Prozac for pain, not comfort

I would like to make a few remarks about RenŽeacute; Alegria's commentary regarding Prozac and Ritalin.

First, I agree that Ritalin and Prozac are probably overprescribed. I think there are parents out there who see it as a fad, or who don't have the time or energy to deal with their children's behavior problems, but who does have the money to purchase the medication to "cure" them? As well, there are probably folks out there who take Prozac for the same reason.

I am not one of those parents, nor one of those adults - I couldn't ever afford to buy my kids Gap, nor myself Gucci or Benz; nor do I aspire to that lifestyle. But, I do seem to be one of those "extreme cases" RenŽeacute; mentions, and this is where I believe he is off track.

To say that only extreme individual cases warrant psychiatric care is silly. Depression is painful, and quite often biochemical in nature. Whether a person suffers from acute episodes of major depression, or chronic low grade depression for years, it robs you of your productivity and the ability to enjoy life. I think I probably speak for everybody who has suffered when I say that drugs that dull the mind are seen as a last resort. Certainly these drugs exist, but Prozac is not one of them.

Depression is particularly common among women, and Ritalin is used by children. Mr. Alegria is neither of these, so my guess is that he will never have to even consider the personal use of these drugs in his lifetime. He is lucky.

Before insulin therapy was discovered, people suffered and died from diabetes. Now they don't. Would Mr. Alegria have us withhold this as well?

The family of antidepressants to which Prozac belongs have been a godsend for people who suffer from depression. And trust me, there is suffering involved - not limited to just "extreme individual cases," but to far too many people.

These people didn't ask to be depressed any more than a diabetic asked for his disease. I believe that if Mr. Alegria dug a little deeper into his subject matter, maybe spent some time with people who take these medications, his opinion might change.

Barbara Ball
Geography graduate student