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I,like you am somewhat confused by this question but it worthy of my sadly basic answer. ssri stands for ,selective serotonin reuptake inhibiter. What a mouthfull it is. These tablets work on the brain chemicals called amines>>> what they are I dont know, but they are chemicals that control mood.. So the idea is that ssris increase the amines and block the "uptake of other chemicals into the brain that "decrease mood.... I wish I was more knowledgable on this question... If nothing else you will know that others on the same type of medication strugle with the same question..

Written by 3sleepless, 7. Jul 2007 12:30 AM

Ok, basically what happens is this: messages are passed between nerve cells in the brain via a small gap in between cells - when a cell sends information to another cell it also releases neurotransmitters (serotonin is one of these). The idea is that these neurotransmitters are recognised which then relays the signal that the initial cell was trying to send. Only 90% of neurotransmitters are actually recognised and passed onto the receiving cell (the cell that the initial one was trying to get the message to) - this process is called reuptake.

The idea of an SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) is to keep the serotonin in the gaps between cells longer so that more of these neurotransmitters are recognised. The theory is that when the serotonin stays in the gap between cells longer, there's more chance that it will eventually be recognised and in turn pass the message on to recipient cells.

In short: 'selective' refers to the fact that the drug selects which neurotransmitters will be affected (in this case serotonin), 'serotonin' refers to the neurotransmitters affected, 'reuptake' is the process of the neurotransmitter being picked up by the recipient cell and 'inhibitor' is delaying the process.

That's my understanding anyway - i hope it makes sense.

Written by babz, 7. Jul 2007 01:02 AM

Hiya Psyche

teah what Babz said ALjay

Written by Deleted_User, 7. Jul 2007 10:35 AM

Psyche

If the answers here (and I think Babz says it best) are not to your satisfaction, ask your therapist for help as to what SSRI's do to you when you take them.

Go Psyche!!!

Studying1

Written by studying1, 7. Jul 2007 03:10 PM

All antidepressants including SSRI's interact with our 'stress response'.

There is still a lot that is not known about the brain and what regulates mood or if/how serotonin actually does regulate mood (although you will rarely be told this).

It is not actually known if any antidepressant effects that SSRIs posess are caused by their ability to increase levels of serotonin (by improving transmission).

There is no evidence that any chemical imbalance in the brain causes depression.

All emotional states (incl. anxiety & depression) cause changes in the chemistry of our brain & over time create neural pathways.

Long term anxiety & depression can lead to an overactivated stress response in our brains that loses its ability to regulate itself and SSRIs appear to help our stress response return back to self-regulation over a period of time.

NOTE - If you do not change your way of perceiving things in life, you will continue to perceive increased stressors - so you will not change the underlying cause of your emotional state - It is your perception that creates your emotions (reality). (I think you already know this).

(All of the above from Journal of Individual Psychology, 62:4 2006)

I have accessed other research as well in my own journey of recovery - however the above journal article provided a good summary.

Written by Wolveress, 8. Jul 2007 12:47 PM