|  | Conditions Treatments | Depression

History of Clinical Depression Treatments

Clinical depression was first recognized early in the history of psychology and psychiatry. Although clinical depression can have different symptoms in different people, it is defined as a psychological and psychiatric disorder when it begins to interfere with normal everyday activities. Clinical depression is not a sign of personal weakness or a condition that can be wished away. It is a condition that needs professional medical treatment. Over the years, that treatment has ranged from simple psychotherapy to the most modern of drugs.

  1. Psychotherapy Treatments

    • Early treatments for depression through psychotherapy were psychodynamic treatments where the patient was asked to explore issues that could be triggering the depression. This would often involve the exploration of the patient's deep, dark secrets to explore real or imagined losses that were the root of the depression. Later, more successful, psychotherapeutic treatments for depression have included both cognitive therapy and behavioral therapy.

    Imipramine

    • Imipramine was an early antidepressant that is still sometimes used. It is one of the tricylic antidepressants. It can have some negative side effects and, as such, is often not prescribed in favor of more modern antidepressants. Side effects can include fast heart rate, blurred vision, constipation and low blood pressure.

    Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors

    • Monoamine oxidase inhibitors, or MAOIs, actually predate imipramine. They were developed in the 1950s. They work by stopping the enzyme monoamine oxidase from metabolizing norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine. By keeping these neurotransmitters from being metabolized, more of each is found in the brain. Because of a number of side effects, MAOIs are generally only prescribed in situations where SSRIs or SNRIs have been tried and have failed. Side effects include drowsiness, constipation, nausea, low blood sugar, muscle twitching and decreased sexual desire, among others.

    Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors

    • Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a newer antidepressant that was introduced in 1987. Exactly how they work isn't, in fact, known. As such, how SSRIs affect each patient is different. It is known that they prevent the neurotransmitter serotonin from being re-absorbed by the brain, thus raising the levels of serotonin in the brain. However, each person's serotonin re-uptake mechanism appears to be different, and SSRIs can have different effects on different people. Side effects of SSRIs are mild and rare but can include nausea, dry mouth and headache.

    Serotonin Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors

    • The newest antidepressants are serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, or SNRIs, are similar to SSRIs. The difference is that they inhibit the re-uptake of a second neurotransmitter called norepinephrine. By decreasing the re-uptake of these two neurotransmitters, their levels are raised in the brain. Increased levels of norepinephrine and serotonin often have a positive effect on clinical depression.

Depression - Related Articles