WS:> ...Musical "mood enhancers" like Muzak are an equivalent of Prozac - basically a beneficial thing albeit mundane and uninspiring. Besides, Muzak-Prozac is easy to ignore. <
Maybe Musak is the equivalent of Lithium or Librium, but Prozac and other SSRIs are not easy to ignore (unless one isn't taking them). Lithium and Librium -- as I understand them -- are mind-numbers. The idea of the SSRIs, on the other hand, is not to be a "mood enhancer" but to instead slow the vicious circle of depression, in which depressed thoughts lead to actions that make a person more depressed. It is not a substitute for talk therapy as much as a complement. By slowing the vicious circle, there is room for cognitive behavioral therapy and the like to have a positive effect. Good shrinks recommend not only SSRIs but also more exercise, more social contacts, etc., to complement the drugs. Of course, there are a lot of bad shrinks.
Unlike SSRIs, which may have some positive effects for some people, I don't think Musak is beneficial at all. It's _crappy_ music. And it's hard to ignore. When I worked in offices that played it, it was part of the routine to turn it off every once and a while. Thus, we were alerted to its presence just as we were beginning to filter it out. -- Jim Devine / "There can be no real individual freedom in the presence of economic insecurity." -- Chester Bowles