Mental Illness Personality Disorders Essay - 1,817 words

|Yeah, Im Prozac-Mania Prozac-Mania |Yeah, Im on Prozac, X I hear quite often, said as if the speaker had just received a new Porsche. I often do catch myself responding with, |Im on Zoloft isnt modern medicine great? X 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 X 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 X (Cowley 41). Gone are the days when the label |loony X 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 Bostons Beth Israel, psychiatrists feel pressure simply to medicate and then monitor side effects+X (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 X (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, X 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 X 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 Prozac out of its wits X (Ansen). This refers to the wide usage of antidepressants to treat trivial disorders. |Happy pills for every occasion X doctors are still looking for the perfect way to treat minor personality disorders (Chisholm and Nichols 40). It seems that taking Prozac is |cool, X 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. I once possessed a great deal of emotions, and now only feel two: |bummed out X (slightly depressed and highly irritable) and hyperactive. I have also noticed that my poetry is not as moving as it was when I was medication-free.


Lately, I have thought of discontinuing my medication. The social stigma does irritate me; after the first five Prozac jokes, I stopped laughing. That is not my reason for desiring an end to the medication, however. I want to quit because I do not feel like, well, me.


I do not cry or laugh normally; it all seems as if I am watching someone else cry or ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

...................You are reading a preview................... Visit our Blog and Unlock Full Access to this essay

Continue READING the FULL Essay by clicking HERE

Essay Tags: side effects, mental illness, personality disorders, clinical depression, pop culture

This is an Essay sample / Research paper, you can use it for your research of: Mental Illness Personality Disorders