‘Hours’ of pain

Sandra Wells and Scott Smith (Letters, Jan. 19) call the women in “The Hours” spoiled and say they have no regard for the consequences for those left behind.

Please read a book on clinical depression. It has nothing to do with possessions, money, lifestyle or how many people love and care for you. It is a legitimate mental illness caused by faulty wiring in the brain and/or not being able to produce enough of the neural transmitters (chemicals and hormones) that keep balance in the brains of mentally healthy people.

I suppose you two blame diabetics for not being able to produce enough insulin.

Estrelda Thomas

Fontana

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Regarding the behavior of Virginia Woolf in the movie “The Hours,” I can attest to its authenticity (“Self-Discovery: a Noble Journey,” by Gloria Steinem, Jan. 12). I have suffered with bipolar disorder for 20 years, but thank God there was medication for me. I understand completely “the hours” that have to be painfully passed. It is so arrogant that people like Steinem, who have never suffered this hell, call in their limited understanding to pontificate on it.

J. Hattem

San Clemente