Antidepressants In Brave New World

In the famous 1930’s novel, Brave New World, written by Aldous Huxley, a huge theme within deals with happiness. Soma, a drug used to create simultaneous happiness, is referred to numerous times throughout the novel. Not only does it make people happy, but it seems to be the only source of happiness within the utopian world. In a passage from the novel, there takes place a conversation between Dr.Shaw and John, regarding Linda’s dosage of soma. The Doctor states that

Throughout the wonderful adventure we call life people seem to go to extreme measures to reach the “height” of their happiness. Cliff diving, for example, from any height can in no way shape or form be considered “safe”. In fact, it is one of the most dangerous sports a person

People ask why do people do that? It’s not worth the harm caused to your body, or even the end of a life. What people don’t understand is that sometimes people can be in such bad state of unhappiness, or depression that the only way to solve the problem is by taking these antidepressants. As in Brave New World, soma is used as a stimulant to result in an extreme amount of happiness in a very short amount of time. Just as antidepressants are used in today’s society. The people who take these drugs may be using it for depression, or other conditions such as anxiety or shyness. They can even be taken by people who are 100% healthy to make them feel better about themselves. Some may argue that these pills aren’t truly making one “jovial”, that the drug being used is really just covering up their unhappiness but putting them in a slightly better mood. “People can also drown their sorrow in alcohol or get a euphoric feeling using narcotics, but few people who do would be called truly happy.” I would never personally recommend that someone takes antidepressants to make them happy. However, I believe that if someone is truly unhappy, that to fix it with other methods such as therapy would take years, maybe even months. That’s a waste of lifetime. Years and months that could go by with not the slightest bit of happiness, when at the pop of a lid, and a sip of water happiness