There are various types of pharmacological interventions when it comes to the treatment of GAD. The medications which are usually prescribed to patients are firstly antidepressants, which are usually prescribed as the first line of treatment for anxiety disorders. Secondly Benzodiazepines which are prescribed to relief acute anxiety disorder symptoms, they are effective for short-term rapid relief but might affect the activities of daily life, impair motor functions, affect concentration and might also result in drug dependence which could lead to abuse. According to (Durham, 2007), “they are not appropriate as a first-line treatment for a chronic condition and should be used for no more than 2–4 weeks” but only in the situation when the immediate management of anxiety …show more content…
Antidepressants have shown effectiveness in the long-term treatment of GAD, as well as providing therapeutic effects without compromising the safety of the individual, as compared to Benzodiazepines. One class of antidepressants used to treat GAD is the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI). These SSRIs work by inhibiting the reuptake of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which affects mood regulation. With the help of SSRI, “the serotonin stays in the synaptic gap longer than it normally would, and may repeatedly stimulate the receptors of the recipient cell” (Goodman et al., 2011) As such, with the increase of serotonin, it aids in the induction of mood-elevating and contributes to the therapeutic anti-anxiety effects of SSRIs. Some of the common drugs prescribed under the SSRI class are Venlafaxine, Escitalopram, Paroxetine and Duloxetine. These drugs have their adverse effects with sexual dysfunction being the most common. Other adverse effects include gastrointestinal effects such as nausea, diarrhoea, dry mouth and constipation, along with occurrences of sleep disturbances. (Khawam, Laurencic & Malone Jr.,
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a very common anxiety disorder; symptoms include nervousness, worrying and tension. The anxiety is not linked to one thing and patients can be overwhelmed by a general feeling of dread. A patient with GAD will worry about the same things as any unaffected person, for example, their health, personal relationships or work. What sets them apart is that the degree of worry or tension is higher than normal levels. The worrying can be both persistent and debilitating. Symptoms are moderate but long lasting persisting for longer than one month. Possible treatment methods for GAD include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Psychopharmacological Therapy, and Acceptance Based Behaviour Therapy. It will be argued that CBT is overall a better treatment for GAD and has been found to be effective and tolerable in the treatment of GAD.
Antidepressant drugs taken by children have been linked to increased risk of suicide. Exasperated mental health professionals began prescribing antidepressants to children and teens in large proportions in the 1990’s, even though studied safety of such drugs for use in minors had not been conducted. Consequently, standard growth models and brain development may be impaired by the use of these drugs. Moreover, children may be risking one evil for another as adult years could prove to hold adverse side effects and health risks from prolonged use of these drugs.
Even though antidepressants serve as a temporary relief for teens with depression, they should not be considered an effective treatment to cure depression due to the side effects, risk of addiction, and increase thoughts of suicide. “Teen depression is a serious condition that affects emotions, thoughts and behaviors. Issues such as peer pressure, academic expectations, and changing bodies can bring a lot of ups and downs for teens” (Mayo Clinic). Depression does not discriminate; no matter what race, gender, or religion, depression can turn a person’s life upside down if they do not handle it correctly. “Depression usually starts between the ages of fifteen and thirty” (WebMD). Teen depression may be more common among members of a family
Millions of Americans suffer from clinical depression each year. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) (2017), 322 million people are affected by depression around the world. Concerning industrialized Western world countries, it remains as the number one psychological disorder affecting its population (WHO, 2017). Most clinicians begin primarily with prescribing either pharmacologic or psychotherapy interventions. With billions of dollars spent in revue on treating depression (Chisholm, Sweeny, and Sheehan, 2016), exercise used as treatment in reaction to mental illness is often overlooked by mainstream health care professionals. However, it has been proved by recent research exercise acts as both a preventive and reactive
Research Question: Are antidepressants being over prescribed, if so what other options do doctors have and what should they be considering?
The cause of Clinical depression has long been a mystery to physicians and researchers. Many different theories have been proposed, but no conclusive evidence has been put forth. However, most of what we know about depression stems from the results of certain drugs which have been successful in treating the clinically depressed. These anti--depressants have led to the assumption that depression is most likely due to a chemical imbalance (of neurotransmitters) which somehow leads to the symptoms of depression. To try and write a paper on all the theories of depression would be endless, as would be a study on all the different types of
This can make it difficult to tell precisely which drug is affecting an individual’s emotions. Doctors do, however, have a pretty good idea of what each narcotic can do due to research in individuals that have taken one drug at a time.
This is an accurate representation of medication for depression. It does not make you want to live, it does not fix your thinking, it just makes you functional. It allows you to do things you wouldn’t usually be able to, and maybe after a while you will be able to function on your own.
are happy when they achieve something or saddened when they fail a test or lose
At first it was the cure all people were looking for. Then it became the drug they were afraid to take. Somewhere between these two extremes lies the truth about the drug Flouxetine, better known as Prozac, the most widely prescribed drug on the globe. It is mainly prescribed to patients suffering from clinical depression. It was first brought to the market in 1988 by the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly co. Even though it was originally prescribed for depression, it has been prescribed for everything from eating disorders to insomnia. It was first considered the wonder drug of the new decade because of the way it helped depression patients when no other anti-depressant could
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) are currently one of the most controversial groups of medicines, with fluoxetine, more commonly known by its brand name Prozac, at the head of the controversy. Opponents of the use of SSRI medications as a successful and safe method for treating depression and related disorders assert that the actions of the drug are an unnatural and a dangerous form of tampering with our neurochemistry. Not only are these medications incredibly safe in almost all cases, they are actually an unnatural method of modifying an already disordered, natural sequence of chemicals in the brain, and therefore are not a form of tampering, but are a method for fixing
Common types of medication include POM (prescription only medication) which can be obtained from a pharmacist only if prescribed by a doctor. These could include anti-depressants which are very common. Anti-depressants work by selecting receptors in the brain and controls levels of serotonin. They come under the group 'SSRIS' (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors). Over the counter medicines (OTC) may include things like paracetamol or ibuprofen, which are everyday painkillers. Something like paracetamol inhibits the production of pain and inflammation-causing chemicals called prostaglandins.
Depression has been a part of our lives for as long as humans have been on the earth. Everyone has had days when nothing was going right. But it all depends with an individual how to handled this adversity and how depressed that person becomes.
At the first place of literature review, I was planning to look into how to overcome GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) as individual. As the research continued, I found 5%-6% of the population suffer from GAD as well as 60%-70% of the general population suffer from insomnia (Belleville et al., 2016). This information remind me that the treatments of GAD need further research in order to enhance the current methods and explore for more new technology and therapy (Gutierrez & Camarena, 2015). In this literature review, I will analyse three research paper in order to introduce different types of treatment and the reliability of these treatments based on the research descriptions.
The term depression is widely misused in today’s society. All human beings experience periods in life where they are sad for a relatively short period of time, which is considered normal. Those who experience sadness for extended periods may be suffering from depression. Two terms used to reference the classifications of depression, are Major Depressive Disorder, and Dysthymia. Individual diagnosis of these classifications is dependent on the length of time, and severity of symptoms experienced by the individual. The causes for these depressive states can be due to genetics or the insufficient production of neurotransmitters, which provide the brain with the data necessary to regulate one's psychological well being. Two examples