Antidepressants

Introduction 

Antidepressants are types of drugs and are used to relieve or minimize the symptoms of depression. There are two kinds of depression - namely clinical depression and normal depression - and there is a great deal of difference between the two. In every day life we use the term depressed, but that is the normal state of mind when something goes wrong, or if things don’t work according to your way. In case of clinical depression the individual suffers from intense sadness, melancholia or despair. In case of clinical depression these things are advanced at extreme levels that finally result in the disruption of the social life of an individual.

Antidepressants were first developed in 1950. From that time onwards they have been successfully used. There are a number of types of antidepressants, ranging up to about thirty different varieties - of which four are most commonly used.  These are Trycyclics, the Monoamine oxidase inhibitor, the selective Serotonin reuptake inhibitor and the Serotonin and the Nor adrenaline reuptake inhibitors.

Treatment for depression is prescribed by doctors, but one has to find out the main reason behind depression. According to studies there are two main reasons that are responsible for depression - viz., physiological causes and the sociopsychological causes. When antidepressants are taken they increase the chemical activity in the brain, especially the neurotransmitters; the neurotransmitters are responsible for passing the signal from one brain cell to another. Thus the use of antidepressants can help the person to come out of depression.

Antidepressants are used in cases of moderate to severe depression, chronic pain, severe anxiety and panic attacks, eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorders, post traumatic stress disorder. The intake of antidepressants in some cases is useful and they definitely show their effect within a period of one to three months. The new tablets are better than the old antidepressant tablets, because the new antidepressant tablets - if an overdose is taken - do not have any serious side effects. On the other hand, the old tablets are dangerous if the dosage is exceeded.

Antidepressants should only be prescribed by a doctor. If a person exceeds the prescribed dosage, a doctor must be immediately informed. One must wait for the medicine to  do its work. Finally - and most importantly - antidepressants must be kept away from the reach of children.