Some Antidepressants Change Mood Within Hours

When beginning therapy with antidepressant medications, the advice has generally been not to expect a change in mood for a few weeks. New research suggests that at the right dosages, certain antidepressants can provide almost instant relief, improving mood and reducing anxiety within hours.

The study was reported this week at the Royal College of Psychiatrists International Congress in Edinburgh, Scotland, by neuroscientist Dr. Susannah Murphy of the University of Oxford.

The study reported by Dr. Murphy examined the effects on anxiety of two medications in the group called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), a group that includes Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft. The specific medications used in this study were citalopram and reboxetine.

Researchers administered the medications to healthy volunteers and then tested their levels of anxiety by measuring the speed of their reaction to an image of a face with a fearful expression. Brain scans were used to look at the actual chemical action in the brain while people were experiencing their reactions.

The study found that both of the SSRIs tested signficantly reduced the subjects’ anxiety levels within only hours after taking a single dose. Dr. Murphy suggests that her research has two major implications. First, the message typically given to patients about SSRIs when they are prescribed does not appear to be accurate. Instead of expecting to see little difference in their mood for several weeks, patients might be able to expect instead to experience some improvement in mood the same day they start medication.

In addition, the fact that a single dose of an SSRI can have a significant effect in reducing anxiety suggests that psychologists and doctors may find new, short-term uses for the medications.  Rather than making a long-term commitment to a drug, it’s possible that therapists may be able to combine short-term uses with cognitive behavioral therapies that will allow patients to make more gains with therapy without planning to take the medication indefinitely.

Further research and study is needed to determine how and in what ways these findings might affect clinical practices. For now, though, doctors know that SSRIs can provide quick relief for anxiety and hypervigilance.