Question:
i've been having symptoms of depression since a few events have catalize them, memories of momentos of pain and emotional distress.
i find myself wanting to shut myself out instead of going out to be with my friends, as i would do before when i was down.
i was wondering if there is any tea or herb i can use to avoid Prozac... fluoxetine is nooooot good...


Answer:
The following is not a herb, but offers a natural "solution".
My friend was on Prozac - the full dose - and it took us two years before she was free of it.
We replaced the Prozac with baked potatoes and cheese, eaten as part of the evening meal, or as a snack in the evening.
Another friend recommended a paperback book to me, "Potatoes not Prozac", written by an American lady whose name I forget, but the book is readily available from internet booksellers. The book explains what Prozac does, and why it is so difficult to stop taking it. The reputed side-effects of Prozac are explained in the book, and indeed my friend was exhibiting those symptoms when she was taking the drug.
The book gives a good related background about the brain, and there is an extensive bibliography. My only criticism of it was that it repeats some of the arguments...but hey ! That's the U.S. way of doing things ! :-)
Another book maybe be of interest is a hardback, "Brain Power", edited by Professor Susan Greenfield, published in 1999 by Element Books Limited, ISBN
1-86204-745-6 . It has a section devoted to the mechanics of depression within the brain, and has been reduced in price recently - in the UK anyway.
So my answer is to try baked potato with cheese in the evening, and get a copy of the paperback mentioned above. It worked for my friend.


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