How does antidepressant help a depressed person? I thought all of it are in the mind, how do drugs help?
In: Chemistry
First it’s important to understand that there are very real and large differences between Chronic Depression and feeling depressed temporarily because, for example, a loved one has died, or you lost your job, or your house burned down, or you failed a class. Both can be treated with certain medications, but everyday sadness-type depression is generally temporary, while Clinical Depression is a chronic disorder.
Antidepressants work by balancing chemicals in your brain, called neurotransmitters, that affect your mood and emotions. These medications can, in some people, help improve emotional stability, reduce feelings of sadness or hopelessness, help you sleep better, reduce anxiety, even improve your appetite.
There are five main categories of antidepressants, and each category uses different chemicals to treat whatever’s going wrong in your brain. Since we still have a lot to learn about depression and how it works, some people need to try a range of different medications before they find one, or a combination, that works well for them and their specific issues.
There are also different types of depression, so that’s also part of why it can be difficult to figure out just the right treatment for each individual. There’s Major Depressive Disorder, Persistent Depressive Disorder, Seasonal Affective Disorder, Situational Depression, Bipolar Depression, Postpartum Depression, Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, and several others. Each of these conditions has a specific set of symptoms, and each person might experience these symptoms in slightly different ways than the next person, so that’s why it’s important to seek out someone who specialized in psychiatric medications, like Psychiatrists and Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners, who can also help you figure out if you perhaps need some sort of therapy rather than medications.
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