It’s probably not a big shocker that singer Alanis Morissette suffers from bouts of depression. Her music and lyrics provide a pretty transparent window into her struggles, don’t they? Alanis addressed her problems with depression in a recent interview, and her methods of battling it might be a bit unorthodox: lots of running, lots of kale, and the occasional joint and glass of red wine.
Alanis Morissette struggled with depression her whole life, but recently, she found an effective antidote: running.
Morissette, 35, tells Runner’s World that “running has made being depressed impossible. If I’m going through something emotional and just go outside for a run, you can rest assured I’ll come back with clarity.”
The Grammy-winning singer, who has run two marathons, tries to live a healthy lifestyle, including eating lots of kale. But she still occasionally indulges “in red wine, and it’s fun to have medical marijuana once in a while,” she says. “I still party and include a little debauchery.”
Always an active athlete – Morissette says she was once a “hard core” swimmer who trained seven days a week – she sometimes struggles with the motivation to run. “But I tie my laces, put on a tight bra and get out there like a little robot. The first 10 minutes are excruciating, but soon I get into the flow.”
Morissette ran the two marathons for charity and did November’s New York City Marathon with Edward Norton on behalf of the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust. In October, she did the Bizz Johnson Trail Marathon through Lassen National Forest in California, representing the National Eating Disorders Association.
“I struggled with eating disorders, especially in my teens,” she says, “but I’ve noticed when I treat my body like an instrument instead of an ornament, my relationship with food completely changes.’
I have a lot of admiration for runners. I’ve tried it, I hated it, so I stick with lower-impact forms of exercise like power walking or swimming. And of course, my favorite: napping. I have friends who rave about marathon training, but that kind of thing would definitely get in the way of my wine drinking/chocolate eating regimen. But from what Alanis says, perhaps you can train like a fiend and still carve out a little naughty time in your life. What I want to know is, how does one procure this medical marijuana for depression? I know that folks with glaucoma and even cancer patients can get it, but I never knew that people with clinical depression were able to. Can someone fill me in on this? Not for me, of course….for a friend. Anyway, it sounds like Alanis is in a really good place in her life these days. I know she was in hiding for a while there after her breakup with Ryan Reynolds, but she seems like she is way over him now.
Alanis Morissette at the Environmental Media Awards in LA on October 25, 2009. Credit: WENN.
She looks like an Osmond in that pic.
I thought I’ve read somewhere that if you’re depressed, MJ is the WORST thing to treat it. I never liked it anyway.
Running though. THAT is good.
You just need to do the right kind of MJ. There are a lot of different strains that affect you differently. Not that it is for everyone but it is not fair to say that it is the worst thing to treat depression. Red wine in large quantities would be worse. Besides, she is pretty much saying she uses running to help her but still indulges every now and then.
I am completely in favor of legalizing medical marijuana and have personally seen how it helps with depression – especially the anxiety and insomnia that often accompany clinical depression. That being said, I feel like Alanis is doing a bit of a disservice to the fight for medical marijuana rights by noting that it’s “fun to have medical marijuana once in a while”. I understand that it can be both helpful and fun at the same time, but it seems like the medicinal nature is easier to deny when people are saying that it’s fun to use. Not like we’re walking around saying it’s fun to have Zoloft once in a while, you know? I don’t think she meant any harm by her comment and I appreciate her candor, I just wish she had phrased it differently.
Marijuana is a physical as well as a psychological depressant.
If you smoke the good shit in sufficient quantities it can take you out of commission for more than a few hours.
I know on a few instances I’ve done enough to feel foggy headed and stupid the next morning.
Marijuana is a crutch for depressed people who have basically given up. It doesn’t really “help” them, it just softens the blow of reality for somebody who believes they can’t do any better.
I have no idea how she makes herself run while depressed. When I’m depressed I can’t make myself get off the couch to shower, let alone put on shoes and go outside.
When I was younger, I loved marijuana. I smoked it A LOT. There really are different qualities depending on location (central Illinois is a BAD place to get it, I’ve learned). These days though it makes me paranoid and tired. I feel self-conscious when I talk to someone and the next day I feel stupid.
But anyway, good for you, Alanis Morissette, for finding a way to feel better.
“Marijuana is a physical as well as a psychological depressant.”
Marijuana is, in fact, NOT A DEPRESSANT! It is a mild STIMULANT and a psychoactive. This is why depressed people see benefits from using medical MJ. The anti-depressants prescribed to depressed people often cause the depression to become more acute because of those drugs affect on the serotonin system. MJ, to a lesser degree, affects the same systems so the users see some of the same benefits without all the crazy side effects.
So get your facts straight before you generalize an entire group and spout your Regan era “just say no” bulldookey. It’s no more “a crutch for depressed people who have basically given up.” than paxil, zoloft or any of the other chemicals used to treat depression.
And as far as the “good shit” taking you “out of commission for a few hours” there’s a term for that… light weight.
I don’t like when celebrities try and minimize a serious illness like depression by saying it can be cured with running, drinking wine and smoking illegal weed. She may have some young impressionable fans out there struggling with depression and go off their meds, and decide to try her “cure”. This is dangerous and irresponsible of her. Considering she hasn’t had a successful music career since Jagged little pill ten years ago and lost her fiance to a younger model maybe she has reason to be depressed and smoking weed, drinking wine and running hasn’t brought the man back or her career so maybe its time she went to a doctor.
She seems to be doing fine today, & how’s her ex & the woman he left her for doing. We all have ups and Downs.
~
Why would marijuana be a ‘crutch’ for depressed people and anti-depressants aren’t?
I’ve tried both, and there are pharmaceutical manufacturers who wish they could make something as effective as cannabis.
It works as part of a program of fitness, diet, meditation etc. I find it most effective when eaten – effects last longer, more ‘even’.
It’s no fun when you run out. But you can actually work on healing your state and being, instead of taking pills and just being a dry-mouth zombie en route to tremors and liver damage.
I think cannabis can help some people and be a crutch for people, both. Problem is, nobody’s sorted out how to regulate it for different potential medical purposes. Either way I think alcohol can be much more dangerous as a recreational substance.
Also, as someone who has hated every single anti-depressant I’ve ever been prescribed, if Alanis isn’t taking pills because she doesn’t like them, I sympathize. It’s not like she’s Billy from Six Feet Under or something.
@ Bobby the K: I just got done reading an article that says anti-depressants might up your stroke risk.
well, you see, v, there are some folks on this board that like to think they are experts on EVERY subject, when they really don’t know what they’re talking about.
they will make sweeping generalizations about things that they really have no knowledge of, or a very limited experience with.
DIVA: “I don’t like when celebrities try and minimize a serious illness like depression by saying it can be cured with running, drinking wine and smoking illegal weed.”
She didn’t say that at all. She said that SHE, herself, personally, finds running helpful in handling her depression. And incidentally, exercise is actually recommended by GPs for those struggling with depression. Not as the cure, but as something that has definite physiological benefits.
“She may have some young impressionable fans out there struggling with depression and go off their meds, and decide to try her “cure”. This is dangerous and irresponsible of her.”
If she has young, impressionable fans who are on meds and are so vulnerable they would stop taking their medication just because Alanis finds running helpful, hopefully they have carers and guardians who can ensure they don’t stop the meds. Depression does not equal stupidity.
“Considering she hasn’t had a successful music career since Jagged little pill ten years ago and lost her fiance to a younger model maybe she has reason to be depressed and smoking weed, drinking wine and running hasn’t brought the man back or her career so maybe its time she went to a doctor.”
WOW. Just wow. What a bitter, hateful, sexist little creature you are.
First off, if she has such a lousy career, at least she won’t have to worry about any of her impressionable young fans coming off their meds, huh? She obviously doesn’t have any, so what are you worrying about? (Does the term “logical consistency” ring any bells? No? Oh. Okay.)
And yeah, probably breaking up with your fiance WOULD make a lot of people depressed. What’s your point there?
What makes you think she’s trying to bring the man back at all? She’s trying to control her depression, not win back her ex, and from the sound of things, she’s doing a good job getting on with her life and controlling her illness.
She’s a woman using commonsense, a little indulgence, and a healthy lifestyle to combat depression; she sounds happy and content. And for this you have nothing but bile?
Hey Diva news flash…medical marijuana is LEGAL in california. It is also pretty much legal to have small amounts for personal use in several other states. It also helps your appetite and is therefore good for people who have or used to have eating disorders.
Yeah she should go to a doctor and get on some pills because prescription pills aren’t REAL drugs. Just like adderall doesn’t affect your brain like cocaine. Freaking moron.
And thank god she and Ryan broke up. He is nothing more than a generic shell who wears too much foundation.
@Lenore You should try reading up on medical treatments for depression then you would know that that going to illegal drugs, wine and running is not a “cure” it is called self-medication. So yes, there is something wrong with an “artist” giving medical advice about depression since people do listen to them. She should stick to writing music. There is nothing sexist about that, nor hateful, I happen to like Alanis Morrisette.
I think cannabis can help some people and be a crutch for people, both.
You mean kinda like alcohol, food, sex, shopping, exercise, gambling, painkillers, cosmetic surgery, work, coffee, religion, etc, etc. 😉
Addicts are addicts. When trying to “break” an addiction they often are just replacing it with something else. Alcohol for painkillers, painkillers for cigarettes, cigarettes for jawbreakers, jawbreakers for jigsaw puzzles.
Yes, there are substances which are physically addictive, but someone with an addictive personality can develop an addiction to just about anything.
@diva Medical marijuana isn’t illegal as long as she consumes it where her prescription is recognized.
Having seen the process of getting a medicinal marijuana I.D.– for a friend of course– people usually go into special clinics where the doctor has built a business around prescribing marijuana and providing medical cards.
Though your primary care doctor is allowed to prescribe weed, I don’t think very many would. But who knows, maybe if you have a good doctor and they’re open to that kind of thing.
Otherwise you’re stuck going to one of these clinics, but it’s not hard AT ALL to get a card. You just say what it is you are suffering from, and the doctor signs you up. They’ll give them to you for depression, cramps (seriously), eating disorders… all sorts of stuff.
Kind of wonderful and hilarious at the same time.
In NorCal you can easily get a medical mj Rx for depression, anxiety… or stubbing your toe, practically. I know many people who are highly motivated athletes who get stoned all the time, hold down professional jobs, etc. Ask your local surfer, m-kay? For me, I can barely walk after mj, but I suppose it just comes down to your tolerance and chemistry. Like others have said, a person can get addicted to anything. Never heard of a person being hospitalized for weed withdrawls, though. Can’t say that for alcohol or many prescription meds, can you? Oh, but run to your local M.D. who will get you hooked on xanax or reliant on an SSRI to feel “okay” – it’s just fine for you because it’s legal!
Personally, I’d get an Rx for mj before getting on Zoloft, Paxil, etc. THAT stuff is scary, IMHO. In an ideal world none of us would abuse food, drink, pills, smokes, etc. to feel okay, but sometimes it’s about choosing the lesser of the evils. Some of you need to step off that soapbox before life kicks you off!
I don’t think we need to be worrying about where he prescription is recognized. The last time the cops caught me smoking, they told me to go smoke in my house please. Seriously.
@v. Actually in the medical world, marijuana is classified as a depressant, same as alcohol.
It is not under the stimulant class, those are ADD drugs like ritalin and adderral. I think you took the word depressant literally, so you should fact check as well.
“there are pharmaceutical manufacturers who wish they could make something as effective as cannabis.”
They already have. It’s called Marinol (generic name: nabalone), a derivative of the active ingredient, THC, and it’s been around for decades.
@DD– you are correct.
It’s her battle to fight, but pot would not work for me. I never knew what to expect when I smoked it. Every experience was different. I was either tired, paranoid, hungry or uncontrollably giggly.
It really depends on what’s in it, I guess. I am not Alanis, so I wouldn’t have access to the consistently good stuff.
@Diva: All arguments about marijuana and depression aside, your comment was really nasty and misogynistic. She is not the kind of artist who invites or deserves such vitriol.
I admire Morissette’s honesty. Primarily, it’s running that gets her out of depression and brings her clarity. She then mixes in a bit of “debauchery” now and then for balance. Marijuana really isn’t the meat of this piece.
Listen, children.
Type define: depressant into the google search text field.
# sedative: a drug that reduces excitability and calms a person
# capable of depressing physiological or psychological activity or response by a chemical agent
Hello… Marijuana.
The opposite of marijuana would be cocaine.
And yes, amid much butthurt replies I’ve never EVER met a single person with surmountable problems, that resorted to marijuana use.
The fact of the matter is, when people self medicate with any sort of depressant, they’re doing so as a last ditch effort, because they don’t seem to think they can overcome the problem themselves, and thus are resigned to live with it.
Even Kat Williams expounds on the issue of pot use for individuals who have looming, systemic problems in their life that they cannot deal with.
Just remember, anger is the weathervane of truth.
@ Lee
Where did Diva say anything remotely resembling “woman hating”?
“I admire Morissette’s honesty. Primarily, it’s running that gets her out of depression and brings her clarity. She then mixes in a bit of “debauchery” now and then for balance. Marijuana really isn’t the meat of this piece.”
It is, because essentially what’s happening is she’s taking one step forward and two steps back.
I am an ex pharmacy tech and I had 2 older lady customers on zoloft and paxil tell me they wished they never got on those drugs. When they have tried to withdrawal from them, they went through hell so they were paying alot for their prescriptions so they wouldn’t have to go through the withdrawal. My dearly departed mother went to her psychiatrist just to get her amitriptyline so she wouldn’t have to go through the withdrawals. I also had a regular lady on clonazepam and, though she was a nice lady, when she ran out and couldn’t get her refill a couple of days early, she would flip out. My ex-pharmacy manager was also addicted to this drug and was a mean vitriolic woman, which could have just been her nature but the clonazepam sure didn’t seem to help her. Marijuana, if you get it from a legit source, doesn’t seem all that bad compared to prescription drug addiction – it gets you high and, though it sucks to run out, there is no withdrawal. Maybe Alanis could hook up with Michael Phelps.
She’s beautiful. She’s rich. She’s talented, can sing, can play guitar. What’s to be depressed about? Gee, what does it take?
@DD Fact checked just fine.
“While many drugs clearly fall into the category of either stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogen, cannabis exhibits a mix of all properties, perhaps leaning the MOST towards hallucinogen or psychedelic properties.”
I hardly agree that a drug that stimulates such things as your heart rate, blood pressure and metabolic rate would or should be considered a depressant. maybe the “medical world” thinks the whole stoner vibe equals depressant, but they’ve been known to get things terribly wrong quite often.
@ WTF?!? – Marinol is a single synthetic compound whereas actual MJ has quite a few different compounds. A lot of people who’ve tried Marinol have gone right back to smoking the actual thing because the effects are vastly different and far less effective for medical treatment.
@loldongs – just because you’ve “never EVER met a single person with surmountable problems, that resorted to marijuana use” doesn’t mean that the vast majority of people who use it aren’t perfectly normal and balanced people with normal problems that have nothing to do with smoking pot. My parents both smoke regularly and they’re both happy, successful and healthy, with no history of depression, anxiety or any other mental illness. I imagine you’d argue that they’re the exception, but they’re two of many “business stoners” who’ve come into my life and not a single one of these people have shown any indication of having problems they find insurmountable. not everyone drinks to black out and not everyone smokes to forget their problems.
@loldongs
Uhhh maybe the “traded in for a younger model” comment? Hello?
And scuse me loldongs and diva but who are you to judge what decisions she makes? And criticizing her for using exercise to combat depression, a piece of advice MANY doctors give out? What would you rather have her do? Use anti depressants? Oh sure, that’ll cure everything. You’re soooo much better than her because you would resort to mind numbing doctor prescribed pills. Nevermind that there are verifiable cases where anti depressants have actually caused, gasp, DEPRESSION and suicide not to mention a lengthy list of side effects (meanwhile, marijuana has historically never taken a life). I suppose if she HAD taken the pills you would have sniffed and whined about how you should be able to “get over it yourself without having to resort to medication”.
All in all, judging her for that choice seems rather pathetic when both of you probably have your own less than savory indulgences. Difference is, we all don’t know about them. Either way, I doubt any of us would criticize or vilely take you to task for it like you have Ms. Morissette. We all deal with things in our own way. You two are no rose, and deep down you aren’t any different. But what does make you different from her and the rest of us? You seem to derive way too much pleasure from judging others and holding yourself in higher esteem than they. That to me is much more despicable than anything you’ve accused her of.
“It is, because essentially what’s happening is she’s taking one step forward and two steps back.” So glad you’re the reigning mental and physical health expert here at Celebitchy, loldongs. Unless you are her doctor, or Alanis herself, you have no clue, and no right.
Oh, wait I forgot you listened to Katt Williams once. Never mind! You must know exactly what you’re talking about! I sincerely hope neither of you is ever depressed, so you don’t have to realize how stuck up, judgmental, and completely out of touch you are on this issue.
I understand what she means about running, I have been a runner since age 13, but I vowed (and renewed those vows even as recently as July 09) never to ever even think about running a marathon. Then I started to get a muffin top and decided I would just train for a marathon. The training was addictive. I am totally loving it. Bizarre and unexplainable, but true.
@loldongs: check out comment #8. Pretty nasty:
“Considering she hasn’t had a successful music career since Jagged little pill ten years ago and lost her fiance to a younger model maybe she has reason to be depressed and smoking weed, drinking wine and running hasn’t brought the man back or her career so maybe its time she went to a doctor.”
Uh. . . I have to call BS, Msat.
I actually have this particular issue of Runner’s World, and no where in her interview does Alanis say that marijuana helps her depression. She specifically mentions that running helps to curb her depression. (Which makes sense because physical activity helps alter and “rebuild” neurotransmitters in the brain, helping many longtime sufferers “deal” with depression more effectively.)
She mentions, “I occasionally indulge in red wine, and it’s fun to have medical marijuana once in a while. I still party and include a little debauchery, but I don’t want to go too extreme in terms of the lifestyle. I try to keep balanced.”
Not that I’m trying to stir the pot, or anything. (Heh, “pot”.) But people are starting to get nasty and defensive over a statement that has been taken completely out of context.
Wikipedia says that medical marijuana is used for depression. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_cannabis
And here I’ve been relying on Zoloft all these years when all I had to do was smoke a doobie and baby, ev’rything is alright, uptight, clean out of sight. hummm, hummm mmmmm. hm. la la la.
I think everyone in here needs to stop being so damn anxious, step back and light up and relax….
“@loldongs – just because you’ve “never EVER met a single person with surmountable problems, that resorted to marijuana use” doesn’t mean that the vast majority of people who use it aren’t perfectly normal and balanced people with normal problems that have nothing to do with smoking pot. My parents both smoke regularly and they’re both happy, successful and healthy, with no history of depression, anxiety or any other mental illness. I imagine you’d argue that they’re the exception, but they’re two of many “business stoners” who’ve come into my life and not a single one of these people have shown any indication of having problems they find insurmountable. not everyone drinks to black out and not everyone smokes to forget their problems.”
False dichotomy, ah lol.
More logical fallacies, more defective logic.
Self made successful people aren’t stoners unless they’re retired and have nothing better to do with their lives.
Motivation and being stoned are two diametric opposites. The vast majority of people who routinely use psychoactives do so avoid reality. You sound very insecure and thus along with your defective reasoning and emotional arguments, your credibility seems shaky at best.
Of course it helps! Go to the doctor and get prescribed a bunch of chemical junk that is bad for your body, or, just grow your own marijuana in your closet, use it when needed and feel good at that least it is all natural.
Marijuana is a great cure for lots of things. I use it for severe tourettes syndrome and migrane headaches.
Happy Growing,
-GG
At least shes living her life and not posting nonsense that is none of her business…ahem…hint hint
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