The Dark Side of Prozac
Cutting, purging, starving, and drug abuse are all self-destructive behaviors faced by Americans today. Americans like to think that the ingestion of a simple pill will help dissolve their problems. Society tends to ignore the adverse effects of anti-depressants because of the "wonders" that they work. With the mass quantity of anti-depressants on the market, Prozac is found to be one of the more popular drugs. As great as Prozac may seem to be, the content of this paper will conclude that Prozac has a negative effect on self-destructive behaviors. Prozac is used to treat depression, bulimia, and alcohol dependency, just to name a few uses. Prozac is part of a group of drugs called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), which help replenish normal levels of serotonin to the brain (Ruh 949). "Serotonin is a neurotransmitter which helps us decide whether a glass is half full or half empty." ( Lemonick 150) Scientists are just beginning to understand a chemical's role in the function of the human body (Lemonick). This is a very interesting discovery; if this understanding is recent, how is it possible that over 20 years ago, Prozac started to be marketed? Prozac is a chemical, and it
Commonly observed side effects of Prozac are headache, insomnia, drowsiness, nervousness, anorexia nervosa, and anxiety (Long). is possible that there are many negative functions of Prozac that scientists have not yet discovered. There is another possibility that Prozac and other antidepressants will only work for the patients that believe that the drugs will work for them. One question that arises is, why does Eli Lilly continue to market Prozac if, in their own studies, strong adverse effects were found? The answer is simply money. Behind every beneficial effect attributed to Prozac, there is at least one harmful effect that it causes. Eli Lilly has recently announced that they are producing a "new and improved" Prozac (Garnett). One theory concluded is that doctors give patients Prozac to help with their condition, in turn the Prozac worsens a patient's symptoms. With everything that society does not know about the brain, people should be careful of taking a pill that is supposed to help them with their problems. It is also a complex social act, its effectiveness mediated by the patient's expectations" (Antidepressants for Happiness). With all the notoriety of Prozac, it seems that Eli Lilly is trying to hide the fact that Prozac has dangerous side effects. Leah Garnett reports that Eli Lilly "notes that the new version will not produce several existing side effects including, 'akathisia, suicidal thoughts, and self-mutilation''' (Debate about effects of Prozac). Now if it is thought about, wouldn't it also be possible that if a person were on Prozac and they didn't believe that it would work for them, then it would not be effective? This is why Prozac has a negative effect on self-destructive behaviors; because if people do not want Prozac to work for them, they will continue with their self-destructive behaviors. Americans should not allow for the negative effect that Prozac has on self-destructive behaviors. When the symptoms worsen, the patient returns to the doctor who then increases the dosage of the Prozac. It could be a conspiracy of Eli Lilly to feed America full of ineffective Prozac, or just a plain example of a drug that worsens a patients condition.
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