Antidepressant

An antidepressant is a medication designed to treat or alleviate the symptoms of clinical depression; antidepressants function generally by interacting with the neurotransmitters (signalling chemicals) in the brain believed to influence mood.

Related Topics:
Medication - Clinical depression - Neurotransmitter - Brain - Mood

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Antidepressants are not thought to produce tolerance, although sudden withdrawal may produce adverse effects. Antidepressants create little if any immediate change in mood and require between several days and several weeks to take effect.

Related Topics:
Tolerance - Withdrawal

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Some antidepressants, notably the tricyclics, are commonly used off-label in the treatment of neuropathic pain, whether or not the patient is depressed. Smaller doses are generally used for this purpose, and they often take effect more quickly.

Related Topics:
Tricyclics - Off-label - Neuropathic pain

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Many antidepressants also are used for the treatment of anxiety disorders, and tricyclic antidepressants are used in the treatment of chronic pain disorders such as chronic functional abdominal pain (CFAP), myofacial pain syndrome, and post-herpetic neuralgia.

Related Topics:
Anxiety disorder - Chronic pain - Chronic functional abdominal pain - Myofacial pain syndrome

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Antidepressants do not seem to have all of the same addictive qualities as other substances such as nicotine, caffeine, cocaine, or other stimulants. (There is, however, controversy on the definition of addiction.) Some argue that antidepressants do not meet the general requirements for the commonly-established view. While some antidepressants may cause dependence and withdrawal they do not seem to cause uncontrollable urges to increase the dose due to euphoria or pleasure. For example, if an SSRI medication is suddenly discontinued, it may produce both somatic and psychological withdrawal symptoms, a phenomenon known as "SSRI discontinuation syndrome" (Tamam & Ozpoyraz, 2002). When the decision is made to stop taking antidepressants it is common practice to “wean” off of them by slowly decreasing the dose over a period of several weeks.

Related Topics:
Addictive - Stimulant - SSRI - Somatic

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It is generally not a good idea to take antidepressants without a prescription. The selection of an antidepressant and dosage suitable for a certain case and a certain person is a lengthy and complicated process, requiring the knowledge of a professional. Certain antidepressants can initially make depression worse, can induce anxiety, or can make a patient aggressive, dysphoric or acutely suicidal. In certain cases, an antidepressant can induce a switch from depression to mania or hypomania, can accelerate and shorten a manic cycle (i.e. promote a rapid-cycling pattern), or can induce the development of psychosis (or just the re-activation of latent psychosis) in a patient with depression who wasn't psychotic before the antidepressant.

Related Topics:
Anxiety - Suicidal - Mania - Hypomania - Psychosis

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