Antidepressants Are Usually The First-line Treatment For Moderate Or Severe Depression

Depression is not a lifelong disease but it's only a temporary state of mind where everything around us looks dull, bleak and sad. Often change in the environment or medication helps the patient get over depression. An antidepressant is a psychiatric medication which is used to enhance mood disorders for instance major depression and dysthymia. Many drugs including the monoamine oxidase inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and serotonin-nor epinephrine reuptake inhibitors are most often connected with the term.

These medicines are the most commonly used drugs prescribed by psychiatrists and other physicians, and their results and severe effects are the subject of many studies and competing claims. Most drugs produce an antidepressant effect, but restrictions on their usage have aroused controversy and off-label prescription a risk, despite claims of beneficial efficiency. Many claim that excess intake could lead to death.

Most common antidepressants have a delayed onset of action ranging from 2 to 6 weeks and are generally administered from months to years. As the name suggests it is widely used for depression but antidepressants are also used to treat other conditions, such as anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, eating disorders, chronic pain, and some hormone-mediated disorders such as dysmenorrheal.

They are either taken alone or with anticonvulsants such as Tegretol or Depakote. These medicines are also used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and substance abuse by attacking the underlying depression. Other medications that are not generally termed as antidepressants, includes antipsychotic in low doses and benzodiazepines. Hay can be used to manage depression, though benzodiazepines can cause physical dependence if treatment is not handled properly under a doctor's supervision.

Stopping benzodiazepine treatment suddenly can cause unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. A small amount of the herb St John's Wort is widely used as an antidepressant, though it is labeled as a dietary supplement in many countries. The term antidepressant is sometimes applied to some therapies also such as psychotherapy, electro-convulsive therapy, and acupuncture. These have been found to improve mood disorders.

Inert placebos can have an important antidepressant result, and so to establish a substance as an "antidepressant" in a clinical trial it is important to show excellent efficacy to placebo. Antidepressants are medicines used to help people who suffer from depression. Most people with depression get better with treatment that includes these drugs. Most antidepressants work by gradually slowing the removal of certain chemicals from the brain. These chemicals are known as neurotransmitters which are needed for normal brain functioning.

Antidepressants help people with depression by making these natural chemicals available in extra quantity to the brain. Antidepressants are mostly taken for a minimum of 4 to 6 months. In some cases, patients and their doctors may decide that antidepressants are needed for a longer duration.

Antidepressants can have side effects on other medicines too. If we are going to take an antidepressant, we should inform our doctor about all the other medicines we take, including over-the-counter medicines and herbal health products. We should ask our doctors if any of our regular medicines can cause problems when combined with an antidepressant.