Depression Medication ... Anxiety, Depression, Stress

A Research into depression medication has come a long way in recent years due to some alarming statistics that indicate we are fast becoming a society dependent on depression medication. When you consider that some commonly prescribed antidepressants have relapse rates of up to 80% you can see why studies today show a clear focus on developing long-term solutions for overcoming depression rather than simply treating the symptoms with medication. But can medication play a supportive role in overcoming depression? Lets consider the facts...

Depression medication is often the first line of treatment prescribed by health care professionals. One of the most common is SSRI’s (Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors), which work by inhibiting the re-uptake of serotonin and thereby increasing the serotonin levels in the brain. Serotonin is a chemical that affects your mood and SSRI’s boost your serotonin levels. Common SSRI’s include Citalopram (Celexa), Fluoxetine (Prozac), Fluvoxamine (Luvox), Paroxetine (Paxil), Sertraline (Zoloft), and Trazodone (Desyrel).

Sl.	Depression Medication	The Side Effects
1.	TCA	Dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation, difficulty urinating, worsening of glaucoma, impaired thinking and tiredness, affects blood pressure and heart rate, hormone related effects, drowsiness and nausea, abnormal liver functions.
2.	NaSSA	Most commonly increased appetite, weight gain, sedation, less commonly raised liver enzymes, jaundice and rarely low blood pressure, skin rash, tremors, reversible blood disorders, muscle spasms.
3.	MAOIs	Weakness, dizziness, headaches, trembling, dangerous rise in blood pressure. Even MAOIs can cause digestion of certain foods to become poisonous.
4.	SNRIs	Gastric disturbances, restlessness, sleeping problems, lack of orgasm, suicidal thoughts, pancreatitis, hair loss, blood disorder and stroke, dry mouth and many more.
5.	SSRIs	Gastric disturbances, restlessness, sleeping problems, lack of orgasm, suicidal thoughts, pancreatitis, hair loss, blood disorder and stroke, dry mouth and many more.
6.	NARI	Insomnia, sweating, dizziness, low blood pressure, vertigo, tingling in the skin, dry mouth, constipation, rapid heartbeat, reduced blood potassium especially in elderly, impotence.

Depression Medication Facts

SSRI’s have been proven effective in significantly reducing the physical symptoms of depression.
Antidepressant medications are designed to treat the symptoms of depression, not the cause.
When treated with depression medication alone, sufferers face an 80% chance of a second episode.
Due to their mood lifting effects, overcoming depression with medication can cause dependency.
Withdrawal from depression medication can cause new symptoms and/or exacerbation of previous ones.
Overcoming depression with medication is effective in only one third of cases, partially effective in another third with the remainder experiencing little or no improvement.

Why are Antidepressants so widely prescribed for overcoming depression?

Because depression is a condition that pulls you into a downward spiral of negative thoughts and emotions that become so intense the body displays (often severe) physical symptoms. Antidepressants are designed to treat these symptoms and can be very effective in this regard, however depression medication alone cannot treat the causes. While boosting serotonin levels can be a very welcome temporary relief for the sufferer, when the medication is denied most people find themselves back at square one again.

What is the most effective alternative for overcoming depression?

To answer this we must first understand the cause of depression. Although many of the symptoms are physical, the cause of the depression itself resides within the thought processes of the mind. Depression is the accumulation and cyclic self-reinforcement of destructive negative thoughts and emotions resulting in physical and psychological symptoms. A typical depressive episode can be broken down into three major elements.

The trigger event(s) - A negative experience or series of experiences, events or circumstances;
The causal thoughts - Recurring irrational negative thoughts and emotions surrounding the trigger event(s);
The physical/emotional symptoms - The human bodies reaction to its ‘perceived’ environment.

The trigger event(s) usually cause the sufferer significant emotional distress over an extended period, resulting in adverse introspection and an accumulation of negative thoughts and emotions. Depression causes one negative thought to manifest another until the sufferer is so overrun with intense and relentless negative emotions; they quickly loose all motivation for life. So what's the secret to overcoming depression and reclaiming your life? You need to change the way you think!