Get Depression Out of you Life! Selecting an antidepressant
Selecting an antidepressant
Medication is often the first treatment choice for adults with moderate or severe depression. Although antidepressant medications don't cure depression, they can help you achieve remission - the disappearance or nearly complete reduction of symptoms. Sadness, anxiety, depression-related sleep and appetite problems, concentration, and energy levels all can improve with antidepressant medications.
For many people, combining medication use with psychotherapy, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, proves most effective. With scores of antidepressants available, though, finding the right one for your situation can be challenging. Understanding what a treatment plan entails and what goes into determining the right medication for you will help you sort through your options.
How antidepressants work
Precisely how antidepressants work to treat depression remains speculative. Scientists do know that antidepressants can influence brain activity through the effects they have on mood-related brain chemicals called neurotransmitters and certain nerve cell receptors. Nerve cells release neurotransmitters to communicate with other nerve cells in the brain. Neurotransmitters transmit signals across a gap (synapse) between the nerve cells.
Neurotransmitters associated with depression are serotonin (ser-oh-TOE-nin), norepinephrine (nor-ep-ih-NEF-rin) and possibly dopamine (DOE-puh-mene). Research suggests that people with depression have lower levels of one or more of these neurotransmitters.
Nerve cells send a signal and then reabsorb (reuptake) the neurotransmitters after they've communicated with other nerve cells. Antidepressants interfere with this reuptake. This results in a greater quantity of a particular neurotransmitter remaining in the synapse. This can change the activity of certain nerve cells and influence brain activity. Maintaining a higher level of neurotransmitters improves neurotransmission — the sending of those nerve impulses — which, in turn, improves your mood.
In addition, a type of antidepressant called alpha-2 receptor blockers is thought to work by preventing neurotransmitters from binding with the nerve cell receptors called alpha-2 receptors. This indirectly increases the levels of norepinephrine and serotonin in your brain.
Numerous types of antidepressants available
Dozens of antidepressants are available, each affecting neurotransmitters in a different way. Antidepressants are typically grouped into categories, either based on when the medications came into use, their chemical structure or how they affect brain chemistry.
Here are the antidepressants that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) specifically to treat depression, with their generic names followed by available brand names in parentheses, and grouped by how they affect brain chemistry.
Citalopram (Celexa)
Fluoxetine (Prozac, Prozac Weekly)
Paroxetine (Paxil, Paxil CR)
Sertraline (Zoloft)
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Medication is often the first treatment choice for adults with moderate or severe depression. Although antidepressant medications don't cure depression, they can help you achieve remission - the disappearance or nearly complete reduction of symptoms. Sadness, anxiety, depression-related sleep and appetite problems, concentration, and energy levels all can improve with antidepressant medications.
For many people, combining medication use with psychotherapy, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, proves most effective. With scores of antidepressants available, though, finding the right one for your situation can be challenging. Understanding what a treatment plan entails and what goes into determining the right medication for you will help you sort through your options.
How antidepressants work
Precisely how antidepressants work to treat depression remains speculative. Scientists do know that antidepressants can influence brain activity through the effects they have on mood-related brain chemicals called neurotransmitters and certain nerve cell receptors. Nerve cells release neurotransmitters to communicate with other nerve cells in the brain. Neurotransmitters transmit signals across a gap (synapse) between the nerve cells.
Neurotransmitters associated with depression are serotonin (ser-oh-TOE-nin), norepinephrine (nor-ep-ih-NEF-rin) and possibly dopamine (DOE-puh-mene). Research suggests that people with depression have lower levels of one or more of these neurotransmitters.
Nerve cells send a signal and then reabsorb (reuptake) the neurotransmitters after they've communicated with other nerve cells. Antidepressants interfere with this reuptake. This results in a greater quantity of a particular neurotransmitter remaining in the synapse. This can change the activity of certain nerve cells and influence brain activity. Maintaining a higher level of neurotransmitters improves neurotransmission — the sending of those nerve impulses — which, in turn, improves your mood.
In addition, a type of antidepressant called alpha-2 receptor blockers is thought to work by preventing neurotransmitters from binding with the nerve cell receptors called alpha-2 receptors. This indirectly increases the levels of norepinephrine and serotonin in your brain.
Numerous types of antidepressants available
Dozens of antidepressants are available, each affecting neurotransmitters in a different way. Antidepressants are typically grouped into categories, either based on when the medications came into use, their chemical structure or how they affect brain chemistry.
Here are the antidepressants that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) specifically to treat depression, with their generic names followed by available brand names in parentheses, and grouped by how they affect brain chemistry.
Citalopram (Celexa)
Fluoxetine (Prozac, Prozac Weekly)
Paroxetine (Paxil, Paxil CR)
Sertraline (Zoloft)
Check our complete Product List on the right bar!
