Prozac: Mania

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 Œmedicate 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 se...

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... Doctors will continue to medicate patients for as long as health plans cut back psychotherapy benefits. The pop culture references will remain firmly in place as more people begin to take Prozac, including the unfunny jokes. And where will we be in ten years? Hopefully, we will not be diagnosed with cancer or some other antidepressant-induced illness. For some reason, I doubt we will be joking about that as liberally as we do our antidepressants.

Works Cited

Ansen, David. "Kids in the Hall Send Up Our Prozac Culture." Newsweek: America

Online (keyword: newsweek) 22 April 1996. Chisholm, Patricia and Nichols, Mark.

"Questioning Prozac." Maclean's 23 May 1994: 36-40. Cobain, Kurt. "Lithium."

Nevermind. Nirvana. Virgin Songs, Inc. and The David Geffen Company, Track 5,

1991. Cowley, Geoffrey. "The Culture of Prozac." Newsweek: America Online

(keyword: newsweek) 7 February 1994: 41-42. Marrou, Chris. "I hope that one day mental illness will be as openly accepted as any physical disability."

Newsweek Online 24 June 1996. Watson, Traci. "Ode to a mellifluous brain molecule." U.S. News & World Report 25 November 1996: 86.