Antidepressants: Options, Risks, and Alternatives

This article addresses the kinds of drug therapy available in the treatment of depression. It will also look at the recent criticism stemming from the overuse and dependency on them.

Considering Antidepressants?

Q. I am in my third year of being broke. It has been taking a toll on my emotional life. I have no energy to socialize with friends and family. It feels like self-pity – but I think something more is going on here.

I have been told to go on antidepressants but fear I will never get off them once I start – not to mention the cost of these kinds of drugs. I have recently heard reports doubting their effectiveness. What types of drug therapies are available?

A. Going through life stressors such as financial hardship and severe legal trouble can cause us to experience significant levels of depression. Without getting help, depression can snowball into severe consequences for yourself and your family.

Is Clinical Depression Growing?

According to a CDC 2018 report, it was estimated that 1 in 10 Americans, or 30 million people, use antidepressants every day. According to the CDC, an estimated 7.2% of American adults had a major depressive episode in the past year

Antidepressants Over-Prescribed?

Even though the overall medical community has widely accepted drug therapy for treating depression, it also has a growing number of respected critics.

While antidepressants have been shown to elevate one’s mood and ease the sadness and hopelessness characteristic of a severe depressive disorder, the prolonged use of antidepressants may also carry severe side effects. Research continues. 

The legal authority to prescribe such medication requires a medical physician, usually a psychiatrist who has been trained in both psychotherapy and medicine. However other types of physicians, including general medicine physicians without advanced training in psychotherapy, have regularly prescribed antidepressants to their patients.

 Who Can Prescribe Antidepressants?

Once you receive a diagnosis of clinical depression, the physician will usually discuss the different types of treatment options with you.

You may find that some physicians are willing to prescribe antidepressants without first referring you to a psychologist or other mental health professional for a clinical evaluation.

Stay away from these types of physicians. Antidepressants are powerful drugs that alter your brain chemistry and can even lead to dependency.

What are Neurotransmitters?

There are three neurochemical messengers usually associated with clinical depression. They are the neurotransmitters known as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine.

Neurotransmitters are neurochemicals that send electrical signals between brain cells. Brain cells are called neurons, and there are nearly one hundred billion of them in the adult human brain.

A neuron is a connection-driven electrically excitable cell that sends chemical signals from one part of the brain (usually through neuron clusters) to other regions at incredible speeds.

Antidepressants are designed to affect neurotransmission. It is believed that by modifying brain chemicals, antidepressants can elevate mood and decrease depression, though the exact ways it works are still not known.

Are There Different Types of Antidepressants?

The first major category of antidepressants is “Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors” and includes the name medications we know as Zoloft, Lexapro, and Paxil. 

The second category is “Serotonin Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors” and includes brand drug names such as Cymbalta and Effexor.

Trouble-Tip:  Before you consider taking any of these medications, consult with a physician and perform your own research on the drug.

Will Antidepressants Stop My Depression?

There is no quick fix to the treatment of clinical depression. Your physician must consider dosage issues and may even have you try different antidepressants to determine which drugs may be effective for you.

In most cases, depending on your medical history, other medications you may be taking, and the dosage prescribed, it can take several weeks before you can judge the costs and benefits of the drug.

Can I Stop My Therapy Sessions Once I’m Taking Antidepressants?

Antidepressants are not a substitute for psychotherapy

Even in our quick-fix society, most experts will tell you that taking pills to make us feel good when we feel sad is not a long-term solution to these kinds of problems.

Antidepressants are potent drugs, and they almost always come with side effects, and prolonged use can result in long-term dependency.

Other approaches to battling depression should also be considered. They include increased physical activity, emotional support from friends and family, therapeutic counseling, and meditation.

Recent Criticism of Antidepressants

Recent medical studies are seriously questioning the overall effectiveness of antidepressants claiming that antidepressants such as Zoloft are no better than taking a placebo for your depression. Worse still, major pharmaceutical companies are now being accused of knowingly conducting flawed studies and biased clinical evaluations to support the continued sale of these drugs.

Critics of antidepressants from modafinilnet.com also argue that the wide use of antidepressants and other psychiatric medications is unpredictably altering the brain chemistries of millions of people and contributing to the epidemic of mental illness in the U.S.

No doubt, if you can improve your state of mind by engaging in healthy non-drug activities, try to do so before resorting to a regimen of drug therapy as your sole remedy for depression.

Remember, life is a transformative experience involving pain and joy and all the shades in the middle. When life throws us trouble, we can take some solace in the knowledge that “this too will pass.”

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