An antidepressant is basically a medication used to treat mood disorders including depression and dysthymia. Generally antidepressants are used to remove the depression which may be caused due to anxiety attacks or any other condition. In reality, depression is an illness that can challenge an individuals ability to perform even the basic functions of daily life. Depression can turn adverse and can take the form of suicide also in extreme cases therefore it is imperative to employ helpful medications to treat depression.
Depression can be caused due to many reasons. These include Heredity and family history of depression, lower socioeconomic status, personality, medications, medical conditions, substance abuse, inadequate diet and many more. If you want to curb your depression then antidepressant medications can prove helpful to you. However these medications are surrounded with controversies regarding side effects and dangers associated with them.
How effective antidepressant medications are?
There is no doubt to say the medications are effective when depression gets severe. But according to the research, antidepressant works in a negative way for many people. According to recent government study it has been evaluated that less than 50 percent of the people become symptom-free after employing antidepressant medications. People who get positive results with anti depressants often get the symptoms back after discontinuing the medication.
Furthermore
antidepressant medications are attached with few side effects. The drugs used for treating depression are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), atypical antidepressants, monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) and the older tricyclic antidepressants which often result in posing side effects to the individual.
The class of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors include antidepressants like Fluoxetine, sertraline, paroxetine and others while atypical antidepressants include Bupropion, mirtazapine, venlafaxine, nefazodone and many more.
It has also been seen that people started experiencing withdrawal symptoms once they discontinue with the medication. Some of the aftereffects include crying spells, dizziness, restlessness, fatigue, pains and aches. These withdrawal symptoms are called antidepressant discontinuation syndrome. If you want to avoid withdrawal symptoms then you should not stop taking your medication cold turkey. In fact you should slowly and gradually lessen your dose. This process may take few months but should be carried under your doctors supervision.
Some of the antidepressant signs which when noticed demand the employment of effective drugs are:
New or worse anxiety
Aggression and anger
Restlessness and feeling agitated
Extreme hyperactivity
Suicidal thoughts and attempts
