Prozac Mania Essay Research Paper Prozac Mania

Prozac: Mania Essay, Research Paper

Prozac: Mania

“Yeah, I’m on Prozac,” I hear quite often, said as if the speaker had

just received a new Porsche. I often do catch myself responding with, “I’m on

Zoloft isn’t modern medicine great.” In a way, this exchange is a way of

bonding. In another, more twisted way, it is a way of receiving a stamp of

approval from my peers, for antidepressants have become extremely widespread and

widely accepted. “Prozac…has entered pop culture…becoming the stuff of

cartoons and stand-up comedy routines” .and, of course, really bad jokes by

people who do not take the drug. (Chisholm and Nichols 36).

These days, being prescribed an antidepressant carries less stigma than

in the past. “Prozac has attained the familiarity of Kleenex and the social

status of spring water” (Cowley 41). Gone are the days when the label “loony”

is slapped upon a person taking these drugs. Antidepressants have become almost

as commonplace as Tylenol. Prozac is being prescribed for much more than

clinical depression. Some of the other illnesses that are treatable by Prozac

include bulimia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and dysthymia, which is chronic

low-grade depression. In some cases, it is even prescribed for anxiety or low

self-esteem (Chisholm and Nichols 38).

Part of the popularity of Prozac stems from declining health care. “As

medical plans cut back on coverage for psychotherapy, says [Dr. Robert] Birnbaum

of Boston’s Beth Israel, psychiatrists feel pressure simply to .medicate and

then monitor side effects’” (Cowley 42). General practitioners, however, write

the majority of Prozac prescriptions. Both of these scenarios raise concerns,

as some psychiatrists state that it can be dangerous for antidepressants to be

used without concurrent psychotherapy sessions (Chisholm and Nichols 38). When

I discontinued my therapy sessions after two years, yet still continued to take

my antidepressants, I felt as if something was missing from my life. Therapy

has been a very important part of my treatment, and I would not have recovered

as well if I had not attended regular psychotherapy sessions.

With the common use of Prozac and other antidepressants, another

consideration arises: are these drugs becoming a substitute for really coping

with problems. Prozac and the related antidepressants, such as Paxil and Zoloft,

are known as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs). They prevent

brain cells from re-absorbing used serotonin, which can elevate the moods and

thoughts of people suffering from depression (37). But “no disease can be

blamed solely on a serotonin imbalance” (Watson 86). External factors and

genetics often affect depression. As a two-year recipient of Zoloft, I

discovered that, during the course of my treatment, my interludes of depression

would return at stressful times, despite the medication. Mental illness also

runs in my family. On my father’s side of the family, my great-grandmother

suffered from dementia, and on the maternal branch of the family tree, my mother

shows signs of dysthymia.

This, of course, does not mean that clinical depression is not caused by

a serotonin imbalance. The truth is, researchers are still looking for the

causes of emotional illnesses in order to design more specific solutions (86).

In the meantime, many people are receiving Prozac and related

medications for trivial personality disorders, and a stigma remains firmly

attached to people with genuine mental illness. “Mental illness is still often

thought of as something you or your parents did wrong,” which is another reason

why many patients are simply taking the medication instead of also seeing a

therapist (Marrou). I will readily admit that I am on Zoloft, but I usually

keep my “shrink” appointments a secret from all but my closest friends.

Of course, the pop culture references only serve to heighten the overall

contempt toward younger people on antidepressants, and the glamour of taking

them. In the recent Kids in the Hall movie, “we [were] offered a wacky

dystopian vision of a world Prozaced out of its wits” (Ansen). This refers to

the wide usage of antidepressants to treat trivial disorders. “Happy pills for

every occasion” .doctors are still looking for the perfect way to treat minor

personality disorders (Chisholm and Nichols 40). It seems that taking Prozac is

“cool,” especially among young people, who can prove that they, too, are angst-

ridden and rich enough to take these seemingly designer drugs.

Yet, where would Sylvia Plath be if she had taken an antidepressant.

True, she would be alive, but her work would not have been so introspective or

moving. She would also have been easily forgettable. Prozac is said to reduce

insight and emotions (Cowley 42). As a recipient of Zoloft, I can attest to

that statement. My moods have been dulled.

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