Prozac 2
Psychologists were often troubled when trying to help patients who saw no hope of ever feeling good about themselves. It made it very difficult to teach those patients ways to handle the problems they faced everyday. Dr. Peter D. Kramer reports, in 1974, the pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly and Company created the drug flouxetine hydrochloride, an antidepressant. It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in December of 1987 and is now known by its brand name, Prozac. It was considered a non-addictive miracle drug and was used to cure many social disorders (63-65). Prozac is considered a breakthrough because of the selective way it works. Unlike other antidepressants, it works directly on regulating the flow serotonin, the specific chemical in the brain that controls moods, between nerve fibers. Because of the invention of the drug Prozac psychologists found a safer way to treat patients with depression, a quicker way to solve their problems, and a way to save on the cost of treatment. that is cheaper than the extensive counseling that was needed. Prozac gave psychologists a safe way to treat clinical depression. Many
Kramer, Peter D. Listening to Prozac. New York: Viking Penguin, 1993. Prozac also provided a much faster way to treat patients with depression. A patient would normally have to receive a great deal of counseling in order to learn how to deal with the problems they faced. As noted in Silverstein, Silverstein, and Nunn's Diseases and People: Depression, Dr. Peter Kramer affirms that Prozac has produced profound personality changes in some cases of depression. For instance, patients who were shy and inhibited were transformed into confident, outgoing people. Some reported that they were able to think faster and more clearly, therefore they could work more effectively (100). As a result, the patient would not have to spend numerous hours with a therapist. Many patients appreciated the new positive personalities they received from the drug. It presented them with a new definition of feeling normal. Silverstein, Alvin, Virginia Silverstein, and Laura Silverstein Nunn. Diseases and People: Depression. Springfield, NJ: Enslow, 1997. Nichols, Mark. "Questioning Prozac." MacLean's. 23 May 1994: 36-41. The lower cost of treating depression was another
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Approximate Word count = 779
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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