In a world in which the psychiatric discourse has entered the, well, “common world”, so to speak, there’s no doubt that most people have heard of SSRIs. It’s like a buzzword that has entered the world of patients, so it is no longer mental health professionals alone who are familiar with these drugs and who understand what they can do. Or, at least, it is not mental health professionals alone who want to understand what they are and what they can do. We’re all getting curious.
So, as mentioned, we’re all getting curious. And especially so since we are hearing different people telling us different things about these particular medications. It is, therefore, time to get to the bottom of certain things and actually get a better understanding of SSRIs and their impact on our health. In short, you want to get your facts straight and it is definitely time to do it.
Now, clearly, there are some rather important questions that you have on your mind here. And some important things that you absolutely need to know about SSRIs. You have to know what they are, what kinds of conditions they are used for, as well as what their general impact on our health is. Well, if you’re ready to do the learning, then you should absolutely keep on reading, because below we will answer those important questions for you.
What Are SSRIs?
Let us begin with the very basics here. What exactly are SSRIs? To cut right to the chase, we are talking about a class of antidepressants, called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, which is not as buzzy and as easy to remember as SSRIs, which is why it is the abbreviation that is most commonly remembered by most people. Read a bit more about them on this page.
So, this is a class of antidepressants that has been designed to prevent the reuptake of serotonin, which means that you will have more of it left in the synaptic cleft. And, serotonin is an important neurotransmitter that has a significant impact on our mood, our appetite, sleep, as well as emotional regulation in general. You may have already heard of some medications from this class, such as Citalopram, Fluoxetine, Sertraline and similar.
What you have to know about this medications, among other things, is that they don’t exactly offer instant relief. After all, our brains need time to adjust and to create new patterns of communication. And, most patients experience gradual improvements and changes over the course of several weeks. So, an SSRI is not like a pain killer, for example, that you get for instant relief, but it instead works gradually.
What Can They Help Treat?
Okay, now that you have understood what SSRIs are, what you want to do next is figure out what it is precisely that they are used to help treat. And, I am saying “help” treat, because the truth is that these medications, while amazing, are often not enough to resolve certain problems completely, and that some lifestyle changes, as well as psychotherapy, may be necessary as well. So, they often work best in combination with psychotherapy, for example, although that depends on the condition they are used for.
What can they be used for, thus? Well, for one thing, doctors can prescribe them for depression, as well as generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety and panic disorders. Furthermore, they are often used in the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), as well as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). There’s also a link between serotonin and pain, which is why these medications can also be prescribed for certain chronic pain conditions.
What Is Their General Impact on Health?
What is, though, the general impact of SSRIs on our health and the society as a whole? Well, it is clear that these medications can be highly effective, and that, coupled with the fact that they come with few side-effects, makes them a good choice for a lot of disorders. Yet, when thinking of the SSRIs Impact on Health & Society as a whole, we have to keep something else in mind. I’ve hinted at it above already.
In short, when treating a person for anything, we should look at him or her from a holistic perspective. This means that simple SSRIs cannot resolve your problem if you don’t do something else about it as well. Most usually, they will help alleviate your symptoms, so that you can then deal with the underlying issue in a deeper way.
Take depression, for instance. SSRIs will improve your mood, but you’ll still have to deal with the psychodynamics behind your depression, which is often best done through psychotherapy. So, the society as a whole should know better than to rely solely on medications and do nothing else, while at the same time knowing better than to undermine the amazing effects of SSRIs and other psychopharmacological solutions.
