百忧解带来的未解之忧.doc

百忧解带来的未解之忧 When?it?came?to?pharmacological?solutions?to?lifesdespairs,?Aldous?Huxley?was?ahead?of?the?curve.?InHuxleys?1932?novel?about?a?dystopian?future,?theAlphas,?Betas?and?others?populating?his?Brave?NewWorld?have?at?their?disposal?a?drug?called?soma.?Alittle?bit?of?it?chases?the?blues?away: A?gramme —Huxley?was?English,?remember,?spelling?included?— is?better?than?a?damn.?With?a?swallow,?negativefeelings?are?dispelled. 说到以药物手段来医治生活中的绝望，奥尔德斯·赫胥黎(Aldous?Huxley)可谓走在了时代的前面。在赫胥黎1932年的小说《美丽新世界》(Brave?New?World)中，生活在那个反乌托邦未来世界中的阿尔法、贝塔和其他种姓的人类手头常备一种名叫“苏麻”的万能灵药，只要一点点就可以驱散生活中的阴霾。“服药胜过受煎熬。”只要吞下药丸，负面情绪也随之烟消云散。 Prozac,?the?subject?of?this?weeks?video?documentary?from?Retro?Report,?is?hardly?soma.?Butits?guiding?spirit?is?not?dissimilar:?A?few?milligrams?of?this?drug?are?preferable?to?the?manydamns?that?lie?at?the?core?of?some?peoples?lives.?Looking?back?at?Prozacs?introduction?by?EliLilly?and?Company?in?1988,?and?hopscotching?to?today,?the?documentary?explores?theenormous?influence,?both?chemical?and?cultural,?that?Prozac?and?its?brethren?have?had?intreating?depression,?a?concern?that?gained?new?resonance?with?the?recent?suicide?of?thecomedian?Robin?Williams. 本周（指9月22日那周）的Retro?Report（以重新审视历史上的重大事件为主题的系列纪录片）的主题百忧解(Prozac)和“苏麻”当然不是一码事，但其宗旨却并无不同：对某些人而言，服用几毫克这种药物总比应付生活中的大堆烦恼合算多了。继回顾了1988年美国礼来制药(Eli?Lilly?and?Company)推出百忧解的经过之后，这部纪录片又将视角转回当下，从化学和文化的双重角度探讨了百忧解及其同类产品在抑郁症的治疗领域造成的巨大影响。由于喜剧演员罗宾·威廉姆斯(Robin?Williams)不久前自杀，抑郁症又成为当今人们关注的热点。 In?the?late?1980s?and?the?90s,?Prozac?was?widely?viewed?as?a?miracle?pill,?a?life?preserverthrown?to?those?who?felt?themselves?drowning?in?the?high?waters?of?mental?anguish.?It?wasthe?star?in?a?class?of?new?pharmaceuticals?known?as?S.S.R.I.s?—?selective?serotonin?reuptakeinhibitors.?Underlying?their?use?is?a?belief?that?depression?is?caused?by?a?shortage?of?theneurotransmitter?serotonin.?Pump?up?the?levels?of?this?brain?chemical?and,?voilà,?the?mood?lifts.Indeed,?millions?have?embraced?Prozac,?and?swear?by?it.?Depression?left?them?emotionallyparalyz