--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Since I am writing a book about…" description: "\"“Since I am writing a book about depression, I am often asked in social situations to describe my own experiences, and I usually end by saying that I a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c7/andrew-solomon-1140_body-weight_since-i-am-writing-a-book-about-depressi_96303.jpg" --- # Since I am writing a book about depression, I am often… ![“Since I am writing a book about depression, I am often asked in social situations to describe my own experiences, and I usually end by saying that I am on medication. “Still?” people ask. “But you seem fine!” To which I invariably reply that I seem fine because I am fine, and that I am fine in…” quote by Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c7/andrew-solomon-1140_body-weight_since-i-am-writing-a-book-about-depressi_96303.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c7/andrew-solomon-1140_body-weight_since-i-am-writing-a-book-about-depressi_96303.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c7/andrew-solomon-1140_body-weight_since-i-am-writing-a-book-about-depressi_96303.jpg) > ““Since I am writing a book about depression, I am often asked in social situations to describe my own experiences, and I usually end by saying that I am on medication. “Still?” people ask. “But you seem fine!” To which I invariably reply that I seem fine because I am fine, and that I am fine in part because of medication. “So how long do you expect to go on taking this stuff?” people ask. When I say that I will be on medication indefinitely, people who have dealt calmly and sympathetically with the news of suicide attempts, catatonia, missed years of work, significant loss of body weight, and so on stare at me with alarm. “But it’s really bad to be on medicine that way,” they say. “Surely now you are strong enough to be able to phase out some of these drugs!” If you say to them that this is like phasing the carburetor out of your car or the buttresses out of Notre Dame, they laugh. “So maybe you’ll stay on a really low maintenance dose?” They ask. You explain that the level of medication you take was chosen because it normalizes the systems that can go haywire, and that a low dose of medication would be like removing half of your carburetor. You add that you have experienced almost no side effects from the medication you are taking, and that there is no evidence of negative effects of long-term medication. You say that you really don’t want to get sick again. But wellness is still, in this area, associated not with achieving control of your problem, but with discontinuation of medication. “Well, I sure hope you get off it sometime soon,” they say. ”” [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Long‑term psychiatric medication is often misunderstood; patients view it as essential stabilization, while outsiders see it as a sign of weakness or a problem to be eliminated. **In simple terms:** Medication is seen as both necessity and stigma. Key Takeaway Stigma clouds understanding of chronic treatment. Themes mental health stigma medication communication Mood empathetic frustrated Type personal narrative advocacy When to use this quote - doctor‑patient consultations - support groups - media interviews Key Concepts public misunderstanding patient autonomy Practical Applications - educate public on chronic medication benefits - train clinicians in stigma‑sensitive dialogue Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance respect for medication with encouragement of holistic care? - What role does language play in perpetuating stigma? A Different Perspective Some patients may over‑rely on medication, neglecting complementary therapies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body weight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body-weight/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Depression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression/) [Depression Asked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression-asked-1182092/) [Medication Indefinitely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medication-indefinitely-1182091/) [Medication Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medication-say-1182088/) [Medication Taking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medication-taking-1182090/) [Notre dame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notre-dame/) [Saying Medication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saying-medication-1182089/) [Side effects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/side-effects/) [Strong enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong-enough/) [Writing a book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-a-book/) ## Related quotes > [What's depression? He asked. It's like drowning except you can see everyone around you breathing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinier-bennett/what-s-depression-he-asked-it-s-like-drowning-except-you-can-see/) [Chinier Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinier-bennett/) > [What I hate most about myself? My body weight/figure. My friend are all twigs and make me look like an oompa loompa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-i-hate-most-about-myself-my-body-weight-figure-my-friend-are-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Myself and Yorgos Lanthimos, we spoke a little bit and I was at a certain body weight that I was closer to making a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-farrell/myself-and-yorgos-lanthimos-we-spoke-a-little-bit-and-i-was-at-a/) [Colin Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-farrell/) > [“Dose response studies indicate a linear increase in skeletal muscle protein synthesis with ingestion of high quality protein up to about 20-25 grams per…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-s-volek/dose-response-studies-indicate-a-linear-increase-in-skeletal-muscle/) [Jeff S. Volek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-s-volek/) > [I have a personal trainer who comes home. I work out three times a week for an hour each and focus on concentrated body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sayani-gupta/i-have-a-personal-trainer-who-comes-home-i-work-out-three-times-a/) [Sayani Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sayani-gupta/) > [I plan my meals according to my body weight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohit-raina/i-plan-my-meals-according-to-my-body-weight/) [Mohit Raina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohit-raina/) > [I focus on different parts of the body on different days. It's usually high-intensity circuits and a lot of body weight stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-sprouse/i-focus-on-different-parts-of-the-body-on-different-days-it-s-usually/) [Cole Sprouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-sprouse/) > [“All worries are less with wine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/all-worries-are-less-with-wine/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [“rather sit there and watch TV, get fat and out of shape OR would you rather take a 15-minute body weight workout and feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-miller/rather-sit-there-and-watch-tv-get-fat-and-out-of-shape-or-would-you/) [John Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-miller/) > [“hear him breathing behind me, loud and fast. "Are you all right, Four?" "Are you human, Tris? Being up this high..." He gulps for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/hear-him-breathing-behind-me-loud-and-fast-are-you-all-right-four-are/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“His vulnerability allowed me to let my guard down, and gently and methodically, he tore apart my well-constructed dam. Waves of tender feelings were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-houck/his-vulnerability-allowed-me-to-let-my-guard-down-and-gently-and/) [Colleen Houck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-houck/) > [“According to pioneering microbiologist Lynn Margulis, "fully 10 percent of our own dry body weight consists of bacteria, some of which, although they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-bjornerud/according-to-pioneering-microbiologist-lynn-margulis-fully-10-percent/) [Marcia Bjornerud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-bjornerud/) > [“Education will only take you so far. To go even further, I’d recommend getting a piggyback ride from a midget half your body weight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/education-will-only-take-you-so-far-to-go-even-further-i-d-recommend/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Did you know that? The muscles that move our fingers are so strong that it is possible for people to support their entire body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thebrothers/did-you-know-that-the-muscles-that-move-our-fingers-are-so-strong/) [TheBrothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thebrothers/) > [“Exercise stimulates growth plates, by putting pressure on bone cells, forcing them to specialize and create new cells. Too much pressure, however, damages the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arianne-cohen/exercise-stimulates-growth-plates-by-putting-pressure-on-bone-cells/) [Arianne Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arianne-cohen/) ## More by Andrew Solomon > [“If you banish the dragons, you banish the heroes...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/if-you-banish-the-dragons-you-banish-the-heroes/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [I started traveling out of curiosity, but I have come to believe in travel's political importance, that encouraging a nation's citizenry to travel may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/i-started-traveling-out-of-curiosity-but-i-have-come-to-believe-in/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [When I was born, the wisdom was that homosexuality was an illness; that it was caused largely by somebody's mother, and a distorted relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/when-i-was-born-the-wisdom-was-that-homosexuality-was-an-illness-that/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [A lot of people are very political when they are young, and then they outgrow it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/a-lot-of-people-are-very-political-when-they-are-young-and-then-they/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [Having always imagined myself in a fairly slim minority, I suddenly saw that I was in a vast company. Difference unites us. While each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/having-always-imagined-myself-in-a-fairly-slim-minority-i-suddenly/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [If your love didn't always contain the possibility of loss, it would be very different from human love as we know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/if-your-love-didn-t-always-contain-the-possibility-of-loss-it-would/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [Antonin Artaud wrote on one of his drawings, "Never real and always true," and that is how depression feels. You know that it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/antonin-artaud-wrote-on-one-of-his-drawings-never-real-and-always/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [I met people on college campuses who were defining themselves as genderqueer to express revolutionary feelings, or to communicate their individuality; they were gender…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/i-met-people-on-college-campuses-who-were-defining-themselves-as/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [“In the throws of depression, one reaches a strange point at which it is impossible to see the line between ones own theatricality and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/in-the-throws-of-depression-one-reaches-a-strange-point-at-which-it/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [Loving our own children is an exercise for the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/loving-our-own-children-is-an-exercise-for-the-imagination/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [One the one hand, the simple fact that there are children and that I do have an effect on them has been one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/one-the-one-hand-the-simple-fact-that-there-are-children-and-that-i/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [I grew up feeling that to be gay was a tragedy. I didn't grow up thinking that it was morally wrong, but I grew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/i-grew-up-feeling-that-to-be-gay-was-a-tragedy-i-didn-t-grow-up/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [We need to acknowledge that families come in multiple shapes and sizes, that love is not a finite asset, and that caregiving involves more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/we-need-to-acknowledge-that-families-come-in-multiple-shapes-and/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [I had always wanted to have children, so it caused me a lot of grief when I was younger, and I had supposed that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/i-had-always-wanted-to-have-children-so-it-caused-me-a-lot-of-grief/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [I really feel that the Church leaders have blood on their hands. I feel that there are gay Mormons who have committed suicide or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/i-really-feel-that-the-church-leaders-have-blood-on-their-hands-i/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) [Explore all 282 Andrew Solomon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) ## More Body weight quotes > [“Exercise stimulates growth plates, by putting pressure on bone cells, forcing them to specialize and create new cells. Too much pressure, however, damages the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arianne-cohen/exercise-stimulates-growth-plates-by-putting-pressure-on-bone-cells/) [Arianne Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arianne-cohen/) > [“Did you know that? The muscles that move our fingers are so strong that it is possible for people to support their entire body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thebrothers/did-you-know-that-the-muscles-that-move-our-fingers-are-so-strong/) [TheBrothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thebrothers/) > [“Education will only take you so far. To go even further, I’d recommend getting a piggyback ride from a midget half your body weight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/education-will-only-take-you-so-far-to-go-even-further-i-d-recommend/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“According to pioneering microbiologist Lynn Margulis, "fully 10 percent of our own dry body weight consists of bacteria, some of which, although they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-bjornerud/according-to-pioneering-microbiologist-lynn-margulis-fully-10-percent/) [Marcia Bjornerud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-bjornerud/) > [“His vulnerability allowed me to let my guard down, and gently and methodically, he tore apart my well-constructed dam. Waves of tender feelings were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-houck/his-vulnerability-allowed-me-to-let-my-guard-down-and-gently-and/) [Colleen Houck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-houck/) > [“hear him breathing behind me, loud and fast. "Are you all right, Four?" "Are you human, Tris? Being up this high..." He gulps for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/hear-him-breathing-behind-me-loud-and-fast-are-you-all-right-four-are/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“rather sit there and watch TV, get fat and out of shape OR would you rather take a 15-minute body weight workout and feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-miller/rather-sit-there-and-watch-tv-get-fat-and-out-of-shape-or-would-you/) [John Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-miller/) > [“All worries are less with wine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/all-worries-are-less-with-wine/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [I focus on different parts of the body on different days. It's usually high-intensity circuits and a lot of body weight stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-sprouse/i-focus-on-different-parts-of-the-body-on-different-days-it-s-usually/) [Cole Sprouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-sprouse/) > [I plan my meals according to my body weight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohit-raina/i-plan-my-meals-according-to-my-body-weight/) [Mohit Raina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohit-raina/) > [I have a personal trainer who comes home. I work out three times a week for an hour each and focus on concentrated body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sayani-gupta/i-have-a-personal-trainer-who-comes-home-i-work-out-three-times-a/) [Sayani Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sayani-gupta/) > [“Dose response studies indicate a linear increase in skeletal muscle protein synthesis with ingestion of high quality protein up to about 20-25 grams per…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-s-volek/dose-response-studies-indicate-a-linear-increase-in-skeletal-muscle/) [Jeff S. Volek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-s-volek/) > [Myself and Yorgos Lanthimos, we spoke a little bit and I was at a certain body weight that I was closer to making a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-farrell/myself-and-yorgos-lanthimos-we-spoke-a-little-bit-and-i-was-at-a/) [Colin Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-farrell/) > [What I hate most about myself? My body weight/figure. My friend are all twigs and make me look like an oompa loompa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-i-hate-most-about-myself-my-body-weight-figure-my-friend-are-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > ['Immortals' was very much a martial arts based training program - a lot of body weight stuff, very little in the way of actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cavill/immortals-was-very-much-a-martial-arts-based-training-program-a-lot/) [Henry Cavill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cavill/) [Browse all 107 Body weight quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body-weight/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Since I am writing a book about depression, I am often asked in social situations to describe my own experiences, and I usually end by saying that I am on medication. “Still?” people ask. “But you seem fine!” To which I invariably reply that I seem fine because I am fine, and that I am fine in part because of medication. “So how long do you expect to go on taking this stuff?” people ask. When I say that I will be on medication indefinitely, people who have dealt calmly and sympathetically with the news of suicide attempts, catatonia, missed years of work, significant loss of body weight, and so on stare at me with alarm. “But it’s really bad to be on medicine that way,” they say. “Surely now you are strong enough to be able to phase out some of these drugs!” If you say to them that this is like phasing the carburetor out of your car or the buttresses out of Notre Dame, they laugh. “So maybe you’ll stay on a really low maintenance dose?” They ask. You explain that the level of medication you take was chosen because it normalizes the systems that can go haywire, and that a low dose of medication would be like removing half of your carburetor. You add that you have experienced almost no side effects from the medication you are taking, and that there is no evidence of negative effects of long-term medication. You say that you really don’t want to get sick again. 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