Listening to Prozac: A Psychiatrist Explores Antidepressant Drugs and the Remaking of the Self: Revised Edition Book

This excellent book, written when Prozac and other SSRI antidepressants were relatively new, is at times a little dated but still extremely interesting. Kramer is a phsychiatrist who had been treating patients with depression and other problems for years when Prozac became available. Prozac did not have the same severely limiting side effects that plagued the other antidepressants then available, which made it easier and safer to prescribe for patients who might normally have avoided medication. Kramer and other psychiatrists soon began to notice something interesting and disconcerting: patients who took Prozac for one condition often experienced a change across the board. Previously painfully shy, one patient discovered that she suddenly was able to date and flirt. Many patients reported feeling "better than normal" -- happier, brighter, more confident. For Kramer and other psychiatrists, this raised a multitude of questions about what constitutes mental illness, and what the implications are when a medication can change a person's personality so drastically. Had these people who now felt "better than normal" been ill all their lives, and were now well? Where does one draw the line between illness and personality?

Kramer explores all sides of the issue here, and while he is clearly impressed by the positive changes Prozac has wrought among his patients, he is also curious and concerned about the power of this antidepressant. One of the things I liked about this book is that I got the impression that Kramer is willing to have his mind changed -- he has formed ideas and philosophies about the use of antidepressants, but he seems to be constantly looking at and weighing the evidence, and monitoring how his methods of treating patients have changed since the advent of Prozac. I would like to locate a copy of the revised edition of this book, so I can read some of his commentary on this ever-changing issue in mental health.