ABSTRACT
Doctors have been told to reduce the amount of anti-depressant medications that they prescribe. People have very mixed views about such medications. There are a number of different types of anti-depressant medications, and they tend to fall into four main categories: tricyclic anti-depressants, monomanine-oxidase inhibitors, selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, and other anti-depressants. These modern anti-depressant medications actually do work. But people do not seem to like taking anti-depressants, in comparison with pills for high blood pressure. The way that the most common form of anti-depressant works is that they help make more serotonin available to the cells in one's brain. Serotonin is a natural neurotransmitter and is used in the transmission of messages from one brain cell to another. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence Guidelines on Depression recommend that anti-depressants should not be prescribed immediately—unless there is very good cause.
