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What You Should Know About Depression
If you have treatment-resistant depression, you might have already picked up some of the antidepressant drug lingo -- SSRIs, your SNRIs and your MAOIs. But do you really know how these drugs help?The most important thing you need to know when you’re living with treatment-resistant depression is that antidepressants often can help. To help you understand all your medication options, here are the facts about different types of antidepressants -- along with some tips on how to use them most effectively.
What are antidepressants?
Antidepressants are prescription medications that help treat depression. Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and a loss of interest in things and activities you once enjoyed. It can also cause difficulty with thinking, memory, motivation, eating and sleeping.
There are several types of depressive disorders, some of which include:
- Clinical depression (major depressive disorder).
- Bipolar depression.
- Persistent depressive disorder (PDD).
- Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).
- Atypical depression.
- Seasonal depression (seasonal affective disorder).
Antidepressants are one type of treatment for depression. While they can treat the symptoms of depression, they don’t always address its causes. This is why healthcare providers often recommend psychotherapy (talk therapy) in addition to depression medication.Today, antidepressants are one of the most frequently prescribed medications in the United States.
What conditions do antidepressants help treat?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of antidepressants for the following conditions:
- Clinical depression and other depressive disorders (most common use of antidepressants).
- Bipolar depression.
- Bulimia.
- Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
- Panic disorder.
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Social anxiety disorder (social phobia).
Healthcare providers sometimes prescribe antidepressants for other conditions. This is considered an off-label, or non-FDA-approved, use of the medication. For example, providers sometimes prescribe tricyclic antidepressants for chronic pain, insomnia and migraine.
What are the types of antidepressants?
There are several types (classes) of antidepressants, including:
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). These are the most common type of prescribed antidepressants.
- Serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs).
- Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs). TCAs are an older class of antidepressants often reserved for treatment-resistant depression and anxiety due to increased rates of side effects.
- Atypical antidepressants.
- Serotonin modulators.
- Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). These are the oldest antidepressants. Though highly effective, they’re often reserved for treatment-resistant depression and anxiety. This is because taking an MAIO requires dietary modifications to avoid hypertensive reactions caused by interactions with the amino acid tyramine, which is present in high levels in some foods.
- N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonists.
There are also several kinds of medications (and brands) within each class.
What is the most common type of antidepressant?
SSRIs are the most commonly prescribed type of antidepressant. Fluoxetine (Prozac®) is probably the most well-known SSRI.
More than 1 in 10 people in the United States take them. The use of antidepressants is increasing across the world.
How effective are antidepressants?
Antidepressants are the most effective medication for treating depression symptoms. But just like with many other medications, antidepressants may help some people more than others.
Studies show that the benefit of the antidepressant generally depends on the severity of the depression — the more severe the depression, the greater the benefit or “effectiveness” will be. Antidepressants are usually effective in moderate, severe and chronic depression. They don’t tend to help mild depression.It’s important to remember that psychotherapy is another important part of depression treatment. Combining psychotherapy and depression medication will usually produce the largest improvement in your symptoms.