Depression: How Does The Medication Work?

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M30o93H7pQ09L8X1t49cHY01Z5j4TT91fGfr Depression: How Does The Medication Work?
Published: Mon, February 11, 2008 - 5:48 pm
Last Updated: Mon, February 11, 2008 - 6:13 pm
Rose Ann Haven
Rose Ann Haven
It's being called the number one drug women are taking, anti-depressants. There's a long list of these drugs used to treat depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorders, even chronic pain. How do they affect our bodies and do they work? Handwashing, once a painful ritual, now a simple task for Jan McVey. Even as a child, McVey says obsessive compulsive disorder made life miserable, "It was in the 50's and we had no medication, no doctors, and we grew up in a rural part of Alabama where everybody thought everybody was crazy if they had anything. So, I hid it for as long as I could". She's not hiding now. As Vice President of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Baldwin County, McVey talks freely about her O-C-D, depression, and the medication she takes to treat it. "That's one reason why I go ahead and tell my story and how much the anti-depressants have helped me,

What is Depression?

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, when a person has a depressive disorder, it interferes with daily life, normal functioning and causes pain for the person with the disorder and those who care about them.
how much the education through NAMI has. Because, I used to think I was a bad person as a child growing up", says McVey. Health Professionals say taking medication for clinical depression is no different than taking it for any other illness. When someone is clinically depressed, it is a physical illness affecting the brain.

Psychiatrists say some people are genetically-predisposed to depression. Outside stressors can also take a toll on the brain. "We think that there are modulating transmitters in your brain that have gone awry so to speak and anti-depressants help address those neurotransmitter abnormalities and treat the symptoms of the illness", says Doctor William Billett, a psychiatrist with AltaPointe Health Systems, formerly Mobile County Mental Health.

Types of Depression

  • Major Depression - a combination of symptoms that interfere with a person’s ability to work, sleep, study, eat & enjoy once pleasurable activities
  • Dysthymia - Long term, (2 years or longer) but less severe than major depression. Can prevent someone from functioning normally or feeling well.
  • Psychotic Depression - Severe depressive illness, accompanies by some form of pyschosis, such as a break with reality, hallucinations & delusions.
  • Postpartum Depression - diagnosed if a new mother develops major depression within a month of delivery
  • Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) - onset of depressive illness during winter months when there is less natural sunlight. Usually lifts in spring and summer.
Source: National Institute of Mental Health
Billett says some people only find partial relief from anti-depressants, "But, I have a large number of patients who do quite well and have dramatic improvements. Their life turns around so to speak". McVey says her life has certainly turned around, "I have a much better quality of life with my medication than I did without. I was anxious all the time, I couldn't sleep, the thoughts...the rituals I had to do to try to help those thoughts". McVey's success comes from not only anti-depressants..but also therapy. There's a trend involving anti-depressants and primary care physicians that psychiatrists find disturbing. For more information on that, check out the next part of our special report

Symptoms of Depression

  • Persistent sad, anxious or empty feeling
  • Feelings of hopelessness or pessimism
  • Feelings guilt, worthlessness or helplessness
  • Irritability, restlessness
  • Lost of interest in activities or hobbies
  • Fatigue & decreased energy
  • Difficulty concentrating, remembering details or making decisions
  • Insomnia or excessive sleeping
  • Overeating or appetite loss
  • Thoughts of suicide or suicide attempts
  • Persistant aches or pains, headaches, cramps, digestive problems that do not ease with treatment
Source: National Institute of Mental Health



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