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The Cody Blog: Nothingness from Cruise

Monday, June 27, 2005

Nothingness from Cruise

Regular readers know my stance on mental health prespription drugs -- they're not good for us. It's normal to be sad, depressed, happy, anxious, nervous, etc. Those emotions are part of life.

But if you're going to get into a debate on national TV about specifics, you better have more to say than "You don't know the history of psychiatry. I do." And then repeatedly use "I've researched it" as the basis of your argument.

No substance to Tom Cruise's statements at all.

And the kicker was when he called Lauer "glib". Pot, kettle, black, anyone?

posted by Cody Willard at 6/27/2005 10:42:00 AM

13 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I hear ya Cody, but what I found interesting about the whole exchange is that for once you got to see a major celebrity being sincere. Whether you agree with his beliefs or not, what you saw there was Tom Cruise as a real person (albeit, not sounding very intelligent) talking about something he really believes in... not some cut-out hiding behind an image polished by PR.

6/27/2005 01:09:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

OK, sorry, I had to write here because this whole debate touches a nerve for me.

First, Tom Cruise has no business offering his opinion on postpartum depression. Until he's gotten pregnant and undergone the birth experience, I really don't see his point on speaking out on something he knows nothing about.

Second, yes, emotions are indeed a part of life. But when they become overwhelming to the point that you can no longer function, then I see nothing wrong with a short-term course of anti-anxiety medication.

I witnessed the sheer agony of my mom, burying her longtime husband after he suddenly died with no preceding signs of illness, and believe me, I don't know how she could have gone through the past six weeks without an occasional Xanax to let her calm down and sleep.

I think if you're an addict, don't take pills. If you're just feeling a little down and out, don't reach for the pills. And if you have never felt paralyzing grief, please don't judge others who need a little something to keep moving forward with life.

P.S. I am on no medication, and I don't even like to take aspirin.

6/27/2005 06:40:00 PM  
Blogger BelowTheCrowd said...

Got to agree with Michelle here. I think these pills are way overprescribed by a medical establishement that finds it easier and more profitable to write scrips than to actually deal with root causes. But that's a subject for a different set of posts.

Like her, I've known people who've used these drugs to get over really bad situations and get themselves functioning again. I've also got a friend who is essentially addicted to Xanax. While she'll tell you that she only takes it "when she needs it," the reality is that her "needs" include so many normal day-to-day events (driving in traffic, flying on an airplane, sitting in a classroom, spending a lot of time on a phone call), that she's obviously just fooling herself. She needs to learn to deal with the fact that not every situation in life is perfectly comfortable or controlled. And of course there's another friend of mine who got herself put on these pills to "deal" with the "stress" created by having her new BMW totalled (she wasn't even at the scene when the car was hit).

That said, Tom Cruise should just shut up. As I've said elsewhere, I am truly waiting for the Hollywood Civil War in which Kabbalists and Scientologists battle it out along the length of Sunset Blvd. THAT would be entertaining.

-btc

6/27/2005 07:28:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have to take the opposite view on Cody's position on anxiety drugs. While doping children for ADHD (a made up disease to make parents feel better about their lax parenting skills) is clearly wrong, many adults that I know couldn't be productive members of society without taking some form of anxiety drug.

I'm much more in favor of putting it in the drinking water than taking it off the market...
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,1278760,00.html

As for Tom Cruise, it seems like the stress of promoting another crap movie has finally gotten the better of him. Call him 'Exhibt A' in the case for taking more, not less, anxiety drugs. His 'Tour De Insane' is really quite disturbing.

And poor Katie Holmes. At 20 years of age, she has no idea what she's getting herself into. Help her...help free Katie...
http://freekatie.net/

6/28/2005 11:19:00 AM  
Blogger BelowTheCrowd said...

On a side note. I watched Jim Cramer's show for the first time in a while yesterday.

All I could think was that his show and Tom's interview with Oprah seemed to have the same manic element to them...

-btc

6/28/2005 05:40:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm in agreement with Michelle and btc.

I'm guessing that "expert Tom" stayed at a Holiday Inn Express the night before the Today Show.

Too bad he still couldn't sell fish from the back of a truck.

6/28/2005 11:21:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

why listening to scientology anyway ???

6/29/2005 08:16:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Cody, you know Lithium has probably saved the life of one of your friends (me). So I think it's irresponsible for you to make the blanket statement that mental health prescription drugs are not good for us.

Signed,
A 20-year "User"

6/29/2005 05:39:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"I got bitches in the living room gett'in on and they ain't leav'in till six in the morn'
So what you want to do, I got a pocket full of rubbers and my home boyz new dew"

-Snoop Dogg

This is the answer to all mental problems...

6/29/2005 06:56:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Holla

6/29/2005 09:36:00 PM  
Blogger Rabmanducky said...

I think cruise definately has a point that people do use too many drugs to try to treat depression. I have to agree that its wrong to give 6 year old kids ritalin, just because they are acting up. Its become an easy cure all. I wish cruise would be less controversial with the subject but I guess hes a controversial character. He also has that cult thing with scientology going on thats kind of frightening. We need these guys to talk about issues, look what christopher reeves did for spinal cord injury.

6/30/2005 01:59:00 AM  
Blogger Jack Mercer said...

For love of country, family, friends-

Take action now!

News Snipet 'Blog: GET MAD!

Thanks!

-Jack

6/30/2005 09:33:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Brooke stikes back and makes a lot more sense than Tom...

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/01/opinion/01shields.html?hp

My favorite line..."While Mr. Cruise says that Mr. Lauer and I do not "understand the history of psychiatry," I'm going to take a wild guess and say that Mr. Cruise has never suffered from postpartum depression."

7/01/2005 09:36:00 AM  

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