Medications and psychotherapy are effective for most people with depression. Your primary care doctor or psychiatrist can prescribe medications to relieve symptoms. However, many people with depression also benefit from seeing a psychiatrist, psychologist or other mental health professional.
This group of drugs, including fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil), fluvoxamine (Luvox), citalopram (Celexa), escitalopram (Cipralex) and sertraline (Zoloft), is usually the first choice for treatment of depression and anxiety disorders.
Major depressive disorder and persistent depressive disorder are two of the most common types of depression that people experience, however, there are many types of depression. What most mood disorders have in common are major depressive episodes.
An estimated 3.8% of the population experience depression, including 5% of adults (4% among men and 6% among women), and 5.7% of adults older than 60 years. Approximately 280 million people in the world have depression (1). Depression is about 50% more common among women than among men.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were launched in the mid to late 1980s. This generation of antidepressants is now the most common class used for depression. Examples include citalopram (Celexa), escitalopram (Lexapro), paroxetine (Paxil, Pexeva), fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem), and sertraline (Zoloft).
The most commonly prescribed ones include:
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most prescribed type of antidepressant and include: Fluoxetine. Citalopram. Sertraline.
Try relaxation techniques, meditation, and breathing exercises. Talk with family members and friends and explain how they can be helpful. Your therapist may recommend self-help materials. Regular exercise can reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety.
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) tricyclics. monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)
This class includes sertraline, citalopram, escitalopram, paroxetine, fluoxetine and fluvoxamine. SSRIs are: the most commonly prescribed antidepressants in Australia. often a doctor's first choice for most types of depression.
Doctors often start by prescribing an SSRI. These drugs are considered safer and generally cause fewer bothersome side effects than other types of antidepressants. SSRIs include citalopram (Celexa), escitalopram (Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil, Pexeva), sertraline (Zoloft) and vilazodone (Viibryd).
The kind of psychological treatment that is most commonly used for depression is known as cognitive behavioral therapy (often called “CBT” for short).
Perhaps the most recognizable among them is Prozac (fluoxetine). It's still the best option for many people, but since it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1987, Prozac has been joined by a variety of other antidepressant medications.
Overall, citalopram appears to be the best-tolerated SSRI, followed by fluoxetine, sertraline, paroxetine, and fluvoxamine. The latter 2 drugs are associated with the most side effects and the highest discontinuation rates because of side effects in clinical trials.
Antidepressants can cause dizziness and unsteadiness, increasing the risk of falls and bone fractures, especially in older people. Interactions with other medications can increase this risk. A very small number of people have had heart problems, epileptic fits or liver damage while taking antidepressants.
Clinicians generally recommend staying on the medication for six to nine months before considering going off antidepressants. If you've had three or more recurrences of depression, make that at least two years.
Guidance from the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence recommends that antidepressants are used as 'maintenance' treatment for up to 2 years to prevent their depression returning (relapse). It also recommends cognitive-behavioural therapy to change habits of thought and behaviour.
SSRIs are usually the first choice medicine for depression because they generally have fewer side effects than most other types of antidepressant.
Anxiety disorders are characterized by thoughts of worry and a general belief that something will go wrong. Depression is a feeling of sadness. Most of those who suffer from depression have a general sense of hopelessness. Depressed individuals are listless, dwell on the negative and sometimes have suicidal thoughts.
Antidepressants Are Effective
Any benefits of medication have to surpass that of the “placebo effect” to be declared effective. Antidepressants are proven to be more effective than a placebo with respect to relieving depressive symptoms and shortening the length of a depressive episode.