Depression, medication and anxiety

In order to aid recovery in patients doctors often consider medication as part of the process. Medication in itself cannot solve the problem but can relieve the symptoms. When the pain or other effects are lessened the person suffering from depression can begin to look at ways of solving his or her problems. It is quite impossible for anybody to think clearly about problems they have with an open mind when depression grips them and colours their view.

Depression medication makes recovery possible and helps the sufferer to get a grip of the situation. Here is a description of some of the medicines doctors may prescribe for depression:

Antidepressants:
First choice depression medication prescribed for patients with mild or severe depression. The antidepressants help the patient with therapy and take away or lessen the symptoms so that problems can be faced. There can be some side effects such as nausea, irritability, sweating, constipation, sleeping problems or drowsiness for example.
Antidepressants work on the chemical activity on the brain and stop a person dropping into severe depression, rather feelings are normalized to those of others experiencing events which make them sad. They are not addictive but it is important that they are taken exactly as the doctor prescribed. They may take as long as six weeks to begin working.

Anxiety medication:
Some antidepressants can also treat anxiety as well as depression. If anxiety is severe or occurs over a longer period then medication may be prescribed by a doctor. There are different kinds of anxiety disorders, such as:

• GAD - General Anxiety Disorder
• Panic attacks
• Phobia
• OCD - obsessive compulsive disorder
• PTSD - post traumatic stress disorder

Medication for anxiety includes medicines like Effexor, Sertraline, Paxil, Zoloft, Anafranil, Prozac, Xanax, Buspirone and Valium. Beta blockers like Propranolol  are used to control anxiety when someone has a speech, presentation or meeting which causes a lot of stress. 
read much more about anxiety and what to do about it here

SSRI:
A newer kind of antidepressant which causes fewer side effects. SSRI stands for Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitor. The most common of these medicines are Prozac, Celexa, Paxil and Luvox. Long term use can cause weight gain but this is also true of most antidepressants. 

Anti-convulsants:
These may be used to treat Bipolar Disorder. Some of the common medicines in this group are Lamictal, Tegretol, Neurontin, Topamax. Those suffering from Bipolar Disorder often take more than one kind of medication such as Lithium or a mood stabilizer.
A careful diagnosis is necessary to prescribe the appropriate medication for sufferers of Bipolar Disorder.

Natural Medication 
There are also some natural forms of medication or herbal treatments such as St. John's Wort, Gingko Balboa, Chromium and others. 

Want to find out how you can conquer depression, stress and anxiety naturally and quickly?
click here to read about how to conquer depression naturally