"Let Them Eat Prozac explores the history of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) - from their early development to the latest marketing campaigns - and the controversies that surround them. Initially, they seemed like wonder drugs for mild to moderate depression, one pill a day to a new you, and unlike the tranquilizers that were popular from the 1960s to the 1980s, SSRIs supposedly could not lead to addiction. When Prozac was released in the late 1980s, David Healy was among the psychiatrists who prescribed them. But he soon observed that some patients became agitated and even attempted suicide. Confirmatory studies were soon published, citing numerous cases in which patients became anxious and reported increased suicidal thoughts while taking Prozac. Could the new wonder drug actually be making patients worse?" "Healy draws on his own research and expertise to demonstrate the potential hazards associated with these drugs. He intersperses case histories with insider accounts of the research leading to the development and approval of SSRIs as a treatment for depression."--Jacket.