New York City feature writer Holly Millea, in a recent article for the popular fashion and culture magazine Elle, compares her own life and career with the characters of the 1966 mega best-selling novel and movie Valley of the Dolls. Over the years Millea has used, with brief success, Prozac, Celexa, Paxil, Zoloft, Wellbutrin, Lexapro, Ambien, Effexor, and Ativan. She quotes a recent study in the American Journal of Public Health, which reveals that anti-anxiety prescriptions in the US increased 67% between 1996 and 2013.

Millea writes about her own life:

Depression runs in my family, or, rather, runs around my family, taking turns with us. For me, personally, it was never bed-confiding, but it was often isolating. Most days it was like suffering a low-grade fever, which I counteracted by acting up and just plain acting. ... leaving me a mixture of exhausted and anxious. There were moments when a burst of lightness would catch me midstep – Oh! I’m happy! This is happy! – and I’d stand still thinking, Remember this feeling. And wishing I could capture it in a bottle.

Source:

Holly Millea, “It’s A Doll World,” Elle, July 2016