Key Takeaways:
- Antidepressants are a great way to improve the symptoms of depression but they could take up to 8 weeks to start working.
- You might experience some side effects in the beginning but it is important to stay persistent and not feel discouraged by it.
- After around 8 weeks, if you still don’t feel better, try speaking with your healthcare provider. They may decide that altering the dosage could be beneficial.
You may be curious about the length of time the antidepressant will take to start working if you’re considering trying a new one or you recently received a prescription from a doctor.
The following variables affect the answer to this question:
- How severe your symptoms are
- Whether or not you receive therapy
- The kind of medication you take
You might have shown courage by getting help from a professional for your depression. Antidepressants have helped a lot of people, and your symptoms can be controlled.
Why do Antidepressants take a long while to work?
- Antidepressants typically take time to start working. Or at least, you might not immediately notice the changes.
- It typically takes 2 to 8 weeks for many of them to start working, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs).
- N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor blockers, a more recent class of antidepressants, may, in some circumstances, operate more quickly. Within hours or days of getting your first dose, you might notice how they affect your mood.
- Neurotransmitters are molecules in your brain that various antidepressant types target differently. Neurotransmitters assist in the transmission of signals from nerve cells to other cells in your body and brain.
- Examples of neurotransmitters that antidepressants frequently influence include norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin.
- More recent antidepressants target several additional neurotransmitters, including glutamate, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). This affects how long antidepressants take to start working.
- In order to increase the amount of serotonin accessible for message transmission, SSRIs function by inhibiting nerve cells from absorbing serotonin. The same thing is done by SNRIs with serotonin and norepinephrine.
- More neurotransmitters that are readily available in your brain may help you interpret your experiences more favourably, according to scientists.
- Your brain forms new connections connected to these empowering interpretations throughout time. Your mood and behaviours get better when new neural pathways are established.
- You might not notice these changes for a few weeks, though. The effects of the antidepressant take time to show up in your mood and behaviours, even if they start functioning immediately.
What would it feel like when your antidepressants kick in?
The indications that an antidepressant is working can also differ as not everyone experiences depression in the same manner.
Any of the following could be a sign that your antidepressant medicine is starting to work:
- Guilty feelings could lessen.
- Perhaps your outlook on life and yourself has improved.
- Suicidal ideas and actions may become less frequent.
- You might feel more energised and motivated to take action.
- You could feel the want to engage in past interests once more.
- You might get more rest.
- You might begin to experience your old feelings.
- Symptoms of anxiety may also get better.
- Your appetite might get better.
What does this mean for you?
Antidepressants are useful in treating the signs and symptoms of depression. Many different things can affect how long they take to work. It can take up to 8 weeks for most antidepressants to start working. But how a drug affects a particular person varies. The length of time it takes for your antidepressant to start working depends on how your body responds to the drug and the severity of your symptoms. Even while you might not see the results immediately away, your brain is already hard at work building new connections and neural pathways as soon as you start taking your antidepressant.
