An antidepressant is a psychiatric medication used to alleviate mood disorders, such as major depression and dysthymia and anxiety disorders such as social anxiety disorder. According to Gelder, Mayou &*Geddes (2005) people with a depressive illness will experience a therapeutic effect to their mood; however, this will not be experienced in healthy individuals. Drugs including the monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), tetracyclic antidepressants (TeCAs), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) are most commonly associated with the term. These medications are among those most …

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a class of antidepressants considered the current standard of drug treatment. A possible cause of depression is an inadequate amount of serotonin, a chemical used in the brain to transmit signals between neurons. SSRIs are said to work by preventing the reuptake of serotonin (also known as 5-hydroxytryptamine, or 5-HT) by the presynaptic neuron, thus maintaining higher levels of 5-HT in the synapse. Chemists Klaus Schmiegel and Bryan Molloy of Eli Lilly discovered the first SSRI, fluoxetine. This class of …

Antidepressant Medications for Children and Adolescents: Information for Parents and Caregivers
Depression is a serious disorder that can cause significant problems in mood, thinking, and behavior at home, in school, and with peers. It is estimated that major depressive disorder (MDD) affects about 5 percent of adolescents.
Research has shown that, as in adults, depression in children and adolescents is treatable. Certain antidepressant medications, called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), can be beneficial to children and adolescents with MDD. Certain types of psychological therapies also have been shown to be effective. However, …

The Myth of Biological DepressionUnhappiness or “depression” alleged to be the result of biological abnormality is called “biological” or “endogenous” or “clinical” depression. In her book The Broken Brain: The Biological Revolution in Psychiatry, University of Iowa psychiatry professor Nancy Andreasen, M.D., Ph.D., says “The older term endogenous implies that the depression `grows from within’ or is biologically caused, with the implication that unfortunate and painful events such as losing a job or lover cannot be considered contributing causes” (Harper & Row, 1984, p. 203). Similarly, in …

SSRI discontinuation syndrome

When was the SSRI discontinuation syndrome first recognized?
Reports began to emerge soon after the SSRIs were introduced in the late 1980s.
How common is it? The incidence and prevalence of this syndrome is not yet known. The few available discontinuation studies indicate minor forms of the syndrome may be common and severe forms unusual. A retrospective chart review of 171 clinic patients who discontinued an SSRI while under supervision, reported at least one new symptom in 20% and 14% of patients stopping paroxetine (Paxil) and fluvoxamine (Luvox), respectively. …

Discontinuing Antidepressants – what you need to know
Are antidepressants addictive?
Antidepressants do not cause an addiction as with opioid drugs (such as heroin), barbiturates, amphetamines (speed), alcohol and nicotine. This means that taking your medicine regularly should not cause tolerance or craving.
• Tolerance: This occurs when the body gets used to the drug or medicine when it is taken regularly, so that you need to take higher doses to have the same effect.
• Craving: This is a physical urge, where the body needs the drug or medicine to maintain a desired …

Tricyclic antidepresants
What are tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) used for?
Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) are a group of medicines usually used to help treat people with depression. Medicines are often used to treat more than one condition, so if you are not sure why you have been prescribed a TCA, you should discuss this with your doctor. Types of TCAs are amitryptyline, clomipramine, dosulepin (dothiepin), imipramine, lofepramine, nortriptyline and trimipramine. Your medicine may also have a trade or brand name. This is the name that the manufacturer gives to the medicine, for example Anafranil® …

The Side Effects Of Common Psychiatric Drugs: Older Antidepressants
(Including Tricyclics, Tetracyclics and MAOIs)
Brand Names (Generic Names):
Tricyclics
Adapin (doxepin)
Anafranil (clomipramine)
Asendin (amoxapine)
Aventyl (nortriptyline)
Elavil (amitriptyline)
Endep (amitriptyline)
Etrafon (amitriptyline and perphenazine)
Janimine (imipramine)
Maneon (amitriptyline)
Norpramin (desipramine hydrochloride)
Nortilen (nortriptyline)
Pamelor (nortriptyline)
Pertofrane (norpramin)
Saroten (amitriptyline)
Sinequan (doxepin hydrochloride)

The Side Effects Of Common Psychiatric Drugs: Newer Antidepressants
(Including Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors or SSRIs; Selective or Serotonin/Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors or SNRIs)
BRAND NAMES (generic names):
SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors*)
1. Akarin (citalopram)
2. Apo-Sertral (sertraline)
3. Aropax (paroxetine)
4. Asentra (sertraline)
5. Celexa (citalopram)
6. Cipralex (escitalopram)
7. Cipram (citalopram)

Suicide Rates
Suicide rates doubled for children of 5-14 years old over the past 20 years!   Research by James W. Prescott, Ph.D.
For youth age 15-24 suicide has been the third leading cause of death for well over a generation. Last year 15 million prescriptions were written for (SSRI) antidepressants for children and teenagers. Suicide rates have now DOUBLED for children of 5-14 years old in the past generation…
Suicide is the third highest cause of death among teenagers age 15-24. Suicide rates have doubled for children of 5-14 years old in the …