Best Way to Understand Antidepressants

The internal balance of several natural chemicals in our brains influences how we feel emotionally and physically. Stress and physical illness can upset this balance. Disturbances in your brain’s chemistry can lead to the symptoms of depression: sleep and appetite problems, loss of energy, difficulty concentrating, and increased sensitivity to pain.

Prescription antidepressant medications reverse that process by replenishing depleted chemical messengers in the brain. These messengers, called neurotransmitters, literal­ly carry chemical “messages” between nerve cells in your brain. Two of these neuro­transmitters are serotonin and norepinephrine, which have been found to affect mood. The brain needs to receive ade­quate amounts of these chemicals in order to experience pleasurable sensations. In depression, something goes wrong, and the serotonin or norepinephrine messengers retreat before they can deliver their message. Newer antidepressant medications, called serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SRIs, prevent the serotonin from retreating too quickly. In effect, they coax serotonin into hanging around long enough to deliver its chemical mes­sage.

When is an antidepressant necessary

Physicians often describe antidepressants for

•  Depression, sadness, or irritability
•  Sleep or appetite problems
•  Fatigue
•  Difficulty with concentration or memory
•  Loss of interest in activities that once brought pleasure
•  Chronic pain
•  Anxiety attacks
•  Nervousness or tension

Depression can go away on its own, but taking an antidepressant usually speeds up the recovery process considerably. With no treatment, a depressive episode typ­ically lasts 6-9 months. With medication, however, most people start feeling better in 2-4 weeks.

Some people take antidepressants for only a few months. Others, especially those who tend to develop persistent or recurrent depression, may keep taking them indefinitely, even during periods when they are feeling good. You may hear this referred to as “maintenance” therapy.

Facts about antidepressants

Antidepressants Are Not Habit Forming

Some people worry about becoming psychologically or physically dependent on antidepressants. Antidepressants are not tranquilizers, and they are NOT habit forming. They increase the supply of chemicals in the brain slowly. For most people, it usually takes 2-4 weeks for the effects of an antidepressant to be felt.

Using Antidepressants Is Not a Sign of Weakness

Is it all right to take an antibiotic to get rid of an infection? Of course it is. If you are prone to depletion of the chemi­cal messengers that keep you feeling good, then taking an antidepressant is just like taking any other effective medi­cine when you are sick. It can be hard to make changes in your life when you are depressed. Antidepressants can make those changes easier by increasing your energy, improving your sleep, and helping you concentrate.

Antidepressants Won’t Change Your Basic Personality

Antidepressants dramatically change the way some peo­ple feel. Others find that the changes are gradual. When the improvement is substantial—if you feel hopeful and energetic for the first time in years, for example—it may seem as if your entire outlook on life has changed. But this is not a change in basic personality. Instead, by correcting an imbalance in brain chemicals, antidepressants allow people to begin to realize their full potential.

Antidepressants Work for Many Different Depressions

Antidepressants relieve the symptoms of depression (such as sadness, tiredness, loss of motivation) regardless of the exact cause. Whether you will benefit from antidepres­sants depends on how severe your depression is and how long it lasts, not on why it started.