Paxil

Paxil is the name given by pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline to its brand of the antidepressant drug — Paroxetine.

Like Prozac and Zoloft — Paxil is a so-called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). English Translation: it prompts your body to pump out more serotonin when it really needs it — when you’re anxious, nervous, or bored and you start digging into your fingernail, cuticles and hangnails.

In 1997 Paxil was the first officially approved SSRI-type antidepressant to be approved to treat obsessive compulsive disorder. This marks it as the first pharmaceutical treatment for an anxiety disorder related to compulsive finger picking.

Because Paxil interacts less with other drugs than other SSRI antidepressants, it is considered the “cleanest” SSRI drug on the market.