We know that we can overcome depression, but we always like to inform ourselves in depth, since the more we know about our enemy, the more weapons we will be able to find to defeat him.
Among the different treatments for depression, the first option is usually pills, antidepressants, the use of which is not without controversy, fear and detractors. That’s why we tell you everything you need to know about antidepressants.
How antidepressants work
- As we have always been warning, depression is not a low mood, but rather a full-blown disease. The depressive state acts by altering some of our brain functions, which is why it becomes a physiological problem that cannot be solved only with a change in attitude.
- Antidepressant pills act directly by stimulating the production of certain substances in the brain that, as a consequence of depression, are found at lower levels. The names of these substances, such as dopamine or serotonin, are a bit scary, as are the names of the components that increase their production, such as Paroxetine, Bupropion, Fluoxetine or Nefazodone.
- But given how they work, they are drugs that we are going to need at least in the early stages of our treatment against depression. We can affirm that the success rate of antidepressants stands at 80%, so we can intuit their importance and their effectiveness.
Precautions Regarding Antidepressants
- But just because antidepressants are a must-have part of almost any treatment for depression doesn’t mean they don’t have their risks in the form of a host of side effects and the difficulty of stopping taking them after treatment ends. Unlike anxiolytics, antidepressants do not produce dependence, but they do generate many withdrawal symptoms when leaving them, so we will always have to end the treatment gradually.
- Something that we must also take into account is that its antidepressant effects are not noticeable from day one, but its side effects are, and this is what generates the most controversy around these medications. There is no shortage of those who abandon treatment early because they do not notice any improvement in the first days. First of all, not only because of antidepressants, to overcome depression we need a lot of patience.
- We do not want to list the numerous side effects of antidepressants so as not to harm all those suggestible or even hypochondriac people, but “there are, there are”. However, to be safer regarding the consequences of antidepressants, it is best that the treatment is supervised, more than regularly, by a specialist. Because it is very frequent that the recommended antidepressant does not work for us and we have to change to a different one.