their treatment still involves art as well as science, and a grasp of both
chemistry and personality. Either one by itself is incomplete. Medication
is sometimes the only thing that will make painful and incapacitating
symptoms go away. But sometimes when you get rid of the symptoms with
medication, personality patterns bring them back.
Zoloft changes Rachel’s life; it feels like opening a curtain and
letting the sunshine in. The crying spells stop, she has energy to
do things, she can laugh again.
Until she starts gaining weight. After a few months, when
a size 14 starts getting tight, she stops taking the Zoloft.Rachel’s depression returns, and it’s even worse than before she
began taking medication. Zoloft can have withdrawal effects if you stop
it too soon or too suddenly. Rachel’s mother notices that the crying spells
have returned, and after weeks of denying it, Rachel finally admits that
she isn’t taking her medication.
Rachel’s mother paces the room, wringing her hands and step-
ping over clothes. “Honey, how could you stop taking the Zoloft?
It made you feel so much better, even if you did put on a cou-
ple of pounds”
Rachel rolls over on her bed and faces the wall. Her mother
gives her tush a little pat. “You know, sweetheart, maybe it’s not
the medication that puts the weight on. Maybe if you cut back
on the ice cream and french fries? A little exercise wouldn’t hurt
either.”
Rachel pulls the pillow over her head and sobs. It’s always
her fault.Eventually, Rachel’s mother gets her back in to see the doctor.“Every medication has side effects,” the doctor says as she lis-
tens to Rachel’s heart with her stethoscope. “It’s unusual, but
some people do gain weight on Zoloft. Maybe we ought to try
Wellbutrin. She scribbles a prescription and hands it to Rachel.
“Try this and come back to see me in a month.”36 ❧Emotional Explosions