Antidepressants are drugs that are used for depression and other diseases-from neuroses to psychosomatic disorders. Without them, the treatment of eating disorders is rarely complete, and some drugs have proven themselves in the treatment of pain. When sexual dysfunction is also often resorted to their appointment.
The fear of using antidepressants arises from the lack of awareness of patients, so I will tell you what you need to know about these drugs.
Antidepressants are psychotropic drugs, sedative drugs they can not be bought without a prescription. The decision on the need for therapy with these drugs is made by a psychotherapist. Taking antidepressants without consulting a doctor can lead to undesirable consequences — including a threat to life or health.
How they work
Antidepressants ensure the preservation of an acceptable concentration of neurotransmitters in the body, prevent the formation of disorders of various spectra.
Neurotransmitters are biologically active substances that have a significant impact on the functioning of the brain and the main body systems. The lack of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine leads to the development of depressive states.
How to assign
Often people independently seek medical help-with complaints of bad mood, insomnia, apathy, fears. Sometimes patients come to a psychotherapist in the direction of a neurologist or therapist.
Psychotherapy does not always include a medication course. Antidepressants are prescribed against the background of severe symptoms of depressive disorder or if you need to speed up treatment.
The dosage is individual for each patient. Adults and children should strictly follow the recommendations of the psychotherapist on the daily dosage of drugs.
Side effects that develop when taking psychotropic substances manifest themselves in different ways. When prescribing a certain drug, the doctor takes into account the patient’s condition.
Drugs for the treatment of the nervous system
What types are there?
Antidepressants can be divided into two large groups. The first group includes modern drugs – mainly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. They have a mild effect and cause a minimum of side effects. These drugs are widely used in the treatment of mild and moderate disorders.
The second group is represented by long-known drugs, primarily tricyclic antidepressants and monoamine oxidase inhibitors. They have a more pronounced psychotropic effect, but also cause more side effects. They are usually used in the treatment of severe depressive disorders.
The principle of action of these antidepressants is different, but the end result is the same: maintaining the concentration of neurotransmitters at the necessary level — to combat depressive or psychosomatic disorder.
The clinical effect of antidepressants allows us to conditionally distinguish drugs that have stimulating, tonic activity, drugs of balanced action that do not have a significant stimulating or sedative effect and do not affect human activity during the day, as well as drugs that have a sedative effect. The selection of antidepressants is performed by a doctor based on the clinical picture.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have a mild effect and cause a minimum of side effects
Do they affect the emotional background and weight?
There is a common misconception among psychotherapist patients that a person who takes antidepressants actively gains weight and becomes apathetic.
Similar side effects were characteristic of the first generations of psychotropic substances. Modern drugs are devoid of these disadvantages, so antidepressants are used to treat eating disorders. Certain groups of substances have a stimulating effect, so they are taken in the morning.
Changes in the weight and emotional background of a child or adult when taking antidepressants can be the result of secondary pathologies.
Sedatives
Do they cause addiction and how to cancel it
For people who seek psychotherapeutic help, the fear of antidepressants is characteristic. Patients fear that taking the drugs will lead to the development of addiction. However, the current generation of medicines eliminates the possibility of addiction. At the end of the therapeutic course, people do not feel the need for systematic use of antidepressants.
Current-generation drugs have a cumulative effect, so skipping a single pill or interrupting a medication course does not contribute to the deterioration of patients ‘ well-being.
Difficulties can arise against the background of psychological attachment to systematic medical support, and the lack of pills in the daily diet provokes the development of anxiety and anxiety. For this reason, doctors recommend that patients resort to the gradual withdrawal of antidepressants.
Drugs of more “older” generations should not be canceled abruptly, because this can cause not only psychological discomfort, but also unpleasant physical sensations. Doctors take this very seriously: they prescribe not only the correct use, but also the correct withdrawal of drugs. In this regard, it is necessary not only to start therapy with a doctor, but also to finish it.