Drugs that can cause depression

Drugs that can cause depression

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There is much talk about the medication that exists to relieve the symptoms of depression and anxiety. But not so much about the drugs that can cause this disorder. We will see better what they are and how they affect our mind.

What are the medications that cause depression?

Depression is one of the most common diseases today. This responds to many causes, most of them related to lifestyle and also closely linked to the way we manage our emotions and solve our problems.

However, beyond these aspects, there are also other triggers that lead to depression. For example, There are certain medications that have been shown to have side effects very clearly linked to this disease.

Doctors know this and take it into account when prescribing such drugs, but not always the person who consumes them has this information. Even so, if we recognize that we are being negatively affected by medications of this type, we must always consult the professional before leaving them.

But, What are these medications that cause depression? The drugs associated with these side effects are of many types, more than we may initially think, and all very common in our day to day. Here are some of them.

Beta blockers

This type of drug is used to treat hypertension problems. They are therefore necessary in people suffering from high blood pressure and it is difficult to replace them with another type of medication.

The cause of this depression is that they slow the heart rate. As a result, they sometimes increase the feeling of fatigue and cause sexual dysfunction that can lead to problems that lead to depression.


This type of medicine is used to treat seizure problems. They are common in neuropathic pain, bipolar disorders and mood disorders. Some examples are carbamazepine (Tegretol), gabapentin (Neurontin), lamotrigine (Lamictal), pregabalin (Lyrica) and topiramate (Topamax).

Depression occurs because these drugs affect neurotransmitters, which are responsible for transmitting messages to the brain. By blocking these signals from the central nervous system this alteration occurs that triggers a depression.

Benzodiazepine Hypnotics

Benzodiazepines are a type of medication that is prescribed to relieve the symptoms of anxiety and insomnia. What they really do is relax the muscles of the body. That is, those known as tranquilizers.

In many cases they do not metabolize well and accumulate in the body until toxic levels are reached. In this way, they cause an effect similar to that of the hangover, which causes symptoms similar to those of depression.

Medications for Parkinson's. One of the signs of Parkinson's disease, beyond movement disorders, is the depressive tendency. This is accentuated with the medications that are prescribed to treat it.

The reason is that the drugs to treat Parkinson's are based on the use of dopamine, which act by simulating the dopamine receptors in the brain and, in this way, mimic the activity of dopamine. The consumption of this long-term neurotransmitter is associated with depression.


This type of medicine is used to treat inflammation of the blood vessels and muscles. These reduce serotonin levels in the body, and precisely this reduction is known to cause depression.

Diseases such as arthritis, lupus or gout are treated with medications that include these components. Some known examples are cortisone, methylprednisolone, prednisone and triamcinolone.

Medicines that alter hormones

These types of drugs that are also widely used to treat certain problems have been shown to cause and trigger depression.

For example, those taken to relieve the symptoms of menopause, or the same birth control pills, suppose a manipulation of the hormonal levels in the organism can cause this type of problems such as depression.


Although its name may make us think otherwise, these types of drugs also lead to depression. They are prescribed above all to treat daytime sleepiness excessive caused by hypersomnia, narcolepsy or sleep apnea.

However, these stimulants increase the level of dopamine in the body. This makes the investigations conclude that taking them for a long period causes symptoms of depression to appear.


Drugs can help us in many areas of our lives, both in our mental and physical health. However, we must not forget that most of them cause side effects that must be controlled. Therefore they must always be consumed under medical prescription.


General medications associated with depression. //

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