Depression Medications Available
Not everyone who is down and sad for a few days has a true case of depression. Depression affects millions of people in the United States and often lasts for years. More often than not, people with depression do not seek the treatment that they need. Often this is because they are ashamed and don’t want to be classified as mentally ill but depression and other mental illnesses are much better understood now than they were in the past so the old stereotypes are gone.
Mental illnesses like depression are much better understood and accepted than they were years ago. Depression will not go away without proper treatment so don’t think you can ignore it.
There is no one thing that causes depression. Usually, it is a combination of factors including genetics, environment, physical stress and emotional stress. Any stress in your life increases your chances of getting depression especially major life changing stresses like the death of a loved one or divorce. It isn’t easy to figure out the causes of depression because it is a complex illness just like our minds are complex organs.
Scientists and doctors are learning more about what causes depression and how to treat it every day. It is commonly accepted that depression can be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. The more they know about depression the easier it will be to treat it. New treatments are likely to be discovered as more is learned about the causes of depression.
Many different treatments are available for depression including several medications. Not all the medicines that claim to treat depression can be trusted especially if they sound too good to be true. The only drugs you should take are those that have been fully tested and approved. Mental illnesses like depression no longer carry the same stigma they did years ago when people were institutionalized instead of treated at home. Now many people treat their depression with medicines like Prozac which has been around since 1988.
There are many different prescriptions that can be used to treat depression and they fall into the SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) category. These include Paxil, Zoloft and Lexapro. These prescriptions can sometimes have unwanted side effects so you might want to consider herbal treatments like St. John’s Wort which contains the chemical hyperforin that has been found to be effective. Make sure you find out what treatment will work the best for you.