Depression is an ailment that does not easily go away as some people perceive. It is not just about emotions or feeling down for a certain time period; in fact, it can even be an underlying symptom of a disorder that must be brought to the attention of a health professional. Millions of people are affected by depression on a yearly basis which results to unproductive performance in the workplace. Aside from lost working hours due to depression, personal relationships can also be affected as the person becomes withdrawn and reclusive. A sudden drop in interest over a hobby, disconnecting from other people or change in sleeping habits should be given attention for these can indicate depression. Fortunately, there are many available depression treatments nowadays brought about by advances in medical research. Usually, the first line of treatment is consulting with a mental health professional such as a psychiatrist so a proper assessment of the severity of the depression can be made. Besides, there are also many types of depression that can affect an individual that a psychiatrist can accurately determine. Some types of depression are post-partum, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), bipolar disorder, substance induced etc. There are many types of treatment or depression but the most frequent solution are antidepressants which are prescribed by doctors. Taking antidepressants does not bring immediate results until a few weeks; thus, it is important to regularly take the medicine.

These antidepressants act by correcting the chemical imbalance in the brain which affects mood as well as eating and sleeping habits.

Depression treatment has many options since there are many types of antidepressants available in the market. Intake of the appropriate type of medicine can alleviate symptoms of depression and lead the way to recovery. One of the common forms of antidepressant is known as Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). This drug regulates the serotonin in the brain which can lead to enhanced mood. Another new-type of drug is Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRI) which is similar to SSRIs but this one also increases norepinephrine as well. A least preferred are Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) since they have side effects that patients have a hard time tolerating. More severe forms of depression need to be advised with Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) which are known to be potent even for other mental illness. However, there should be extra caution in taking this drug since it does has contra-indications against some foods like alcohol, wine, and dairy products.