When was zoloft invented?

If you’re feeling down, chances are someone’s recommended Zoloft to you at some point. Maybe your friend whose hair always looks like she just left a yoga studio has recommended it as her secret sauce. Or maybe your doctor with the handsome-but-slightly-creepy medical assistant shoved some samples in your hand before terminating the appointment without giving you enough time to count them.

The truth is that Zoloft is so ubiquitous it might as well be bathwater. But when was this little blue happy pill invented anyways?

A Brief History of Depression and Anxiety

To answer that question we first need to understand what depression is and why anyone felt compelled to develop drugs for it. According to ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, depression was caused by an excess of bile in the body (why don’t they teach us medical jargon like “bile” in health class?!).

In modern times, depression and anxiety disorders have become two of the most prevalent mental illnesses worldwide, affecting over 15% of adults at any given time (unfortunately not including insurance claims adjusters).

Putting aside jokes about feelings being for millennials only (#notallmillennials), there’s no denying that these illnesses can seriously impact one’s quality of life: isolation from loved ones; low productivity; digital dependency (let’s blame social media while we’re at it) are all common symptoms associated with various types/levels/forms(depressions sounds confusing!)

It wasn’t until 1949 that scientists started experimenting on new forms ot tricyclic antidepressants (that really rolls off the tongue!) like imipramine which worked by blocking serotonin reuptake (albeit inefficiently). It was later discovered via papaverine alkaloids experiments(OMG science jargons alert!!√\n) that compounds which affected serotonin reuptake were more efficient in tackling anxiety and depression.

The Birth of Zoloft

Fast forward to 1977 where Pfizer, a drug company based out of New York(That’s one way to present it! You know? Just outta nowhere, let’s talk about New York like that ish is normal in any context whatsoever)were looking for new drugs to treat hypertension (because if nothin’ else, Pfizer ain’t sleepin on their bread n butter). Mysteriously enough the compound they developed seemed less effective than expected against high blood pressure but instead provided comparable benefits on mood and produced fewer side effects when compared to currently available antidepressants.

Two years later, the FDA approved what we now know as Zoloft (Sertraline), an SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) used primarily used as treatment for major depressive disorder(Which explains why my auntie who swears by essential oils doesn’t approve medication with such long names haha! Sry couldn’t help it) . Since then however multiple other uses have been discovered including treating PTSD(Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) , Panic attacks and OCD(Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders)

Conclusion

So when was zoloft invented? It all started with an attempt at developing a high-blood-pressure-lowering medicine…wait whatttt?? (Mindblown.gif) That obviously didn’t work out so well; but little did anyone involved know -the happy pill still stuck around anyways (kinda like ‘The Room’ movie lol).

Today zoloft serves millions of individuals worldwide living with various mood disorders by blocking serotonin reuptake thereby keeping excess amounts available. Now call me crazy (too late bud), but I think everyone deserves betters conditions for maintaining good mental health state than just resorting to drilling holes in their heads to let the ‘bad spirits’ out (#OldenDays). Obviously, Zoloft being one of them.

Random Posts