Do Antidepressants Work

The pain spoke meanwhile sadness pierced through skins, however, the drugs was able to silence the beast within. Antidepressant the legal drug of choice is prescribed by doctors to treat a variety of medical conditions. These drugs are often prescribed by themselves or sometimes with others with the intent of having a greater effect on the beast within. Antidepressants come in several classes with each being stronger than the one before. Although antidepressants are often prescribed to treat depression in recent times the distribution of these drugs across the medical field have widened. Since the 1950s, medical personnels have moved from having two antidepressants: iproniazid and monoamine-oxidase inhibitor used to treat tuberculosis to now

All antidepressants work in a similar way, though there are various types of antidepressants—often called “families”—that each work a bit differently. They all, however, increase the brain’s concentration of various neurotransmitters. Antidepressants are psychiatric medications given to patients with depressive disorders to alleviate symptoms. They correct chemical imbalances of neurotransmitters in the brain which probably cause changes in mood and behavior. Antidepressants may be used for a wide range of psychiatric conditions, including social anxiety disorder, anxiety disorders. Antidepressants were initially developed in the 1950s. Their use has become progressively more common over the last twenty years. Generally speaking, anti­psychotic

The goal of antidepressant medication is to provide some relief of the symptoms within two to six weeks. Nevertheless, not every antidepressant works for every individual. Sometimes several must be tried before finding one that produces the most beneficial results with the fewest side effects.

As the nurse when would you expect the client to begin showing signs of symptomatic relief after the initiation of antidepressant therapy? The therapeutic effect may not be seen for as long as 4 weeks.

Although this is a fake way to treat depression, it does actually help the disorder depending on the person. Still, this effect is a huge hole in the credibility of antidepressants. On the bright side, there are some people who have had good cases involving only antidepressants. In other words, “Make no mistake: For many people, antidepressants do work. In fact, they can be life-saving.” (Web MD) Mainly stating that for some users antidepressants are all they need. Still it all comes down to the user or person, and what works the best on them personally. With it’s many flaws the other argument does make it’s vital points on the subject.

Some of the most common antidepressants include Prozac, Celexa, Zoloft, Paxil, Remeron and Effexor, these come capsules or tablets, studies show that the effects of these drugs can include: Nervousness and anxiety, Insomnia, Irritability, Violent thoughts and actions, Agitation, Hostility, Suicidal thoughts or suicide, Tremors, Irregular heartbeat, Aggression, Confusion and incoherent thoughts, Paranoia, Hallucinations, Psychosis,

In order to be able to treat a person with depression effectively, doctors have to sort out what kind of role the narcotics may play in the depression. If the feelings of depression is simply a part of a withdrawal due to a narcotic and are only something temporary, it is very unlikely that a antidepressant will be of any benefit. Antidepressants take a bare minimum of two to three weeks to begin working. The most effective treatment in such a case would be to try and help the person at hand to get their drug use under control or stop entirely. Both taking drugs and the withdrawal process may produce depressive symptoms themselves, makingit very difficult to know what it is that’s exactly going on, if it even seems that the depression led to taking drugs in the first place. As a result, It’s extremely vital to the treatment of the individual that the problem with narcotics is sorted out so that is will be possible to further judge whether antidepressants or other treatments used for depression will be needed. This, of course, does not mean it’s

be medically defined as a chemical imbalance in your brain, but personally I believe it’s much

Doctors also prescribe Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors(SSRI) to individuals suffering from depression, but the same ailment can be treated with amino acid supplements. Some examples of SSRIs are Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft and Celexa. SSRIs increase the amount of serotonin in the synapse by blocking its reabsorption, helping the symptoms of depression improve. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, benzodiazepines lose their therapeutic anti-anxiety effect after 4 to 6 months of regular use. Dr. White, clinical psychologist and a certified neurotherapist, compares antidepressants to a foreign chemical. She is completely against the use of SSRIs because it blocks the reuptake of the serotonin into the neuron. In simple words,

Aims: This review focuses on adults diagnosed with mild to severe depression and whether antidepressants compared to placebo lead to reduced symptoms of depression. The aim of this review is to inform practice as a mental health nurse and to draw conclusions about which are more effective in treating depression.

three groups.Monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) medicines block the monoamine oxidase enzyme (MAO) from destroying monoamine neurotransmitters, which allows them to accumulate, alleviating depression. Serotonin selective reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) medications block the serotonin reuptake pump, allowing the serotonin neurotransmitter to remain and accumulate in the receptor for longer. Speaking of serotonin specifically, depression has been related to a deficiency of the 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin) neurotransmitter as evidenced by the concentrations of the

The most commonly prescribed anti-depressant are actually the SSRIs which means selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. They work by increasing the levels of a substance called serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is a chemical messenger or neurotransmitter that carries signals to one part of the brain to another. There are several aspects of daily brain function that serotonin regulates such as, mood, sleep and emotion. According to the article, “SSRIs – How They Work by Dr. Ananya Mandal, MD, “Serotonin is sent from one nerve cell called a presynaptic neuron across the synaptic cleft to a receiving nerve cell called a postsynaptic neuron. Once the presynaptic neuron has finished transmitting the information to the postsynaptic neuron, it reabsorbs

The linkage of serotonin to depression has been known for the past five years. From numerous studies, the most concrete evidence of this connection is the decreased concentration of serotonin metabolites like 5-HIAA (5-hydroxyindole acetic acid) in the cerebrospinal fluid and brain tissues of depressed people. If depression, as suggested, is a result of decreased levels of serotonin in the brain, pharmaceutical agents that can reverse this effect should be helpful in treating depressed patients. Therefore, the primary targets of various antidepressant medications are serotonin transports of the brain. Since serotonin is activated when released by neurons into the synapse, antidepressants function at the synapse to enhance serotonin activity. Normally, serotonin's actions in the synapse are terminated by its being taken back into the neuron then releases it at which point "it is either recycled for reuse as a transmitter or broken down into its metabolic by products and transported out of the brain." As a result, antidepressants work to increase serotonin levels at the synapse by blocking serotonin reuptake (2).

Especially in the United States there has been an increase in prescriptions and sales of serotonin reuptake inhibitors antidepressants. This upturns in sales were only possible because of the claim of serotonin being the main chemical responsible for depression. Therefore antidepressants like (SSRI’s) which correct a possible chemical imbalance regarding serotonin levels are often considered first when patients’ are diagnosed with mental health disorders like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, etc.6

The first step to treating many of these new cases of depression is the prescription and use of antidepressant medication, however this has cause a mass flooding of our society with unnecessary prescription drugs. Due to the ease of treatment, primarily with prescription drugs, and the large range of severity in depression is often over diagnosed, adding to the problem.