It’s always baffled me, as the medication starts quickly and stops quickly. It’s not in your bloodstream evenly throughout the day (like extended release).
I understand why ER takes time, but the fact that IR takes time confuses my 5 year old brain.
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Many medications are not fast-acting and require a certain amount of accumulation in the body. Once that level is reached then they are working at the desired levels. After that you are taking them to maintain persistence.
Extended release medications are usually fast-acting so they are more slowly released into the body to prolong their effectiveness.
The way in which antidepressants work is still not completely understood. For example, SSRIs (are those what you mean by immediate release?) will increase serotonin in your brain more or less immediately, but that does not work yet.
Probably what happens is that by the prolonged increase of serotonin (after taking them for a few weeks already), the synapses in your brain slowly change, adapt to the new situation. And it is this plasticity, this adaptation, within your synapses that is necessary for you to start to feel less depressed.
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