Please, don't beat me up calling this a dumb question. It's valid... How do anti depressants work?

Question

Do they just calm you down? How do they make you feel?

Answer 1

They do nothing to "calm" you down.  Most anti depressants are SSRI's, serotonin reuptake inhibitors.  That means that it slows the brain down from flushing out the endorphins it creates, which makes you feel nasty inside.

Answer 2

Antidepressants have helped me to be able to think more clearly.

They help me keep moving even though I feel more depressed at times.  They do not calm me down.  They make it easier to carry on each day in spite of how I feel.  

Answer 3

My friend did not get better...at least not fast enough so after several months she got her doctor to take her off of them little by little.  Her greatest concern is that a side effect of prozac (the most popular drug) is that the depression can remain constant...some anti depressent huh!

There are so many drugs that exist today that you may want to specify which one you desire more information about.  She says Zoloft, and amytriptaline don't calm down everyone and you may feel just as bad as you did before you started taking them.  Try natural remedies like surrounding yourself with happy people.

Answer 4

They change the chemistry in the brain.  A chemical imbalance is thought to be the cause of depression