What drugs are used to treat mental illness?
In this article, we will describe what drugs are used to treat mental illness.
What drugs are used to treat depression?
When treating depression, several drug options are available. Some of the most commonly used include:
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), such as citalopram, escitalopram, fluoxetine, paroxetine, and sertraline.
Selective serotonin & norepinephrine inhibitors (SNRIs), such as duloxetine and venlafaxine
.
Older tricyclic antidepressants, such as amitriptyline and imipramine.
Drugs that are thought to affect mainly dopamine and norepinephrine such as bupropion.
Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), such as isocarboxazid, phenelzine, and selegiline.
Tetracyclic antidepressants that are noradrenergic and specific serotonergic antidepressants (NaSSAs), such as mirtazapine.
Note 1. Remember that medications usually take 4 to 6 weeks to become fully effective. And if one drug does not work, there are many others to try.
Note 2. If you decide to stop taking your antidepressants, it is important that you gradually reduce the dose over a period of several weeks
What drugs are used to treat anxiety?
Antidepressants, particularly the SSRIs, may also be effective in treating many types of anxiety disorders.
Other anti-anxiety medications include the benzodiazepines, such as clonazepam, diazepam and lorazepam. These drugs carry a risk of addiction, so they are not as desirable for long-term use.
The drug buspirone is a unique serotonergic drug that is non-habit-forming and often used to treat generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
Some antiseizure medicines, such as gabapentin or pregabalin are sometimes used ‘off label’, to treat certain forms of anxiety.
What drugs are used to treat psychotic disorders?
Antipsychotics are a class of drugs used commonly to treat psychotic disorders – conditions in which thinking can be irrational, and people have false beliefs (delusions) or perceptions (hallucinations) – and sometimes to treat mood disorders such as bipolar disorder or major depression. There are two main groups.
Typical (first generation) antipsychotic drugs
The typical, or conventional, antipsychotics were first developed in the 1950s. Haloperidol and chlorpromazine are the best known typical antipsychotics. They continue to be useful in the treatment of severe psychosis and behavioural problems when newer medications are ineffective. However, these medications do have a high risk of side effects including difficulties with movement, shaking and sedation.
Common ones include: chlorpromazine, haloperidol, zuclopenthixol, flupentixol, and trifluoperazine. Others include: loxapine, levomepromazine, fluphenazine, penfluridol, pimozide, sulpiride and prochlorperazine.
Atypical (second generation) antipsychotic drugs
These medications were introduced later with many approved for use in the 1980s. These medications are less likely to produce extrapyramidal effects (physical symptoms such as tremors, stiffness and abnormal movements) than typical (first generation) antipsychotics.
They include: aripiprazole, olanzapine, risperidone, quetiapine, clozapine. Others include: paliperidone, cariprazine, lurasidone, ziprasidone and amisulpride.
Summary
We have described what drugs are used to treat mental illness. We hope it has been helpful.
Last Reviewed on 7 March 2024