Treating a Depression
Medication
There are several different types of antidepressants out there, and it can take several tries to figure out which one is right for you. Your psychiatrist will be the one prescribing your medication and evaluating its effectiveness. These medications are strong, so you should tell your psychiatrist if you're experiencing any side effects.
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs): These drugs are safer than some of the older antidepressants, and also help in the treatment of disorders that sometimes co-occur with depression (such as anxiety and eating disorders). You may have heard of some of these names before in commercials: Celexa, Zoloft, Lexapro, Prozac, Luvox, and Paxil (5).
Selective Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs): There are two SNRIs: Effexor and Cymbalta. These are very similar to the SSRIs, but they effect two types of neurotransmitters in your brain (5).
Norepinephrine-Dopamine Reuptake Inhibitor: There's only one of these. It's called Bupropion, and its brand names are Wellbutrin and Zyban (5).
Tricyclic Antidepressants and Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs): These are older antidepressants and so are not used as often as SSRIs, SNRIs, or NDRIs. In addition, they can cause much more severe side effects and can be quite dangerous if not taken properly (5).
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs): These drugs are safer than some of the older antidepressants, and also help in the treatment of disorders that sometimes co-occur with depression (such as anxiety and eating disorders). You may have heard of some of these names before in commercials: Celexa, Zoloft, Lexapro, Prozac, Luvox, and Paxil (5).
Selective Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs): There are two SNRIs: Effexor and Cymbalta. These are very similar to the SSRIs, but they effect two types of neurotransmitters in your brain (5).
Norepinephrine-Dopamine Reuptake Inhibitor: There's only one of these. It's called Bupropion, and its brand names are Wellbutrin and Zyban (5).
Tricyclic Antidepressants and Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs): These are older antidepressants and so are not used as often as SSRIs, SNRIs, or NDRIs. In addition, they can cause much more severe side effects and can be quite dangerous if not taken properly (5).
Mood Stabilizers:
Some people with depression do not respond well to antidepressants
alone, and may need a second type of medication to help relieve their
symptoms. Mood stabilizers (also known as atypical antipsychotic
medications) are used in higher doses to help treat schizophrenia, but
in lower doses help stabilize the moods of people with bipolar disorder
and some people with depression. The term "antipsychotic" does not
imply that you are psychotic, these drugs simply work on a different
neurotransmitter system than typical antidepressants (dopamine rather
than serotonin). They enhance the effects of your typical
antidepressant. These drugs include Zyprexa, Abilify, and Risperdal (5).
Why don't I just self-medicate?
Substance-abuse is never the answer to your problems. The use of substances such as marijuana and alcohol to relieve depression is common in adolescents, but these are temporary solutions to a problem that won't just disappear on its own. The high-school myth that taking drugs or drinking alcohol is the same as taking antidepressants is just that: a myth. Antidepressants work to restore balance to the chemicals in your brain and to regulate your moods: drugs and alcohol simply make you forget you have a problem for a short period of time. When you're sober again, your depressive symptoms return.
Therapy
Therapy will be just as (and sometimes more) important than medication during your process of recovery. Most people have both a therapist and a psychiatrist, but if you need therapy less often your psychiatrist can also be your therapist. Either way, your clinician will be helping you understand your depression: what caused it, what triggers your low moods, and what patterns of thinking are detrimental to your health. The ultimate goal of therapy is to get you out of therapy and off medication. Therapy helps you get out of your current depression and teaches you how you can prevent relapses. In the end, you are the only person who can get rid of your depression: therapy means you don't have to do it alone.