Antidepressant medications help to decrease the symptoms of depression, such as: feeling extremely sad for no clear reason; loss of interest or pleasure in things you generally enjoy; sleeping too much or too little; feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt or worry, and complexity in thinking, making decisions or concentration. Antidepressants may also be helpful in the treatment of anxiety-related disorders, such as generalized anxiety disorder and eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social phobia, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Medication won’t solve all your problems-In the treatment of depression, I like to think of medication as a tool, not a cure. In some cases, medication can help you to get out of bed, dress, stop crying, and perform other usual daily activities that can feel like too much to bear when you’re in a depressive state. Though it won’t make your problems magically disappear, it can help you clear your head enough to talk things through with a skilled therapist or trusted friend. Medication won’t make you feel “high”-In the best-case scenario, it will make you feel usual. I’ve heard some people express concern that medication will alter their personality, but it’s actually the depression itself that changes people more often than they realize.
Prescribing medication is not an exact science-There are many drugs on the market to treat depression, and side effects are general and varied. When you choose to take an antidepressant, it often takes six to eight weeks to feel the full effects. And sometimes it takes several tries of different medications to find the right one for you.