NEW YORK - Brooke Shields took aim at Tom Cruise's "Today" show diatribe against antidepressants, saying the drugs helped her survive feelings of hopelessness after the birth of her first child. In an op-ed piece published Friday in The New York Times, Shields criticized what she called Cruise's "ridiculous rant."


Cruise had criticized the actress for taking the drugs, and became particularly passionate about the issue in an interview on "Today" last week.

"You don't know the history of psychiatry. I do," Cruise told Matt Lauer.

He went on to say there was no such thing as chemical imbalances that need to be corrected with drugs, and that depression could be treated with exercise and vitamins.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say that Mr. Cruise has never suffered from postpartum depression," Shields wrote.

She added that Cruise's comments "are a disservice to mothers everywhere. To suggest that I was wrong to take drugs to deal with my depression, and that instead I should have taken vitamins and exercised shows an utter lack of understanding about postpartum depression and childbirth in general."

Shields said she considered swallowing a bottle of pills or jumping out the window at the lowest point of her depression following the birth of her daughter, Rowan Francis, in 2003. A doctor later attributed her feelings to a plunge in her estrogen and progesterone levels and prescribed the antidepressant Paxil.

"If any good can come of Mr. Cruise's ridiculous rant, let's hope that it gives much-needed attention to a serious disease," she wrote.

Shields described her post-childbirth experiences in the book "Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression."

Cruise is a follower of Scientology, a religion that teaches that psychiatry is a destructive pseudo-science.

This is a very very touchy subject for me.

I completely agree with Shields. NO ONE understand till you have been through it or have HELPED someone through it



but whatever

ella731 said:

absolutely

very touchy subject...
why dont we just kill tom cruise then?

SammiJ said:

now you're talkin!

psychiatry is a destructive pseudo-science.

Lleena said:

i think you should kick his little ass.

Touchy subject.

*I* think that severe depression requires drugs, but the key is determining how severe it is. I know people who were depressed and got sick of medications and said fuck it. Threw them out and started meditating and exercising regularly and are fine now.

I think that there are way too many drugs being prescribed these days and that diet and exercise play a huge role in it. But if you're ready to jump out a window or swallow a bottle of pills, you need some help. And I do believe there is such a thing as chemical imbalances.

I pretty much agree with the sentiments being expressed here. Cruise's stance on this stems from his Scientology beliefs, and it's obvious that he's hinting that HE knows a better way to deal with this. His statement that HE knows the history of psychiatry is a direct reference to Hubbard's writings on this matter. Dianetics and Scientology were (and still are) touted as being the cure for all mental ailments. I find it rather funny that Scientologists bash psychiatry as a "pseudo-science" when so much of what they advocate falls into that category (IN MY OPINION. I'm not trying to bash anyone who is a Scientologist).

To me, drugs are too often prescribed to deal with people with moderate depression, HOWEVER, I do feel that there are MANY legitimate cases where it is merited. There DEFINITELY is such a thing as a chemical imbalance, and women suffering from post-partum depression are definitely victims of it.

In a nutshell, Cruise just needs to shut the hell up. I have no problem with him stating his beliefs, but he's being an asshole about it. State your opinion, but don't tell people they don't know what they are talking about and you do. His arrogant attitude towards Matt Lauer was just sickening.

The thing is, Tom Cruise has never experienced being around a woman who has severe post partum depression!! When he was married 2 Nicole Kidman their 2 children were ADOPTED, so Nicole never had 2 experience things like hormone changes and then things like breast feeding which also mucks u up as well!!

So, really Tom Cruise hasnt got a clue what hes talking about!!!

I don't think Brooke Shields will ever be doing a movie with Tom Cruise anytime soon.

[Edited 7/1/05 6:01am]

Tom Cruise has been acting as if he is on a sugar-high for the past 4 months now. Some pediatrician needs to put him back on Ritalin!