Prozac Nation stars Christina Ricci as Elizabeth Wurtzel (also known as Lizzie) in her fight between depression and the reality of college. In the movie, Lizzie moves to Harvard University to soothe her parent’s expectations of having an Ivy League daughter excelling in the field of journalism. As she eases into her new life of no parents lurking around the corner, Lizzie begins a downward spiral as her depression pulls her toward an unhealthy mental state via drugs, alcohol, and sexual encounters with a few men. This cinematic portrayal of depression shows many signs of major depression disorder and dysthymia, a milder form of depression. Prozac Nation accurately depicts depression in an uncommon way for most, but is nevertheless one for the
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Sterling, is doing all she can to listen and help, outside forces clash with Lizzie’s “inner demons” and sends her to unhealthy habits such as drinking, taking ecstasy, and sleeping with men she recently meets while under the influence. These outside forces are mainly the struggles between her divorced parents and articles due for her new job at the Rolling Stones. In the movie, Lizzie makes a point that her dad left her and her mother for four years without a word, and has mysteriously resurfaced at Harvard to photograph his Ivy League daughter. In this time, the stress of the divorce has sent Lizzie into such a depressed state that her mother sends her to a psychiatrist, which begins a new argument about bills and how much it costs. Arguments such as this appear almost every time Lizzie goes home to her mother after starting Harvard and visibly takes a toll on her mother. It is possible that Lizzie inherited her mood disorder from her parents, as she depicts throughout the movie her volatile, almost manic …show more content…
As the movie shows her mother fighting signs of depression, it is plausible that the chemical processes were passed down to Lizzie, creating struggles for the young woman. In their arguments, Lizzie’s mother becomes very volatile as she beats the phone into the receiver after an argument with her father (seen at 32:56), and when arguing with Lizzie in her single dorm room (Prozac Nation 31:00). If her mother has the disorder, it is 1.5 to 3 times more likely that Lizzie has major depression disorder (Bjornlund 35). It is also possible that she possessed the disorder from her father, who used to be on tranquilizers when she was a child. Tranquilizers were a common treatment in the late 1960’s (Bernes 136-137), which suit the time era for the movie. It is also possible that Lizzie’s hormone levels are affecting her mood disorder as puberty ends and high levels of cortisol arise from stress levels. According to Kate Harkness, a Canadian psychologist who has extensively studied stress and trauma, cortisol levels build up over time as it kills brain cells that control memory and emotion regulation, thereby increasing depressive states and risk of severe endocrine impairments (Parks 34). Other biological chemicals affecting moods are neurotransmitters such as serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. A smaller hippocampus can also affect mood, as it cannot
Sterling, is doing all she can to listen and help, outside forces clash with Lizzie’s “inner demons” and sends her to unhealthy habits such as drinking, taking ecstasy, and sleeping with men she recently meets while under the influence. These outside forces are mainly the struggles between her divorced parents and articles due for her new job at the Rolling Stones. In the movie, Lizzie makes a point that her dad left her and her mother for four years without a word, and has mysteriously resurfaced at Harvard to photograph his Ivy League daughter. In this time, the stress of the divorce has sent Lizzie into such a depressed state that her mother sends her to a psychiatrist, which begins a new argument about bills and how much it costs. Arguments such as this appear almost every time Lizzie goes home to her mother after starting Harvard and visibly takes a toll on her mother. It is possible that Lizzie inherited her mood disorder from her parents, as she depicts throughout the movie her volatile, almost manic …show more content…
As the movie shows her mother fighting signs of depression, it is plausible that the chemical processes were passed down to Lizzie, creating struggles for the young woman. In their arguments, Lizzie’s mother becomes very volatile as she beats the phone into the receiver after an argument with her father (seen at 32:56), and when arguing with Lizzie in her single dorm room (Prozac Nation 31:00). If her mother has the disorder, it is 1.5 to 3 times more likely that Lizzie has major depression disorder (Bjornlund 35). It is also possible that she possessed the disorder from her father, who used to be on tranquilizers when she was a child. Tranquilizers were a common treatment in the late 1960’s (Bernes 136-137), which suit the time era for the movie. It is also possible that Lizzie’s hormone levels are affecting her mood disorder as puberty ends and high levels of cortisol arise from stress levels. According to Kate Harkness, a Canadian psychologist who has extensively studied stress and trauma, cortisol levels build up over time as it kills brain cells that control memory and emotion regulation, thereby increasing depressive states and risk of severe endocrine impairments (Parks 34). Other biological chemicals affecting moods are neurotransmitters such as serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. A smaller hippocampus can also affect mood, as it cannot