barley and water.
i really have nothing more to add than what nicole said. i think she covered all the bases pretty well. (mad props, yo.)
while this debate may be a "general" social commentary, there are a lot of women out there for whom it's very personal. for many women who suffer from post-partum depression (and anyone who has had or still has depression), there is a powerfully overwhelming feeling of shame and failure.
i think the overwhelming sense of shame and failure is a personal conflict that does not lend itself to discussion but rather confrontation, thus i will not pursue debate on this topic following this post. i still maintain that the insulin example is a horrible one. i'm a chemist working in biopharm for the last 10 something years... cortisol and seratonin imbalances due to normal hormonal changes following a pregnancy (and which may be controlled, when mild, by exercise) is not the same as the body's long term inability to metabolize sugar. in mild cases of depression a person can literally will themselves out of it. a funny movie, a good night's sleep, even forcing oneself to pursue an activity they used to enjoy can raise/lower their levels over time... wish all those diabetic kids out there could just watch a shark's tale and raise their production of insulin. one is due to an imbalance, the other to insufficient production.
my position has never been that people suffering from depression shouldn't take the pharmaceuticals that i've been working to produce the last third of my life, it's that people suffering from said condition and their respective doctors are too quick to resort to them in cases where they're not necessary, in cases where a little exercise, a balanced diet and a support group can accomplish just as much and in a healthier manner.
that being said, i did not mean to offend anyone who may have gone through this and/or have loved ones that have... i don't think i've been diminishing the devastating effects of it, just trying to put it in a global context.
johnny
I understand your position now, and I appreciate the clarification. I didn't wish to appear to be confrontational...and I do think healthy debate is a good thing. Blanket generalizations like those made by Tom Cruise are dangerous and irresponsible. That is not the case here, I can see.
I do want to say, though, that women are told not to exercise during the first four to six weeks after delivery, so exercise isn't really an option for helping to alleviate the depression.
i just wanna clarify some things. i do feel defensive about this subject, because i feel that so many people are not aware that generalizations only fuel the stigma attached to mental infirmity. i just wish that the public would one day come to realize that sometimes, most of the time, it's impossible to do it on your own.
"in mild cases of depression a person can literally will themselves out of it. a funny movie, a good night's sleep, even forcing oneself to pursue an activity they used to enjoy can raise/lower their levels over time..."
i've never advocated the pill as the whole source of therapy. it takes work. talk-therapy is important. self-help books are important. and, if necessary, in conjunction w/medication. and the choice is made individually. w/o people like TC making you feel like a loser for doing so.
post-partum depression isn't always considered mild. there may be milder cases, but the majority of post-partum sufferers are severely debilitated for a few weeks to months at a time. couple that with trying to deal w/the huge change in your life that is becoming a mother and you can enter dangerous territory.
ultimately, it's the patients' decision whether to take the pill or not. doctors force tons of meds on patients -- why? because a lot of them get kick backs and free stuff. most doctors don't even care what they're peddling -- so long as they get their free shit. look what happened w/vioxx. and does anyone seriously believe that there's a ridiculous influx of men suffering from ED? every 5 mins there's a commercial for some new form of ED medication.
i think that the reason that mental illness is a touchy subject is because it's something someone needs to go through or have a loved one who's been through it to understand. there are so many variations of mental illness... mild to debilitating. i wouldn't advocate anyone taking a pill for mild afflictions w/o considering other options. but, why should someone suffer needlessly if there's something out there to help them live life in a functional manner?
john... you know i love you, man. and we've always debated many topics. if it sounds like i'm attacking you, please know i'm not. i'm attacking the broad generalizations made by people like TC. i'm not trying to change your mind. i don't want to change anyone's mind. and everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
peace and love, y'all. peace and love.
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