how do antidepressants work?

Answer 1

They help balance certain chemicals (dopamine) in the brain to keep people from swinging to heavily from one mood to another.

Mood disorders, are attributed to imbalances in dopamine levels and I believe that antidepressants help balance these.

Answer 2

they inhibit your ability to experience a peak of any emotion, not just depression. It tries to rectify a chemical imbalance n the brain.

The downside with this is that they are also anti happiness, anti joy, anti euphoria.

You can change the chemical balance in yoru brain to the better without DRUG intervention. Meditate, relax, try slf hypnosis. They are all the same hting an also bring you back to equilibrium naturally.

Anti depressants just mask an issue that causes you to feel the way you do. Deal with the issue and you won;t need this information.

if you have a leaking roof, and the bucket underneath is full, what do you do? Get a bigger bucket or fix the leak?

Go fix the leak, .... no need for any buckets then!

Good luck

Answer 3

Who told you they work?
The pharma companies want you to believe depression is a disease of chemical imbalance and need to be corrected by drugs. They are the same people trying to convince us that "Ageing" is a disease and need to be corrected. Truth is depression is part of living expirience. Meditation and yoga can alter the way you approach depressive thoughts and help you cope with them better. But if u go to a doctor, u r going to end up on Zoloft/paxil/prozac or other waannabee medications.

Answer 4

personally for me no, they knocked me out alot and made me sleepy, and very drowsy. They are not the solution to a long-term problem - therapy is more better it helps you focus on the future as well as tackling and accepting past problems, turning around pessitimistic thoughts to optimistic ones. If you want to get better you have to be prepared to give a 100% effort to change the things that depress you. I wouldnt say i have fully recovered. But i have managed to get some of my life focussed and appreciate some things i do have.

Answer 5

it depends on which kind of antidepressant you are on, there are different types and they work differently.
i take wellbutrin sr and i swear its a miracle drug. it even suppresses my appetite. when i went through my severe depression i struggled w/ food and weighed 170lbs. going on wellbutrin was the best thing to ever happen to me. i went back down to my normal weight of 145lbs. plus i feel so happy all the time. it truly is a miracle drug for me. ive been on it for about 5 years now. dont listen to anyone that says they dont work, its a lie. i know for a fact they work. you just have to find the one for you. depression is a mental disorder and it is real.

Answer 6

In simple (my) terms.

Depression is a chemical imbalance meaning the happy signals your brain produces aren't reaching the receivers so the hapy feelings don't get through.

Anti Depressants 'bridge' this gap.

Thats the jis of it!

Answer 7

It depends on the type of anti-depressant. Use

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginformation.html

to look up the mechanisms of action for various drugs.

Answer 8

Depends which one you are on - there are 3 main types, they all work in different ways.

Answer 9

It depends which kind you take. Some adjust your serotonin levels in your brain while others work in different ways.

Answer 10

They work on the chemical or hormonal imbalance in your brain dear.

Fluoxetine (Prozac) are very very very good.