One kind of antidepressant is an SSRI. Find out about the benefits and drawbacks of these often prescribed medications, as well as any adverse effects.

You’re not alone if you’re coping with a mental illness like depression right now.

Nearly one in five people and one in six children (ages 6 to 17) in the US suffer from mental illness each year, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

The class of drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) is mostly used to treat depression and a few other mental health issues.

SSRIs: what are they?

Because they are generally successful and have fewer negative effects, SSRIs are used as first-line treatments for depression and a few other mental health problems.

By raising serotonin levels in the brain, SSRIs primarily assist patients in managing illnesses like depression.

Although the exact cause of depression is still unknown, it is generally agreed upon that serotonin depletion is a major contributing factor.

SSRI prescriptions: What they treat

Depression is frequently treated with SSRIs.

Nonetheless, physicians could recommend them for additional ailments, like:

SSRIs also have a number of off-label applications.

“Off-label” refers to the prescription of a drug for a condition for which it was not designed.

Off-label applications for SSRIs include

How SSRIs function

Among the several chemicals in the brain that communicate with one another are serotonin and others.

Because it produces a calm, contented feeling, it has been dubbed the “feel-good chemical.”

Serotonin often circulates in the brain before entering the bloodstream. Low serotonin levels (together with low levels of dopamine, norepinephrine, and other brain chemicals) are associated with depression.

SSRIs function by stopping a portion of the serotonin in your blood from leaving your brain.

The brain’s serotonin levels rise as a result.

Depression may be alleviated by elevated serotonin.

However, the body does not produce additional serotonin when using SSRIs.

They merely assist the body in making better use of what it already possesses.

Although the efficiency of SSRIs is pretty comparable, there are some minor differences between them in terms of what they are intended to treat, their dosage, side effects, and other aspects.

The SSRI drugs.

Many SSRIs are now on the market. These consist of:

• Escitalopram (Lexapro) and citalopram (Celexa) Sertraline (Zoloft),
• vilazodone (Viibryd),
• paroxetine (Paxil, Paxil C R, Pexeva),
• fluvoxamine (Luvox), and fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem)