In the end, the only thing that can fix you is you.
If it means that you aren't the person that you are after taking it, then that's obviously contradictory. You are always the person you are.
If it means that you aren't the person you were before taking it, then the medication is not necessary for that. At any given moment, you are always a different person than you were in the previous moment.
And even if you (erroneously) reject the latter, you would still have to concede that you are not the same person, after "fixing" yourself through non-pharmacological means, as you were when you were depressed.
Flourishing with other humans, whether in a tribe or NYC, is more authentic than starving to death in the wilderness.
So you look to antidepressants. That's still you trying to fix you. And perhaps the changes it induces to the psyche don't outweigh the benefits of depression, even in the face of its monumental drawbacks that urged you into trying the pills in the first place. Now, I can hardly say I've been on everything that can be prescribed. It's exaggerating to say that I even dabbled in SSRIs. But for the few months I spent on them, I wouldn't say they made me into somebody I wasn't. I'd say that I made me into something different. Of course, I might not have liked that different somebody. I might have pondered whether this was all still in my head and I was swallowing sugar pills and what would that say about me if the mere suggestion that I was taking magic pills made me better but wouldn't that put me back at square one... And so on.
But I can't in good conscience begrudge anyone trying to muddle their way through life. If pills work for them then by all means take them. If they're happier with that different someone then I'd say they've embraced their new identity, not morphed into something they aren't.
I don't really know why I typed all this up. I'm tempted to Ctrl-A/Backspace it. But hey, when's the next time the ramblings of the inner conscience will be topical in HN?
I suppose we could take this further, for the sake of making a point, and ask if one receives a lobotomy, is one his or her self?
I'm glad you typed it up, it made me think.
Think his point is that heroin is generally not considered a good thing, although it can obviously have some nice effects.
Well, you'll reach your destination quickly and it's bad for your environment.
In seriousness, the stigmatization of medicating anxiety and depression is very unhealthy. While pills shouldn't be the first or only option, implying someone is weak for using meds is plain wrongheaded.
"No son, I'm not going to give you painkillers while you pass these gallstones. You see, that would change your state of mind and make you a different person. Plus, if you fight through the agony it'll make you a better human. It's natural, y'see."
The point is that drugs are not inherently evil. Some drugs might be more harmful than beneficial, but that can only be determined by trials and evidence. Demonizing the things is the exact opposite of helpful.
In fact, I'll amplify the point: Injecting morality into things without a moral dimension is very harmful. It prevents people from looking at things rationally, by clouding the issue with emotional noise.
To amplify, there is nothing morally wrong with anti-depressants either. However morality is not the issue of my concern, the deadening of true self is.
I find it even more doubtful that you can give a definition of "artificially modified" which is meaningfully distinct from natural change.