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`I'd rather not take Prozac': stigma and commodification in antidepressant consumer narratives

University of Virginia USA, rS8yf{at}cms.mail.virginia.edu

This article explores the idea that narrative is the primary vehicle through which antidepressant consumers negotiate their sense of identity and reality. Antidepressant consumers represent a unique consumer culture because of the stigma that society attaches to mental illness. Recent media attention, including direct to consumer (DTC) advertising, appears to decrease the stigma surrounding antidepressant use while at the same time commodifying and branding them for mass consumption. Antidepressant consumers must negotiate the threat of stigma and the threat of commodification through the process of constructing narratives. Exploring the narrative process of identity negotiation reveals how the interconnected cultural processes of stigma and commodification are undergoing historical shifts. Among these shifts are the intensification of branding and an expansion of consumer culture. Implications for health promotion and further research are discussed.

Key Words: antidepressant branding • commodification • consumer culture • narrative • stigma

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