You are not alone. Bell's "Let's Talk" campaign encourages discussion about our mental health. About one in two Canadians is struggling with mental health. I am very comfortable sharing with you that, although my symptoms are well controlled now, I have a twenty-year history of depression and anxiety. There were times when life was very hard, and I was unsure about the future.
Depression is a common and serious medical condition that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think, and how you act. Everyone feels down on occasion, but when those feelings occur more days than not over two weeks or longer, this is an indicator to contact your health professional to discuss ways to feel better. Common signs and symptoms of depression may include: having little interest in things which you once enjoyed, feeling down, depressed, hopeless, trouble concentrating, feeling bad about yourself, lack of energy, feeling tired all the time, poor appetite, or overeating.
If you are diagnosed with depression, talk to your physician or nurse practitioner about what the best approach to treatment is. For some, this may include changes in lifestyle, for others meeting with a registered therapist for counselling, medication therapy, or a combination of these approaches.
Medication therapy can help restore the balance of neurotransmitters responsible for mood in the brain. There are many classes or groups of prescription antidepressants. These medications work in different ways to affect the balance of neurotransmitters in our brain. Experts believe that serotonin and norepinephrine are two particularly important neurotransmitters in our brain that play a role in mood, and several antidepressant classes target these chemicals.
Your pharmacist is available to advise you about medications to treat depression. Medications help put your feet back on the ground, so to speak, when you feel that your mental health has been swept out from under you.
An important fact I wish I understood when I started taking my first antidepressant is this: they take time to work. Improvements in physical symptoms such as the ability to get and maintain a healthy amount of sleep and appetite usually begin around the two-week mark. Other improvements in energy level, mood, and anxiety generally show by week four. If you are going to experience side effects, they tend to occur during the first week of therapy. During my first week on an antidepressant, I felt spaced out, a little nauseated, and had zero improvement in anxiety and depression. If you experience side effects, your pharmacist can help minimize them so that hopefully you can continue therapy until things start to improve.
Despite there being several kinds of antidepressants available, the efficacy (i.e. their ability to work) is approximately the same. This means, for example, that for any given antidepressant medication, it is likely to work in seven out of 10 of us. This also means that three out of 10 of us will not respond. If you do not respond to your antidepressant, that does not mean you won’t respond to a different class of antidepressant, or even a different antidepressant within a given class. There are several different treatment options, and the difference in how well we respond can be quite individual.
Antidepressant medications work only when you remember to take them. Most antidepressant medications require daily dosing to maintain mental health. They are not intended to be used on an as-needed basis. Generally, for a first episode of depression, most people will be on six to 12 months of antidepressant therapy. At that point, you and your doctor can discuss the benefits of continuing therapy or not. Antidepressant therapy should be weaned off gradually and never stopped abruptly. Abrupt cessation of antidepressant therapy can cause unpleasant withdrawal side effects, and in some instances, can lead to relapse of depression. Changes in therapy should be supervised by a health professional who can be objective with you about the feelings you are experiencing. Individuals who combine antidepressant therapy and psychological counselling have higher rates of success than those who take medication only.
Once you start being real with your feelings and sharing them with others through talking, the powerful hold depression has on you begins to lessen. As a pharmacist, for me to take good care of you, I have to take care of myself and this includes investing time and energy into my mental health. I work on being mentally healthy every single day. With the help of medications, therapy, strong support, and physical activity, I am very happy, and you can be too.
Do not hesitate to contact a health professional if you are experiencing any of the above symptoms of depression. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger of self-harm call 9-1-1.
Dr. Kevin McLaughlin (PharmD, BScPharm, BSc, ACPR) practices at Kennebecasis Drugs, in Rothesay N.B. His opinions expressed in this column are published for educational and informational purposes only, and are not intended as a diagnosis, treatment or as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.