Paragraph two reads: "Thanks to Prozac, I will never again be the same person I once was. I can still feel pleasure but it is a bit more detached. I can still feel joy, love and happiness, but Prozac robbed me of the ability to feel those emotions naturally and spontaneously. I sometimes feel there is a big hole left in my brain and in my life. No matter how I struggle to once again feel like the same person, I hit a blank space."

http://www.app.com/article/20090817/OPINION04/908170308/1032/opinion

Seek other answers before trying pills

August 17, 2009

According to the Associated Press, 10 percent of Americans now use anti-depressants. As both a victim and a survivor of psychiatry and anti-depressant drugs, I can't understand why so many people are willing to gamble with their most important organ and commodity: their brain. Brains are obviously not valued in this society.

Thanks to Prozac, I will never again be the same person I once was. I can still feel pleasure but it is a bit more detached. I can still feel joy, love and happiness, but Prozac robbed me of the ability to feel those emotions naturally and spontaneously. I sometimes feel there is a big hole left in my brain and in my life. No matter how I struggle to once again feel like the same person, I hit a blank space.

If people are depressed, perhaps they should first examine their lives and the society they live in. They should examine our schools, our workplaces, our media, our schedules and, last but not least, our values.

Then they should seriously ask themselves if their problem is what our society is telling them it is: chemical imbalances and misfiring neurons. Let's not take the "pinnacle of civilization" we are currently enjoying for granted. Let's examine the real problems rather than popping another pill to continue to function as a cog in a dying wheel.

Will Johnson

NEPTUNE