In light of the recent series presented by Fox News regarding Prozac, I again feel the need to defend Prozac and other psychiatric medicines that come under attack.
One of the statements was that medicine such as Prozac is used to make a person feel better and cover up problems that should be dealt with.A person with a clinical depression must have the medicines necessary for the neurotransmitters in the brain to function at a normal level so the person with depression can deal with not only problems in life but life itself.
Surveys show that 15 percent of those with clinical depression will resort to suicide. People live productive lives on antidepressants, and medicines like Prozac are the safest of all antidepressants as they only work on one neurotransmitter (the serotonin) which is responsible for most major depression.
This is why there are fewer side effects with Prozac and other medicines of that nature.
I wish the opponents of psychiatric medicines would study the issues before they try to frighten those in need from taking them.
Their ridicule of medicine is as bad an giving a person with major depression a gun and telling them "to go for it." It also makes as much sense as telling a person with diabetes not to use insulin.
Carole Barton, president
Utah Alliance for the Mentally Ill
Sandy