What exactly are happy pills?

Question

Is it a colloquial saying for anti depressants? Also how long is the effect per pill?

Answer 1

Yes anti depressants are called Happy Pills, well I call them that  a lot as they do help me put up with a lot of pain, and yes I agree its a colloquial   saying.

Cant tell you how long each pill works but I have been on them for many years now

Answer 2

Its not just antidepressants that are called happy pills, many narcotics are referred to by that name as well. I know I call Oxycontin, Vicodin, Adderall, etc. BTW different antidepressants last different amounts of time but after about 2 weeks (on average) of taking the pills they maintain a relatively constant concentration in the blood so you don't need to think of how long one lasts, just don't miss a dose.