Depression and anxiety disorders might be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. One of these chemicals is serotonin, which helps send electrical signals from one nerve cell to another. In the process, serotonin is released from one nerve cell (the sender) and travels to the next (the receiver), where it is either absorbed or returns back to the original sender cell.

When a person suffers from depression or anxiety disorders, there could be a problem with the serotonin balance and its effect on cell-to-cell communication.

Paxil blocks serotonin from being reabsorbed back into the sender nerve cell. This process increases the amount of serotonin available to be absorbed by the receiver cell and can help message transmission return to normal.

While these serotonin boosters can be life-savers for people who suffer from severe depression, panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive illnesses, and could offer help to thousands of others on a long-term basis, psychiatrists and doctors acknowledge that not everyone taking them should necessarily be on them and that stopping might be a problem.

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