question about anti depressent drugs..

Instead of 'pills' Doctors should be looking at other methods to help with depression such as prescribing excercise of cognitive behaviour therapy. (CBT is now considered more effective than popping your average SSRI)

how do they work? i mean most people get put on them for about a month but what about after the month when they stop taking them? won't they get depressed again? u cant stay on them all your life!

Here we go...i'm revising this for Psychology ATM, so i know lots.

Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI's) and tricylics work by offsetting the shortage of monoamines, which include the neurotransmittors serotonin, noradrenaline and dopamine, thought to be responsible for some forms of depression. They both effectively increase levels of serotonin and noradrenaline. Trycylics do this by preventing reuptake of noradrenaline and serotonin. MAOI's work by preventing the enzyme monamine oxydase from deactivating these neurotransmitters.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI's) (eg Prozac) inhibit the uptake of serotonin. These were hailed as intirely safe because they could not lead to dependence but there are reports that say they lead to an increase in suicide rates in the early stages of treatment.

Lithium Carbonate is used for the treatment of bipolar disorder (manic depression). Gerbino, Oleshansky and Gershon report a reduction of manic and depressive episodes in 80% of patients. It can, however, have lethal side effects and needs to be monitored carefully or it could threaten life. Despite this, the alleviation of the disorder and the reduction in suicide rates among people with the disorder has led to this drug being described as a "true medical miracle".

Even if only used temporarily, anti depresssants can be of great benefit as they reduce the potential for suicide. they should, however, be combined with, or substituted by, psychological therapies as soon as possible. With Lithium Carbonate, it is a different story. It is recommended that this be taken continuously throughout life since discontinuing the drug can result in even more serious symptoms.

Hope this helps!!!! Need any more info, feel free to ask!

yep, it's true that, daveo.

the problem is, those programmes are soooo oversubscribed, and the doctors are stuck having to give out pills to people who would clearly benefit from things like CBT.

I read yesterday that doctors have moved towards prescribing exercise for more people, in an attempt to reduce pill popping; there's a massive rise in people who are crying depression, [who sadly, take the focus off of people who really need help] who really just need to go outside more often.

for example:

"waah, my boyfriend has just broken up with me, I'm so depressed give me attention"

people do it all the time.

"waah, my boyfriend has just broken up with me, I'm so depressed give me attention"

people do it all the time.

The primary cause of depression is diet.

for example:

"waah, my boyfriend has just broken up with me, I'm so depressed give me attention"

people do it all the time.