Depression is the leading cause of disability among American adults, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. It's not surprising, therefore, that many people take antidepressants. While prescription antidepressants are often...
Patients with depression may take antidepressant medications to relieve their symptoms. Different types of antidepressants exist: reuptake inhibitors, polycyclic antidepressants and monoamine oxidase inhibitors. All of these antidepressants alter...
Antidepressants are prescription medications indicated for the treatment of major depression and bipolar depression. There are several classes of antidepressants; most boost serotonin levels, while some also work to increase dopamine and...
When patients have depression or anxiety disorders, their doctors may prescribe an antidepressant, which increases levels of certain mood neurotransmitters. For example, reuptake inhibitors, like serotonin reuptake inhibitors, prevent the targeted...
Nicotine causes the release of dopamine in the brain, which makes people feel good, temporarily. This is reinforcing and can lead to dependence on nicotine. Some people may be unknowingly self-medicating depressed feelings by smoking or chewing...
Antidepressants are medications mostly given to individuals suffering from depression. Antidepressants manipulate the chemicals in your brain, called neurotransmitters. There is no way to scientifically measure neurotransmitters, so there is no...
Serotonin is an important chemical of the nervous system that helps regulate moods in humans. Many antidepressant medications work by increasing the amount of serotonin circulating in the brain. Serotonin withdrawal syndrome occurs when...
According to the National Institutes of Health, Cymbalta is a prescription drug used to treat generalized anxiety disorder and depression. Cymbalta, often referred to by the generic name Duloxetine, is also used to treat chronic pain conditions...
Effexor, clinically known as venlafaxine, is a medication indicated for the treatment of depression and anxiety. It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1993, and in 2009 there were over 13 million prescriptions dispensed. Effexor...
Physicians and psychiatrists may prescribe the generically named antidepressant venlafaxine hydrochloride to help people fight their depression as well as to help in the treatment of anxiety symptoms and disorders. Sold as the brand-name drugs...
For patients diagnosed with depression, their doctor may prescribe an antidepressant medication called Celexa to help alleviate their symptoms. Celexa is the brand name for citalopram hydrobromide, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor that...
Effexor is the brand name in the United States of the selective serotonin and norepinephrine inhibitor medicine known by the generic name venlafaxine. The medication, according to MayoClinic.com, works to heighten the effectiveness of...
Cymbalta, clinically known as duloxetine, is a prescription medication indicated for the treatment of depression, anxiety, diabetic neuropathic pain and fibromyalgia. It works by increasing the availability of the neurotransmitters serotonin and...
Lexapro, the name brand of the drug escitalopram, is a medication used to treat depression and generalized anxiety disorder. Lexapro belongs to a class of antidepressant medications called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs. SSRIs...
Antidepressants work by affecting neurotransmitters that are used in the brain to communicate between neurons. Serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine are some of the neurotransmitters that have a strong effect on mood. Antidepressants can be...
Smoking can be an extremely hard habit to break, especially because tobacco activates the pleasure centers of the brain. With careful planning, you can counter weight gain and at least minimize many of the side effects of withdrawal. Choosing to...
Everyone has moments in their lives when sadness strikes, when they feel "depressed." This term is used much too frequently, as there is a difference between normal blues and clinical depression. Treatment is available for those who truly suffer...
The desire to quit smoking is admirable, both because it is challenging and because it will improve overall health. Smoking is an addiction that has physical and mental aspects, and both sides of this addiction must be addressed if success is to...
Long-term use of certain drugs and alcohol can cause uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms when you quit taking the substances. These withdrawal symptoms can be mild or even fatal. Many people require certain medications or herbal treatments to help...
Many women who take antidepressants for depression are concerned when they become pregnant, and rightfully so. Taking antidepressants during pregnancy may cause risks to the baby, but so does stopping the antidepressants. This situation is one...
Seroquel, or quetiapine fumarate, is an antipsychotic medication used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. These mental illnesses are caused by severe chemical imbalances in the brain. Schizophrenia symptoms include disabling interference...
Smoking is one of the largest preventable causes of disease and death in the modern world. Smoking cessation benefits almost every single system in the body, including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs and kidneys, among others. There are...
The American Cancer Society says that 22.8 percent of Americans smoke cigarettes, nearly one in four people. Twenty-seven percent of those who smoke are 18 to 24. Smoking is the single greatest avoidable cause of death and disease, according to...
The National Institute of Drug Abuse, or NIDA states that drug addiction is a complex illness with many dimensions, and as a result, treatment is not simple. “Substance Abuse” reports that marijuana is the number one illicit abused...
People who struggle with general or social anxiety or prolonged depression may be able to control their symptoms by using a medication called Cymbalta. Cymbalta is a prescription medication that contains duloxetine, a type of selective serotonin...
Prozac and other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) medications frequently cause withdrawal symptoms due to their short half-life. Prozac (fluoxetine) withdrawal symptoms may begin within eight hours of stopping the medication and can...
It can be difficult sometimes to distinguish between irritability and sadness surrounding a life-changing event, such as going on a drastic weight-loss diet or quitting smoking, and a mental illness, such as depression. According to the Mayo...
Smoking cessation aids and pills are products designed to help you diminish your addiction to smoking and eventually learn how to live nicotine-free. Typically, you will use these products in combination with counseling, education and support as...
Prozac (fluoxetine) is an antidepressant known as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, commonly referred to as a SSRI. Prozac effects serotonin within the brain, a chemical that when unbalanced can lead to depression, panic, anxiety, or...
