The intake of antidepressants without suffering from a depressive picture can lead to a series of complications at a physical, emotional and behavioral level, so it is a dangerous practice to health. These drugs act on the central nervous system through the modification of neural circuits to reduce the symptoms of depression after a long time of consumption. In this way, several regions of the brain are altered and can respond by means of a different processing of the stimuli coming from the outside. For this reason, taking this medication without a prescription can cause side effects that endanger the person's health.
In this Psychology-Online article we will explain the risks of taking antidepressants without depression.
Taking antidepressants without depression can be dangerous if you don't take into account the harmful effects they can have on the body. Next, we will see in detail some aspects that can occur:
Interference with other drugs
First, the intake of antidepressants alters the levels of neuronal regulation since it acts on Central Nervous System.
When the person does not suffer from a depressive picture and decides to self-medicate, symptoms of other mental health disorders may be increased since antidepressants could block the electrical signals of neurotransmitters that have various functions.
adverse side effects
Despite the fact that taking antidepressants can trigger a series of symptoms that usually disappear over time, the truth is that people who do not have depression have a increased risk of illness as insomnia, fatigue, body agitation, anxiety, among others.
Unlike people who are diagnosed with this mental disorder, in the case of people who take antidepressants without needing them, these symptoms can be kept for a long time and lead to other problems.
Avoidance of the real problem
In general terms, psychiatric medications tend to reduce the intensity of the symptoms so that the person can carry out the activities of daily life. However, taking antidepressants without depression may be an attempt to avoid dealing with the real problem that affects the person.
It should be noted that sometimes there are certain reasons that affect the decision to supply these drugs without an accurate diagnosis.
To determine if the intake of antidepressants is necessary, we find some indicators that can guide the person. Here are some signs that can help you know if you need to start taking antidepressants:
- Persistent sadness, depression, or lack of interest in daily activities: the presence of this kind of manifestations for several days or weeks can be an alarm signal to evaluate the need to consult a specialist.
- History of depression: If any member of the family environment has suffered from this clinical picture, it is important to take into account the mode of presentation of the same to know if the person could have the pathology.
- prolonged fatigue: The general lack of energy to carry out activities is an indicator that something is not right. However, to be considered a determining symptom, fatigue must last for several weeks. without the person experiencing significant changes in their thoughts, emotions and behaviors usual.
In any case, it is essential that each treatment carried out using psychiatric drugs be supervised by a mental health professional. Here we tell you What is the best medication for depression?.
Taking antidepressants without needing them brings consequences that imply risks for the person who makes this decision. Here we will mention five possible effects that arise from this practice:
- increased anxiety: antidepressants can cause increased heart rate, psychomotor agitation, tremors, palpitations, excessive sweating, etc. In addition, people who suffer from anxiety may feel greater discomfort that has been increased by the chemical action of these drugs.
- sleep disturbances: It is common for people who decide to take antidepressants to have their sleep cycles altered. This can generate both insomnia and hypersomnia for several weeks, varying the intensity according to each case.
- Mood variations: in global terms, people suffer repeated mood destabilizations that oscillate between states of joy with moments of intense anguish.
- sexual problems: It is possible that a person suffers from sexual impotence, premature ejaculation, lack of attraction, among others.
- gastrointestinal difficulties: they can manifest alterations in the digestion of food, which can result in gastrointestinal disorders.
If you want to know more information on this subject, in the following article we explain if Antidepressants damage the brain.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
