Several antidepressant drugs, including Prozac, work well in battling depression. The goal of drug therapy is to treat the illness and handle its symptoms so the afflicted person will feel well enough to resume a normal daily routine. Although antidepressants are much safer than their predecessors introduced in the late 1950s, about 30 percent of patients are immune to their effects. Even for those who are not, it usually takes two to four weeks before the symptoms begin subsiding.

好几种抗忧郁的药物， 如“百忧解”，对治疗忧郁症效果显著。药物治疗的目标是针对疾病缓解症状，使受折磨的人能感觉舒适，重新正常生活。虽然现今抗忧郁的药物比五十年代末推荐使用的更可靠，但对约百分之三十的患者还是没有疗效。即使是没有抗药性的患者，也得花上二至四星期，症状才会开始消退。

(短文节选,本篇始于：性命“忧”关 )