Would long-term use of antidepressants promote a state of dependence? The answer is not so obvious.
The increasingly frequent prescription of antidepressants raises the question of whether they are addictive drugs. They are also not prescribed only for depressive disorders.
In fact, antidepressants are also administered to patients who suffer from chronic painobsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, severe phobias, or post-traumatic stress.
Antidepressants are effective, but they should not be used as the only strategy for overcoming a mood disorder. Experts are still convinced that the psychological therapy is the best strategy against depression and thus avoids relapses or prolonged use of these drugs over time.
Antidepressants: are they addictive?
Each person brings with them a history and social and genetic characteristics that will make them react in one way or another to antidepressant therapies. Therefore: what works for one subject may not be suitable for another. This also applies in case of drug use. The truth is that the debate about antidepressant addiction is usually accompanied by more than one myth.
The prolonged use of these drugs over time – Biopianeta.it
There are currently five classes of antidepressants on the market that are useful in different cases.
According to some researchers who conducted a study on antidepressants, one side effect of using these medications tends to be overlooked. We’re talking about of physical dependence and the onset of withdrawal symptoms when treatment is stopped.
Once the patient’s depression or anxiety is resolved, the doctor should guide the patient towards stopping treatment, while providing non-drug treatments to help maintain mental health, the scholars explain. The patient must follow a gradual program, but in no case suddenly stop treatment.
The study’s researchers analyzed 60 years of data on the topic and what they believe to be first-generation antidepressants would cause more serious symptoms such as aggression, catatonia (motor system and mood disorder) and cognitive disorders.
Additionally, researchers worry that both patients and doctors aren’t paying enough attention to the long-term consequences of taking antidepressants. Especially since these can be prescribed for other conditions such as obsessive compulsive disorder or chronic pain syndromes.
In short, to answer the question posed at the start: the antidepressants are addictive long-term. For this reason they should be used as pharmacological therapy only in truly necessary cases. But, apparently, both patients and doctors tend to underestimate its effects.
2023-10-20 19:00:28
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