Sobo also points out that the effects of a drug may seem to alleviate problems and make things “better than well” at first, but in the long run these effects may be detrimental to a person s survival. Sobo brings up a study done by Dr. Oliver, et al. on the effects of SSRIs in rat pups. These rat pups elicit ultrasonic sounds when isolated from their mother which represent their distress. However, there was a reduction in these sounds when the researchers administered an SSRI. What does this mean? Simply put, the rat pups adopted an attitude of “whatever”, “what s the big deal?”. Thus, the distress of the pups was alleviated. Yet, is this good? Maybe at first, but those ultrasonic sounds communicated to the mother that the pups were scared or that they were hungry. When these sounds were diminished so was the communication, thus placing the pups long term welfare in jeopardy (Sobo, 1999).
Sobo reports that his patients have adopted the same attitude as a result of taking an SSRI and although this alleviates the daily stresses it may cause long term damage. Events that should elicit feelings of anxiety eventually will not and this may cause a person to overlook such events that may ultimately affect their lives. An example given by Sobo is of a woman using paxil who, upon picking her child up from the day care center, witnessed one of the employees screaming at an infant to shut up. The woman continued on her way, not thinking anything of the incident. It wasn t until the next day that the woman questioned her lack of reaction to the occurrence. “Why had she not reacted,” she wondered. She would normally have confronted the employee and brought it to the attention of her supervisor for fear that her child may be treated the same way. Yet, she had been indifferent (Sobo, 1999).
These findings and criticisms are only the beginning of the evaluation of the ethical consequences of “cosmetic psychopharmacology” which will consume the world of psychology. Currently, there is not sufficient research on whether “cosmetic psychopharmacology” could even work. Hopefully, new findings may ease the ethical concerns weighing this concept down. If findings support solely one view then the decision of whether “cosmetic psychopharmacology” should be practiced will most likely be clear cut. Yet, we live in a realistic world where findings very rarely appease everyone. No matter what, the ethical concerns of this concept will remain with us for quite a while just as ethical concerns such as animal rights have. In the end “cosmetic psychopharmacology”, as well as the controversies surrounding it, is here to stay for at least a while. Only time will tell if it is legitimate or not.
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