Everything you need to know about the commonly prescribed mental health medication.
Kara Cuzzone is a New York City-based writer, editor, and artist. She has over six years of experience covering health, wellness, and e-commerce topics for publications including Forbes, Cosmopolitan, Byrdie, Wondermind and PureWow. Kara is passionate about mental health awareness. She is an active member of NAMI-NYC's Young Professionals program, a group that works to raise awareness and funds for the National Alliance on Mental Illness and a regular therapygoer herself.
10
min read
Finding a treatment option that works for your unique mental health symptoms can be tough. Some people start feeling better from talk therapy alone, while others require a combination of medication and therapy to see improvement. And others don’t feel they need therapy, preferring to just meet with a psychiatrist regularly and take medication.
If you’re interested in starting medication, chances are you’ve heard of SSRIs (even if only in passing). They’re the most commonly prescribed type of antidepressant, and they can ease symptoms of a whole host of mental health conditions, explains psychiatrist Dr. Amar Mukhtar, MD.
Below, we explain what SSRIs are, how they work, who would be a good candidate to try them, and how to go about getting a prescription if you’re interested in taking one.
The acronym SSRI stands for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. SSRIs are a class of antidepressants that can be used to treat multiple conditions including depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
SSRIs are often what’s prescribed first when patients are dealing with symptoms of depression, anxiety, OCD, and PTSD. That’s because they’re fairly well-tolerated and fairly safe for most people to take, says Dr. Mukhtar.
There are multiple types of SSRIs—you might be familiar with some of the brand names like Prozac, Zoloft, and Lexapro—but they all work the same way. They cause the brain to keep more serotonin (a neurotransmitter that controls mood) circulating in your central nervous system.
“The serotonin theory of depression says that there is a chemical imbalance when people experience things like depression and anxiety and increasing the amount of serotonin in your system helps to stabilize that imbalance. It ultimately helps improve mood, decrease symptoms of anxiety and [improve] a lot of [your] day-to-day ability to function,” Dr. Mukhtar explains.
That said, you won’t feel the effects of an SSRI overnight. “Studies show that it can take up to six weeks to get the max benefit of a particular dose or to adequately say ‘this medication is working or not working,’” he says.
How fast the medication works will depend on how high of a dose you start with, and how it affects your particular central nervous system, Dr. Mukhtar explains. Everyone’s different, but some people report feeling the effects in as little as two to three weeks.
As with any medication, there are a whole host of potential side effects you can experience from taking an SSRI. That said, the most common ones are nausea, abdominal pain, headaches, diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal-related symptoms, says Dr. Mukhtar. Things like dry mouth, jitteriness, and tremors are also relatively common.
It’s worth noting that though fairly rare, SSRIs can increase suicidal thoughts and behaviors for some people. That’s something your doctor should discuss with you before you begin taking the medication.
If you’re new to the world of mental health medications, it can be difficult to know where to start. The only way to know for sure whether an SSRI is the right medication for you is to talk to your general practitioner, psychiatrist, or psychiatric nurse practitioner. But if you’re experiencing debilitating (or just plain unpleasant) symptoms of depression, anxiety, OCD or PTSD, you could be a good candidate for an SSRI, says Dr. Mukhtar.
On the other hand, if you’re dealing with symptoms of another condition—like bipolar disorder—an SSRI could actually have adverse effects.
Depending on how severe your mental health symptoms are, you can start treatment with therapy, medication or a combination of the two, says Dr. Mukhtar. It really comes down to personal preference, coupled with what symptoms you’re experiencing and how severe they are.
For example, if you’re depressed and unable to leave the house, your doctor might prescribe you an SSRI before you begin therapy so that you can begin attending your appointments.
If you’re confident that you want to try medication right off the bat, your best bet is to seek out a psychiatrist right away, Dr. Mukhtar advises. They should be able to help you pick an SSRI based on your unique symptoms. They’ll also schedule regular medication management appointments with you to ensure that it’s working properly and you’re not experiencing any serious side effects.
Whether or not you want to take an SSRI is a topic you should discuss with your therapist, general practitioner, or psychiatric provider. All three experts should be able to advise you on whether or not the medication could help you, or refer you to another doctor to make the decision if needed.
There are seven different FDA-approved SSRIs on the market in the U.S. As we mentioned above, they all work by increasing the amount of serotonin circulating in your body. But different ones work best for different people.
Most psychiatrists recommend trying at least two different SSRIs if you aren’t noticing improvements or start experiencing negative side effects before moving on to a different class of medication, says Dr. Mukhtar.
In terms of figuring out which one to start with, studies have shown that if someone in your family has responded well to a particular SSRI, it’s worth starting with that one, he says. It’s not guaranteed that it’ll work for you, but it’s typically a good starting point.
If no one in your family has taken an SSRI before, your doctor can help you figure out which one is best to try first based on your unique condition and concerns. There’s no way for experts to figure out exactly which medication will work best for each patient right off the bat yet, so it may be a process of trial and error to get the right medication and dosage for you.
It’s also possible that SSRIs may not work for you at all. For example, experts estimate that medication doesn’t work for about 30% of people with depression. So it’s important to keep in mind that while SSRIs are a great treatment option for many people, they’re not 100% effective. If you don’t notice improvements after trying one or two under your doctor’s guidance, they’ll likely advise you to try a different form of medication or an alternative form of treatment.
Kara Cuzzone is a New York City-based writer, editor, and artist. She has over six years of experience covering health, wellness, and e-commerce topics for publications including Forbes, Cosmopolitan, Byrdie, Wondermind and PureWow. Kara is passionate about mental health awareness. She is an active member of NAMI-NYC's Young Professionals program, a group that works to raise awareness and funds for the National Alliance on Mental Illness and a regular therapygoer herself.
Eliana Reyes
Kathleen Coughlin, LCSW
Julian leads UpLift’s overall clinical strategy towards expanding access to quality mental health care for everyone. Learn about his long-standing passion for mental health and building behavioral healthcare companies.
Takeaways, resources, and provider learnings on what’s worked for supporting LGBTQIA+ clients
Kathleen is a leader on our clinical team, building our clinical program. Learn more about her journey to clinical director, growing a practice, and how her work supports providers and clients.
Through a collaborative approach, harm reduction works within the realities of our world and addresses those truths, rather than deny them.