Prozac, an antidepressant, is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. SSRI’s are used to keep serotonin, a chemical nerve cell that contributes to the feelings of happiness and jubilance, bound to a receptor for longer than usual, thereby increasing its effect. Likewise, without proper serotonin pathways, some forms of depression arise and create mental health issues as serotonin is a type of neurotransmitter, a chemical substance that causes transmits impulses and messages to another neuron or fiber, which parallels with mood.
When delving into the biology of transmission of Prozac, serotonin will flee from one neuron through channels and adhere to the receptors of another neuron. This fires signals that eventually regulate mood. Serotonin can disengage from receptors and go back to the neuron it previously came from. It is able to do this because serotonin channels are reversible. Prozac goes to the gap between the presynaptic neuron and postsynaptic neuron and blocks the serotonin channel, inhibiting the reversible reuptake of serotonin. This forces serotonin to sit on the receptor site of the second neuron that helps transmit the signal that helps mood, which eventually increases serotonin levels in the body.
Two years ago, I went to the University of California, Los Angeles for a month in the summer with my friend to take classes and get an understanding of college living. For the first two weeks, my friend was never in a good mood, always wanted to sleep, and did not have much of an appetite. I did not think anything of it at the time as I just assumed she was homesick or did not like UCLA and the program we were enrolled in. With her being in a constant negative mood, I started to dislike the program and also started to become worried about her.
We were both enrolled in the same classes, one coincidentally being abnormal psychology. This abnormal psychology class was not what I expected it to be; however, it was a very thought-provoking class because numerous people in the class had mental illnesses that they were very open about.
One day during the class discussion, my friend started talking about her mental illnesses: anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and a small amount of depression. She said that her depression was sparked by a chemical imbalance from her prescribed medications for her anxiety and ADHD. She then continued by saying she was recently prescribed Prozac and a different combination of medications; and the reason she was never in a good mood was because her body and mind was still regulating to the medication. It all began to make sense. She was lacking serotonin and needed the Prozac to increase her serotonin levels so she could enjoy the wonders of life and at the time, the experiences UCLA had to offer.
I really enjoyed this blog post!! I think it was great and explained every detail about serotonin and prozac very well. If I were reading this and knew nothing about those two topics, I would understand after reading your post! This post really hit home for me. Last year I experienced the same thing with one of my best friends. We were at different schools, but still I could tell that she was never in a good mood and wanted to sleep all the time. After seeing a psychiatrist, she was diagnosed with anxiety and was put on Prozac and other different anti-depressants to try and help resolve her anxiety. Thanks for sharing this experience! I’m glad I could relate.