Depression Medications

A few days of feeling sad or depressed does not mean depression.  Depression can last for years, it's a serious illness.  Each year about 15 million Americans suffer from this illness. 

The sad fact is that only a third of those Americans will ever seek help for their affliction.  It's the mental illness stereotypes, things like the crazy eyed old man, that make people think twice before seeking treatment for depression.  Depression is a progressive illness.  It will get worse without treatment.  People should pay attention to the signs.

A variety of factors, and even combinations of these factors, lead to depression.  Physical and emotional problems, chemical issues, even DNA all play a part.  It can be given birth by the very environment that the victim lives in.  Detrimental factors such as stress can lead to it.  It takes a lot of knowledge to address a complex issue like depression.  The human mind is very complicated as well.  Work continues into the mind and brain and how they work, what makes them tick.  A chemical imbalance in the brain causes depression, that's known.  Researches learn more about this complex series of actions and reactions with passing time.  The phrase is “learning is half the battle” and with depression knowledge is power.

Depression can be treated with a host of available depression medications.  Of course the market is full of 'quick fix' antidotes.  Make sure the treatment has been studied and scientifically proven to address depression.  At one time asylums and mental institutions were filled to the brim with mentally ill people.  It's good to know that's no longer the case.  It was 1988 when Prozac, an anti-depressant, first came into wide use in America.  Although it has side effects it is widely used and it is effective.

Since then a new class of depression medications and anti-depressants has become popular as well.  Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, SSRI, are being used today.  These include Paxil, Zoloft, Lexapro, Celexa, and Luvox.  These have limited side effects and have been shown to work.  Herbal medications also have a place in this market.  The ingredient in St. John's Wort extract, heperforin, is present in those that prove every bit as effective as anti-depressant drugs.   Some herbal remedies don't contain this ingredient in the proper strength so they don't work.  When seeking depression medications that work ask questions, do your research, and know the facts.