Redefining Health and Illness

Society's Conceptions of "Normal"

People are popping them like candy. They're cute and fun colored. You can get them almost anywhere. And they make you feel like a kid again. No, they're not Pez. They are antidepressants.

In this day and age it is easier to get antidepressants than it is to get your driver's license. And they are available at a much younger age too. Any person who has access to the Internet and a credit card also has easy access to antidepressants. Type antidepressants into Yahoo! and a whole slew of companies advertising their drugs are listed. Click on any of these links and you will find that you can order any type of antidepressant you want, not to mention Viagra, antibiotics, growth hormones and "smart drugs", all without a prescription.

What does the wide-scale availability and use of these drugs say about our society's conception of health and illness? And what does it mean, then, to be "normal"? Check out some of the links below to find out what this drug phenomenon is all about.