Living in the modern world means, among other things, being at least to a certain extent familiar with some mental health issues, as well as some medications that are used to treat those. Whether you are a patient, or a mental health professionals that is looking to get informed, there is absolutely no doubt that SSRIs are bound to pop up as an interesting topic for you at one point or another. Most likely, you have heard about these medications being used for depression, although they can be used to help treat some other problems as well.
Read more about depression in general: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression
Anyway, if you are struggling with depression yourself, or you know someone who is, you will most likely want to get better informed about these particular medications. Perhaps your doctor has prescribed them to you, and you want to get a better idea about whether they can help and how, or you may have been thinking about seeing a professional, but you want to get informed about these drugs before going. And then, as mentioned above, you could simply be a mental health professional looking to get better informed.
Whatever the case is, there are some significant things you are wondering here. To cut right to the chase, you want to know if SSRIs can actually help with depression. And then, if the answer winds up being yes, you want to understand how it is that they actually work, and how it is that they can help. There is certainly no doubt that those are some rather significant questions right there, so what we are going to do right now is answer them for you below.
What Are SSRIs?
Of course, we cannot get into details about these medications for depression if you’re not even sure what they are in the first place. Hearing about them is one thing, but actually understanding what they are is another, so let me now tell you more about the mechanism behind. Let me share the basics you need to know when it comes to these particular drugs.
First things first, we are talking about antidepressants here. To put it differently, SSRIs are a class of antidepressants, which is why it is no wonder that SSRIs for Depression are an option today, as well as that they are definitely prescribed quite a lot for this particular disorder. Although, we cannot fail to mention that they can be used for treating other types of disorder as well, such as generalized anxiety, PTSD, even OCD, and much more. Yet, we are here to talk about whether they work for depression, so that is the disorder we will stick with.
Anyway, before we check whether they work, let’s quickly explain how these medications work in the first place. Basically, SSRIs are Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, and their very name tells the story of their mechanism. To put it simply, they work through preventing the reuptake of serotonin once it is released, which means you will be left with more of it in your brain. And, we all know very well that serotonin is highly important for the regulation of our mood, appetite, sleep, as well as emotions in general.
Do These Work for Depression?
Okay, let us now move on to one of the main question for the day. Basically, what you want to know now is whether SSRIs actually work for depression. And, that is quite a legitimate question that you should undoubtedly get your answer to in order to understand what to expect if the doctor has prescribed these to you, or to someone you know.
To cut right to the chase, trials and studies show that these medications can definitely be effective when it comes to helping with this disorder. They reduce symptoms such as loss of interest, persistent sadness, cognitive slowing, as well as changes in sleep and appetite. And, they demonstrate clear and big benefits for mild and severe depression, while the effects can be a bit milder for mild depression, not outperforming placebo for that much. Read more about SSRIs in general.
How Do They Work?
Now that you understand that SSRIs for depression can undeniably work, the next thing you want to know is how they actually work. And, I am not going to talk about the mechanism behind them once again, since that is something we have covered. We do, however, still have a few important things to say here.
For one thing, apart from helping with those symptoms we have talked about above, these medications can promote neuroplasticity and brain growth. For another, they can modulate the stress response, normalizing cortisol rhythms and improving emotional resilience. We also cannot fail to mention that they reduce hyperactivity in the amygdala, while enhancing the activity of the prefrontal cortex, all of which can have great effects when it comes to treating depression, as well as some other disorders.
Lynn Martelli is an editor at Readability. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University and has worked as an editor for over 10 years. Lynn has edited a wide variety of books, including fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, and more. In her free time, Lynn enjoys reading, writing, and spending time with her family and friends.
