Antidepressant

Fluoxetine, an SSRI antidepressant.

An antidepressant is a type of medication that is used to treat people with mood disorders including depression. There are different types of antidepressant, called monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), tetracyclic antidepressants (TeCAs), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs).

How they work

Antidepressants work to improve the mood. Doctors think that when someone is depressed, the chemicals in their brain are not working properly. Antidepressants balance these chemicals, lifting the depression.