NHR Research Assignment

In Let Them Eat Prozac: The Unhealthy Relationship Between the Pharmaceutical Industry and Depression, author Dr. David Healy analyzes the history and development of SSRIs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. He looks at the marketing campaigns publicizing these drugs and all the controversies around them, questioning how beneficial they actually are to patients struggling with depression. These drugs initially seemed like miracles, but upon further investigation, there a dark side. Some patients taking theses medications ended up with side effects worse than the disease, and, in some cases, drove people to suicide. This text invokes an audience because the subject is something that hits close to home for many people. Almost everyone knows someone who has struggled with a mental illness or has maybe even struggled with one themselves, so a topic like this can easily draw a lot of attention. It has an informative tone. It is not a biased work, and Dr. Healy is not trying to stigmatize all medications or move to ban them, in fact, it is mentioned that Dr. Healy himself prescribed these drugs for many of his patients. Dr. Healy is simply stating the facts and informing the public about the side of the pharmaceutical industry that is often kept from the public.

Healy, D. (2004a). Let Them Eat Prozac: The Unhealthy Relationship Between the Pharmaceutical Industry and Depression. New York University Press.