Rhetorical Analysis of "Manufacturing Depression"

Abbey Pennington

Professor Rosen

RHE 309

23 Feb 2012

Rhetorical Analysis of “Manufacturing depression: A journey into the economy of melancholy.”

Gary Greenburg, a practicing psychotherapist in Connecticut wrote this excerpt from Manufacturing Depression: The Secret History of a Modern Disease. He has written about the intersection of science, politics, and ethics for many well-known publications.  Greenburg uses a personal experience as an experiment for determining whether depression is manufactured in the mind or truly a neurological chemical imbalance.  He writes a detailed account of his trials, tribulations, deep thoughts, and noticeable progressions as he decides to register himself for an appointment to try and qualify for a medical research study on Minor Depression.  As he answers vague questions from doctors and questionnaires, he is instead classified as having slight Major Depression and is assigned to a study in which three groups of people are each given a different medication. They are not informed of which group they are part of or which medication they are taking. Greenburg writes of his thoughts and appointments as he takes his audience along for his experience as a case study experiment. This article could be for anyone who is trying to determine whether or not they are depressed, someone with many internal questions that seem rather dense or abnormal, or simply someone trying to learn more about depression and how the medical industry might be affecting our diagnoses.

 Writing this article in the form of a detailed and entertaining story, Gary takes us through his steps of a patient facing possible depression. The first consultation with Doctor George Papakostas makes Gary wonder if small things such as a “weedy garden, stalled writing projects, dwindling bank accounts, and the difficulties of parenthood,” are depression (34). He also admittedly wonders if common “disappointment of a middle-aged, middle-class American life” is normal (35). Were the “brute facts of life brought home by illnesses and deaths of people [he] loved”, “country taken over by thugs, or the “calamity of capitalism more apparent every day,” all contributors to his diagnosis of Major Depression (35)? However, Greenburg wondered, what makes us considered normal verses pessimistic? What counts as being tired as opposed to depressed? Is it normal for a human to never be content and strive for greater happiness, or is this considered depression?  These questions that he comes upon make him realize that he is not too familiar with his inner self, as many people in the world feel today. When faced the questionnaires asking questions such as if life seems “empty” or “worth living”, to “ daily activities often seem trivial and unimportant”(38), Gary finds himself questioning what that truly means, only to find himself become worried about the length of time he is spending on pondering the very questions.  This shows how deeply, as humans, we can think and often confuse ourselves about our feelings.  Greenberg travels through the depths of his own mind during his voluntary experience. He spends time “trying to figure out what’s going on in [his] head- in the gray, primordial ooze where thought and feeling… arise”(39).  By asking questions that millions wonder about themselves, he is creating the emotional appeal of pathos and relateability to the audience.  He uses this strategy to grab audience’s attention and entertain them into continuing to read the article until his final conclusion and argument: that while depression can be debilitating to some who are truly suffering deeply, it has also been largely manufactured by doctors and drug companies as a medical condition with a biological cause that can be treated with prescription medication. He realized that he is being treated like an object of study rather than a human being, being “moved around like a pork belly”, yet given medicine that was “treated with the reverence due a communion wafer” (39). These, and many other similes in the text, use comparisons to everyday life objects the audience may be familiar with to better paint a picture and help them understand the point he is trying to prove through his writing. Gary Greenburg notes that after the introduction of antidepressants, it’s become common to simply assume that our sadness can be explained in terms of a disease called depression rather than typical human emotions that everyone feels. He points out that at the site he attended for the appointments and follow-ups, “they’ve gotten ahold of a big [idea about who we are]. They have figured out how to use the gigantic apparatus of modern medicine to restore our hope”, therefore, the medical industry could simply be trying to manufacture these diseases in patient’s minds to create the need for purchasing medications.  When Greenburg showed “much improvement” over his participation in the study, he decided to get his pills sent to the lab and see what they actually were.  Did he need antidepressants? Were they simply fish oil? Neither.  He had been taking placebos that were filled with sugar.  The progression was all in his mind, and he believes this may be common for many other people as well.

            His vivid story-telling skills, descriptions, and rhetorical devices such as similes and analogies made the story more enjoyable and lively as well as supported his argument. I believe this text could be likely to persuade the audience because he poses many questions that I had asked myself before, so I believe it could be relatable to other people as well. This text could also be persuasive to the audience who thinks manufacturing depression is how the medical economy works to help make some patients cause depression because, in the end, the placebo effect cured his mind.

Greenberg, Gary. Manufacturing Depression: The Secret History of a Modern Disease. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010. Print.