Issue 10 (1): How did human beings somehow get through life without taking Prozak? I ask this with "tongue in cheek." Taking anti-depressants for unhappiness or to get over shyness is a cop-out. To take medicine for such a reason prevents a person from learning about him or herself and growing as a person. Drugs do not get at the cause of the unhappiness or the shyness, and the person taking drugs has no opportunity to overcome them. Would Abraham Lincoln have freed the slaves if he were taking Prozak? Would he have been the same strong leader? .

             Turnquist (2002) reports that the treatment of depression with prescription drugs "has become an enormous industry in the United States" (p. 27). Most doctors do not even consider any other form of treatment such as helping the patient to find meaning and to live a more memorable and fulfilling life. Doctors not really understand why one person becomes depressed while another in similar circumstances remains symptom-free. They have a number of different theories, all of which seem to have some truth to them, but no one really knows how the drugs work either. Prescription drugs like Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa, Luvox, etc. are considered safer and easier to use and have fewer side-effects than the old ones. But because of that, they are now prescribed much more freely-for mild depression, phobias, obsessions, eating disorders, even chronic worries. Those who take them say they make every day feel the same. Some people describe the effect as "soul robbing" (p. 29). Research shows that psychotherapy brings better results and so does exercise. Herbal preparations and photo-therapy lights to lengthen winter days are also effective ways to relieve depression. .

             When patients stop taking anti-depressants, they suffer a variety of symptoms such as depression, insomnia, nightmares, anxiety, headaches, nausea and neurological symptoms like restlessness and tingling.