| Depression is perhaps the most common mental | | | | depression, they can have many side effects |
| health problem in the world. While the | | | | and drug interactions and are often viewed as |
| disorder was overlooked for many years | | | | a sledgehammer approach to treatment. |
| (sufferers were told that it was "all in | | | | Slightly more recent, but still outdated by |
| their head" and that they should "snap out of | | | | modern standards, are the tricyclic |
| it") is now firmly established as a | | | | antidepressants, which also work on a number |
| measurable and treatable mental illness. | | | | of different neurotransmitters. The side |
| | | | effects of both MAOIs and tricyclics can be |
| While it is impossible to get a true | | | | difficult and may include dizziness, mild |
| measurement of the scope of depressive | | | | hallucinations, stomach upset, constipation, |
| disorders since many sufferers either do not | | | | and other problems. However, for many |
| seek treatment or are misdiagnosed, it has | | | | sufferers, the side effects are far less |
| been estimated that somewhere between fifteen | | | | severe than the actual condition. |
| and twenty percent of all adults suffer from | | | | |
| some form of a disorder on the depression | | | | The newest and most effective form of medical |
| mental illness spectrum. Fortunately for | | | | depression help is the class of drugs known |
| sufferers, there are now a number of | | | | as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors |
| successful depression treatment options, both | | | | (SSRIs). SSRIs selectively prevent the |
| medical and psychological, that can help even | | | | reuptake of the neurotransmitter serotonin, |
| the most afflicted individual emerge from the | | | | the most important neurotransmitter in the |
| darkness. | | | | treatment of depressive disorders (though |
| | | | some medical professionals believe that |
| Perhaps the greatest revolution in the | | | | dopamine plays a similarly important role). |
| treatment of depressive disorders has been | | | | Since SSRIs only target one particular |
| the development of increasingly sophisticated | | | | chemical, the side effects that they engender |
| and targeted depression medication | | | | are much less severe than what occur with |
| treatments. The field was revolutionized | | | | MAOIs and tricyclic antidepressant |
| when scientists and health care professional | | | | medications. |
| realized that, in many cases, depressive | | | | |
| disorders are caused not just by latent | | | | While medical treatments of depression have |
| psychological difficulties, but can also have | | | | been a boon to many sufferers, there is a |
| a biochemical component. | | | | still a place for psychological depression |
| | | | treatment therapies. Many times, the |
| The culprit was eventually narrowed to a | | | | disorder is caused by underlying |
| class of chemicals known as | | | | psychological factors instead of chemical |
| neurotransmitters, which are substances that | | | | causes. |
| assist in the propagation of electrical | | | | |
| charge down neural pathways. The first class | | | | Traditional treatments such psychoanalysis |
| of drugs to treat depressive disorders was | | | | and other forms of "talk therapy" are still |
| the Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs) | | | | used successfully to treat depressive |
| which prevented the body from breaking down | | | | conditions. There are also a number of |
| many different neurotransmitters in the | | | | theories that stipulate that depressive |
| brain. Since MAOIs target a number of | | | | disorders are caused by dietary imbalances, |
| neurotransmitters, not just the select few | | | | and advocate the use of supplements to bring |
| that are believed to be responsible for | | | | the disorder under control. |