It is a common opinion, expressed by many people who don’t know what they are talking about. Ever since anti-depressants like Prozac have come on the market, people have the opinion that everyone is on Prozac, that it is easy to get and that many who are on it don’t really need to be.

When I was 11, something happened to me. I entered a world that I wasn’t ready for, and I was not happy. After seven years of being unhappy, crying for no reason, having insomnia and generally not being able to function, I went to a psychiatrist and was diagnosed with depression.

I went into therapy. We talked about my life, my problems and why I was depressed. That is, I tried to talk about why I was depressed, but I had no explanation. I had a loving family and was having no problems with schoolwork. Why was I depressed? Was talking about it really going to help? Maybe I needed more.

Next, I went to a psychiatrist who explained to me that being depressed was probably beyond my control. She told me what was probably going on in my brain had been affecting how I felt my whole life. Some people who are depressed have a problem in their brain where it does not produce enough of a certain neurotransmitter, serotonin. Or, the serotonin does not get to the place it needs to because it is reabsorbed by the nerve cells. Since serotonin is responsible for regulating mood and sleep, people who do not get enough of it can be depressed. My doctor thought that this was what was responsible for my unexplainable depression.

Finally, I had an answer. I was not crazy, I was not just lazy and unable to change my life through sheer will power. It was not my fault, and that was a relief. After seven years of not knowing what was wrong with me, or why, I was given the gift of an explanation, and the assurance that this could be fixed.

I went on Prozac, but it gave me hives. I went on Paxil, then Zoloft and then Effexor. I tried different doses of all of these drugs. Some made me sleep, and some didn’t help. I was a human guinea pig for a while, but it was worth it, because as soon as we found the right combination, I could tell the difference. After a few weeks I could concentrate better, sleep better, and my mood swings were not as bad.

The point of these drugs was not to magically cure me, but to get me to a place where I could function, and then I could start to help myself and get my life together. I am now on a drug called Celexa, and it seems to be the best so far. I am going to graduate from college, when only a few years ago I could barely focus on high school. When people dismiss Prozac, they dismiss the idea of depression, the idea that some people need these drugs to function, and that there is nothing easy about being on an antidepressant.

For all these people who are supposedly on Prozac, there is still a stigma attached to it. I am treated differently when people know I am on medication. I either am treated with kid gloves, as if I will explode at any second, or people think I am a weak person who needs drugs to solve her problems. Even when I go to the doctor, I am treated differently. He looks at my chart, sees I am on an antidepressant, and immediately asks me if I am stressed out, implies that it all may be in my head, even if I am sitting there with a broken arm. My point is this: to all of you who perpetuate the “Prozac myth” definition of depression, you don’t know what you are saying.

Those who are on it are for a good reason, and believe me, being held up to ridicule for the hardest part of my life is not helping me get off my medication.