Tom Cruise Went Against The Medical Establishment Over Antidepressants And Nearly Lost His Career—But The Most Recent Findings Show That He Was Right All Along

During the interview, Tom Cruise directly criticized the use of antidepressants, at one point asserting that “there is no such thing as a chemical imbalance in the body.” Though this was nearly 20 years ago now, Cruise’s star was on the rise at the time and though he’s had his fair share of wealth and public attention since then, he was condemned and denounced thoroughly for his comments. There’s no denying that Cruise went against the medical establishment, and very nearly lost his career. But recent findings show that he was right all along. (Skip to 8:10 for Cruise’s comments on antidepressants.) 

The Controversy

After a perfunctory discussion of his then-engagement to Katie Holmes, Lauer and Cruise’s discussion somehow turned to actress Brooke Shields and her use of antidepressants to treat her postpartum depression. On the birth of her daughter Rowan in 2003, Shields said she “felt rage” at her husband for being happy. The famed actress and ‘90s icon also added that when she returned home from the hospital with her baby, things took a turn for the worse mentally, making it nearly impossible for her to bond with her newborn.

Fortunately for Shields, her husband noticed her distress, along with the fact that she had no desire to care for or even pick up their new baby. It was her husband, according to Shields, who encouraged her to go to the doctor and get a prescription for an SSRI, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, to aid her postpartum recovery.

Tom Cruise, we know by now, wasn’t a fan. Cruise said to Lauer at the time that he’d “done the research” about “mind-altering antipsychotics” and how they’re pushed on a market that’s overly medicated and hungry for more, especially when it comes to children. Cruise even said that Shields was “irresponsible” for treating her postpartum depression with antidepressants, offending many. 

It should be noted, though, that Cruise isn’t a renegade against Big Pharma because he’s an anti-establishment cultural folk hero. Scientology, Cruise’s religion (which has been described in detail by past members as a cult), prohibits the use of medication. After the fact, Cruise told E News, “I know this is controversial. And people don’t have to listen to me. But they should find out about this for themselves. I really do care about people, and I care about the way their lives are being harmed by these drugs. I’m not saying that women, men, and children don’t come up against problems in life. But drugs aren’t the solution. There’s this huge industry, this machine, pushing us to hurry up and put our kids on drugs. Well, you know what I say to that machine? I say, ‘screw you.’ Controversy doesn’t bother me, because I know what I’m saying is right.”

What We Know Now

Cruise, to the disappointment of his critics, is right. SSRIs, or antidepressants, are mind-altering drugs, and new evidence points to the fact that the main pillar supporting how we understand depression is entirely incorrect.

For decades, we've thought that it is a chemical imbalance in our brain which causes depression. In fact, the medical establishment has sold countless drugs and raked in millions on this one concept alone. Almost 90% of people believe this is the leading cause behind depression, but in reality, it isn’t that simple.

Almost 90% of people believe a chemical imbalance is the leading cause of depression, but it's not that simple.

The “chemical imbalance” theory came from a psychiatrist at Harvard in 1965, and it quickly became popular not only in the scientific realm, but with the general public as well. After all, it seemed to seamlessly and efficiently answer all of our burning questions about how and why we are depressed as individuals. 

One researcher has now called this “the marketing of a myth.” In fact, a “chemical imbalance” is an oversimplification of what depression is caused by, which can be due to your genetics, gender, or even environmental factors. Now, some scientists agree that the overprescription of antidepressants has created a veritable drug dependency rampant in our culture, and has discouraged getting to the root of the issue and more reliable forms of treatment like therapy.

It’s Countercultural Now To Be Against Medication

Tom Cruise’s 20-year-old interview has been vindicated, but that’s not what lies at the heart of the issue here. It’s rare to see a celebrity come out against a norm and not immediately apologize with their tail between their legs once there’s a public outcry, so Cruise does deserve some credit there, even if the logic behind it is due to Scientology. 

What’s really crazy here is the cultural shift we’re witnessing right in front of our eyes. 20 years ago, kooky celebrities and the flower children of the ‘60s and ‘70s were really the only vocal opponents of the medical establishment and Big Pharma. Back then, distrust of the government did exist, but it was for hippies and those who could afford to publicly criticize them and not lose everything – like movie stars with large corporate “religions” supporting them.

Now, distrust of the government and the medical establishment has all but exploded. We’ve seen it with the rate of trust in medical professionals falling across the past couple of years, and moms who once voted for progressive candidates taking to social media to decry masking in their kids’ schools. 

Once, it was part of the progressive platform to fight against authoritarian institutions and to question the narrative. Now, it’s considered dangerously radical to distrust medical institutions that have supposedly been working for our benefit for the past two years. The revelations which have surfaced on antidepressants are no different from the conversation on vaccines or the reality of getting Covid. The information is out there for everyone, but only a select group is paying attention.

Closing Thoughts

For too long, critics of our over-dependence on antidepressants have been lambasted as uncaring or as not understanding the profound sickness behind mental illness. But it’s possible to recognize the severity of mental illness and to also know that medication isn’t the answer for everyone. An across-the-board approach instead of an individualized one only benefits Big Pharma, and with more authority and more money than ever before, it will eventually become more difficult for these new types of research to be granted legitimacy in the wider public eye.

This new research into the theories which have governed our prescriptions, our health system, and our lives for so long shouldn’t be looked at with disappointment, but with optimism. Now that we know overprescription and overdependence on an SSRI isn’t the best solution, we can work towards a future where we’re not governed by either our drug dependence or our mental illness but by healthy, reliable solutions.

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