Affective disorders are mental disorders characterized by dramatic changes or extremes of mood. Affective disorders include depression, bipolar affective disorder and anxiety disorders, such as generalized anxiety, obsessions and compulsions, panic, phobias and post-traumatic stress.
Seasonal affective disorder, a depressive condition, occurs around the same time each year. People with seasonal affective disorder notice symptoms, such as moodiness and energy loss, in autumn and possibly through winter, according to MayoClinic.com. Occasionally, this disorder causes depression in summer or spring.
Antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs may be prescribed for affective disorders, depending on a patient's symptoms, diagnosis and history.
Selective Seratonin Reuptake Inhibitors
Some selective seratonin reuptake inhibitors can treat both depression and anxiety. These drugs are given to people suffering from affective disorders, such as depression, anxiety and seasonal affective disorder. Commonly used SSRIs include fluoxetine, or Prozac; venlafaxine, or Effexor; sertraline, or Zoloft; and paroxetine, or Paxil.
SSRIs are the most frequently prescribed treatment for generalized anxiety, because they are not usually addictive. However, they do not start working immediately. A person may need to take regular doses of an antidepressant for at least three to four weeks, sometimes six weeks, before he can expect to experience the antidepressant's full therapeutic effect, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Patients may need to try several different medications before they find the antidepressant that works best and has the least side effects.
Bupropion
Bupropion is prescribed for depression and anxiety, both symptoms of affective disorders. Bupropion may also help prevent depressive episodes in people with a history of seasonal affective disorder. Some may benefit from treatment with bupropion HCL extended release tablets, known as Wellbutrin XL, the first drug approved for seasonal depression by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Wellbutrin XL can be been helpful when given to people who have severe symptoms from seasonal affective disorder.
Some doctors may recommend beginning antidepressant treatment before seasonal symptoms usually begin each year, and doctors may also suggest that patients continue taking the medication after the symptoms abate. Patients should never abruptly stop taking bupropion products or any other drugs without consulting with their physicians first.
Benzodiazepines
Benzodiazepines, such as Ativan, Klonopin, Librium, Valium, Diazepam, Lorazepam and Xanax are used primarily to treat the anxiety symptoms of affective disorders. These drugs are very effective in alleviating or reducing anxiety and symptoms such as agitation. However, benzodiazepines can be extremely habit-forming. Long-term use is not recommended because drugs in this class can lead to dependence and may produce withdrawal reactions when stopped, according to the health practitioners at Women to Women.
Treatment for bipolar affective disorder is prescribed based on which of the different phases of the illness a patient is experiencing. Bipolar affective disorder is a mood disorder with symptoms such as mania or manic episodes, when a person's mood is abnormally high; episodes of depression, when the mood plummets to atypical lows; and normal phases between manic and depressive episodes. Benzodiazepines, such as Diazepam and Lorazepam, may be used to treat manic episodes,and are also helpful in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder, panic attacks and social phobias.
