Basics You Need To Know About Depression and Anxiety Medication

While it is true that depression and anxiety medication can help you for the short term, not taking the right one can affect not only your symptoms, but also the way you are able to deal with your conditions. That’s why it’s so important to get all the information that you can about the different types of medications available for your condition so you can begin to feel better and see results as soon as possible.

You should first know that it is thought that the main reason you suffer from depression and anxiety might have to do with the brain chemical serotonin. When your body isn’t able to make enough of this, you might feel ill at ease or anxious and this can lead you to suffer from one of the many types of anxiety disorders out there. Most anti-depressants work to address this problem in a number of different ways.

1. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor, or SSRI

This is the first type of anxiety medication listed mostly because it is one of the newer ones. It’s been approved by the FDA to be an anxiety medication and is often used as the first treatment option when dealing with this condition. You might know it as Paxil, Zoloft or Effexor XR. This type of medication is thought to be as effective as it’s older counterparts, but has been shown to have less side effects of the others.

2. Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors

This type of depression and anxiety medication has been used for years to fight depression and has been found to be effective, but medications of this kind have been found to have side effects such as trouble sleeping and weight gain to name a few. For this reason, most health care professionals today try to avoid using them unless absolutely necessary for results.

3. Benzodiazepines

This is a type of depression and anxiety medication which is quick and effective, but is usually only recommended for the times a person is having “an episode”. The effects are instantly calming, so there is no need to muddle through an anxiety episode, but they don’t really last as long as that of this type of drug’s counterparts. You might know this type of medication as Xanax, Restoni, Kalma and Tanxene. This type of drug has also been found to make a person feel sleepy and tired and you shouldn’t take them for long periods of time because you can become addicted to them.

4. Beta Blockers

This is another type of medication which is used to treat people with anxiety problems when they have symptoms such as a rapid heartbeat, sweating palms and other panic attack types of symptoms.

You should know that there are many people who suffer from depression and anxiety who are taking these medications, so there is no stigma attached. However, you may want to consider seeking some alternatives to help you deal with your problem. Natural supplements that help your dopamine and serotonin levels can also help you with little or no side effects at all. Plus there are other supplements available to calm and soothe anxious feelings and mood swings.

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