Selective Serotonin Reuptake ... Health Article

BOOKS

Maxmen, Jerrold S., and Nicholas G. Ward. Psychotropic Drugs Fast Facts. 2nd ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Co.,1995.

Pies, Ronald W. Handbook of Essential Psychopharmacology. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.

PERIODICALS

Barondes, Samuel H. "Thinking about Prozac." Science 263 (25 Feb.1994): 1102.

Kramer, Peter D. "The Transformation of Personality." Psychology Today 26 (July/Aug. 1993): 42.

Mauro, James, and Peter Breggin. "And Prozac for all…" Psychology Today 27 (July/Aug. 1994): 44.

Vallone, Doris C. "SSRIs: When comforting words aren't enough." Nursing 27 (Dec. 1997): 50.

Nancy Ross-Flanigan

KEY TERMS

Anesthetic—Medicine that causes a loss of feeling, especially of pain. Some anesthetics also cause a loss of consciousness.

Anxiety—Worry or tension in response to real or imagined stress, danger, or dreaded situations. Physical reactions, such as fast pulse, sweating, trembling, fatigue, and weakness may accompany anxiety.

Central nervous system—The brain and spinal cord.

Depression—A mental condition in which people feel extremely sad and lose interest in life. People with depression may also have sleep problems and loss of appetite and may have trouble concentrating and carrying out everyday activities.

Metabolism—All the physical and chemical changes that occur in cells to allow growth and maintain body functions. These include processes that break down substances to yield energy and processes that build up other substances necessary for life.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder—An anxiety disorder in which people cannot prevent themselves from dwelling on unwanted thoughts, acting on urges, or performing repetitious rituals, such as washing their hands or checking to make sure they turned off the lights.

Premenstrual syndrome—(PMS) A set of symptoms that occur in some women 2-14 days before they begin menstruating each month. Symptoms include headache, fatigue, irritability, depression, abdominal bloating, and breast tenderness.