Antidepressants

Video: Antidepressants: How they help relieve depression












Also called: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, Tricyclic antidepressants
Antidepressants are medicines that treat depression.
Your doctor can prescribe them for you.
They can improve your:
* mood,
* sleep,
* appetite
* and concentration.
It may take several weeks for them to help. There are several types of antidepressants. You and your doctor may have to try several before finding what works best for you.
Medicines sometimes cause unwanted side effects.

For example when you first start your antidepressant you may feel tired, have trouble sleeping or feel sick to your stomach. The side effects usually go away after a short time. Tell your doctor if you have any side effects. You should also let your doctor know if you take any other medicines, vitamins or herbal supplements.

It is important to keep taking your medicines, even if you feel better. Do not stop taking your medicines without talking to your doctor.

Here is a Guide for Adults with Depression, provided by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Treatment

Medications

Dozens of medications are available to treat depression. Most people find the best relief of depression symptoms by combining medications and psychotherapy. Some medications for depression are antidepressants that have been specifically approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat depression.



Psychotherapy

Another key depression treatment. It's often used along with medication treatment. Psychotherapy is a general term for a way of treating depression by talking about your condition and related issues with a mental health provider. Psychotherapy is also known as therapy, talk therapy, counseling or psychosocial therapy.


For more detailed descriptions of the different antidepressants and psychotherapy treatments, click here.

Treatment is getting better every day. This video explains some of the available treatments, and how to find the best treatment for you or a loved one.

Treating Depression

Depression Education

There are many varieties of depression and each has unique symptoms and requires specific treatment.

The Black Dog Institute provides a very useful and simple Depression Education Program through online modules, which give detailed information concerning the different types of depression. It is also a guide to understanding and managing depression.

Click here to view their Depression Education Program.

*The most common are major depressive disorder and dysthymic disorder:

Major depressive disorder, also called major depression, is characterized by a combination of symptoms that interfere with a person's ability to work, sleep, study, eat, and enjoy once–pleasurable activities. Major depression is disabling and prevents a person from functioning normally. An episode of major depression may occur only once in a person's lifetime, but more often, it recurs throughout a person's life.

Dysthymic disorder, also called dysthymia, is characterized by long–term (two years or longer) but less severe symptoms that may not disable a person but can prevent one from functioning normally or feeling well. People with dysthymia may also experience one or more episodes of major depression during their lifetimes.

Other forms of depression are described in detail at the NIMH website.

Here is a true life story of a woman named Helen, who wasn't aware she was clinically depressed. Learn what she did to feel like her real self again.

True Life Story: Depression

Depression Study

In the New York Times I read this article entitled:

Study Links Depression to Thinning of Brain’s Cortex

Here are some of the most interesting results:

"The scientists conducted brain imaging of 131 individuals, including children and adults ages 6 to 54, about half of whom were considered at high risk for depression because of their family history and half of whom were in a low-risk group. Maps of cortical thickness showed significant thinning of 28 percent on average across broad expanses of the right cerebral hemisphere in the high-risk group, compared with the low-risk group, the paper reported. "

“If you have thinning in this portion of the brain, it interferes with the processing of emotional stimuli,” Dr. Peterson said. “We think that’s what makes them vulnerable to developing anxiety and depression — it essentially isolates them in an emotional world.”

*Click on "anxiety" for in-depth reference and news articles about stress and anxiety.

Biochemical Causes of Depression

It is likely that with clinical depression, neurotransmitter function is disrupted.

Neurotransmitters:
are chemicals that carry signals from one part of the brain to the next

Click here to watch a video that explains and gives a visual for how nuerons and nuerotransmitters work.

This is a simple diagram of neurotransmitters. The video explains in depth how they function.






Three important nuerotransmitters that affect a person's mood are:
* serotonin
* noradrenaline
* dopamine

In normal brain function, neurotransmitters jump from one nerve cell to the next, with the signal being as strong in the second and following cells as it was in the first. However, in people who are depressed, the mood regulating neurotransmitters fail to function normally, so that the signal is either depleted or disrupted before passing to the next nerve cell.

*More scientific detail for the biochemical causes can be found here.

Resources

There is a lot of information concerning depression available, although some sources of that information are not as reliable as other sources. I want to provide you with some of the reliable sources I have come across in my research.

* One specific site is Medline Plus. Here is the link. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/depression.html

On this website, NIMH (the National Institute of Mental Health) provides information concerning sypmtoms, different types of depression, the latest news on depression, research articles, and links to many other reliable sources.

Also on this website I found an interactive tutorial specifically focused on depression. The interactive tutorial can be found at this link.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/depression/htm/index.htm

This screen should appear with options for an interactive mulitmedia tutorial, a self-running presentation, or a PDF of the text summary.





* Each of the options offers valuable, useful, and helpful information.

Q & A

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. What is depression?
· Depression is a medical illness that involves the mind and body. It affects how you think and behave and can cause a variety of emotional and physical problems.

2. How is depression caused?
· Biochemical-some evidence that people with depression have physical changes in their brains
· Genes-some studies have shown that depression is more common in people whose biological family members also have the condition
· Environment-causes that are situations in one’s life that are difficult to cope with

3. Who is most affected by depression?
· All racial, ethnic and economic groups are affected by depression, not one is immune from the risk of getting it
· Twice as many women are diagnosed than men (this could be due in part because women are more likely to seek treatment for depression)

4. How do you know if you have depression?
· Symptoms Include:
· Loss of interest in normal daily activities
· Feeling sad or down
· Feeling hopeless
· Crying spells for no apparent reason
Problems sleeping
· Trouble focusing or concentrating
· Difficulty making decisions
· Unintentional weight gain or loss
· Irritability
· Restlessness
· Being easily annoyed
· Feeling fatigued or weak
· Feeling worthless
· Loss of interest in sex
· Thoughts of suicide or suicidal behavior
· Unexplained physical problems, such as back pain or headaches
* Take this Depression Self-Assessment test for more information : http://mayoclinic.com/health/depression/MH00103_D



5. How do you help a friend/loved one who has symptoms of depression?
· Have an open discussion about your concerns
· Offer encouragement and support
· Help find qualified professional care
· Attend the appointment if your support is needed

6. Can depression be mentally controlled by an individual?
· mental illnesses have very complex causes, often a mix of your genetics, your biology and your life experiences — most of which are beyond your control

7. How is depression treated?
· Medications
· Psychotherapy
· Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

* For further information on treatments available please refer to this website: http://mayoclinic.com/health/depression/DS00175/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs


8. Why is society so critical of individuals struggling with depression?
· To some, the word "mental" suggests that the illness is not a legitimate medical condition but rather a problem caused by your own choices and actions. People may blame you and think your condition is "all in your head." They may think that a mental health disorder means that you're weak or lazy.
· Mental illnesses have very complex causes most of which are beyond your control. Neuroimaging studies show physical changes in the brain associated with mental disorders, and may be due in part to your genes.


9. Is depression preventable?
· Although there is no sure way to prevent depression working to
-Control stress
-Increase resilience and
- Boost low self-esteem,
…may help.
· Also friendships, social support, forgiveness, coping with grief, and being assertive may help
· Also treatment at the earliest sign of a problem can help prevent depression from worsening.
· Long-term maintenance treatment may help prevent a relapse

10.Are there resources available for learning more?

There are many resources available for learning more. Here are just a few websites for more information.

CDC Related Links:
Guide to Clinical Preventive Services
National Institute of Mental Health

Non-Government Resources:
Mental Health America*