Tranquilizers: Antidepressant Drugs for Life

It is in a world filled with unrelenting stressors and mounting mental challenges that tranquilizers and antidepressants have figured most markedly. Being medications prescribed against anxiety and depressive symptoms, they are facilities for most people seeking reprieve from life's weighty burdens. Tranquilizers, otherwise known as anxiolytics, are mainly meant for the reduction of anxiety with the effect of calming rippling throughout, and antidepressants are for uplifting moods and bringing relief from depression. Their use is prompted by complex interplay in the brain related to chemical processes and subjective experiences associated with mental health. Anxiety and depression affect millions; therefore, knowledge of the drugs involved is as important for society at large as for the sufferers. The article defines and classifies tranquilizers and antidepressants, followed by explanations of types and real-life applications and implications.

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This Story also Contains

1. Understanding Tranquilizers and Antidepressants
2. Types and Classifications
3. Applications and Implications in Real Life
4. Some Solved Examples
5. Conclusion

Understanding Tranquilizers and Antidepressants

Tranquilizers are a class of drugs that alleviate anxiety by relaxing an individual. They work mostly by producing sedation in the central nervous system. The commonly used tranquilizers are a group of benzodiazepines: diazepam, which is popularly referred to as Valium, and alprazolam, known in the market as Xanax. These two work by increasing the action of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA. These drugs increase the activity of GABA and prevent the excessive firing of neurons, reducing feelings of anxiety and tension.

Antidepressants are a class of drugs that adjust neurotransmitter levels in the brain to treat mood disorders, such as major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. The readjustment of the level of neurotransmitters involves serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine in the brain. The main classes of antidepressants are SSRIs like fluoxetine—Prozac—and SNRIs like venlafaxine—Effexor. They bring balance to the chemistry of the brain in order to increase a person's mood and emotional well-being.

Types and Classifications

Essentially, there are two kinds of tranquilizers: minor and major tranquilizers.

The minor tranquilizers include benzodiazepines, which are generally prescribed to patients for a short period of anxiety relief. They are pretty powerful against acute anxiety episodes; however, their continued usage for a long period can result in addiction or other withdrawal symptoms. Major tranquilizers, otherwise known as antipsychotics, are mostly used in serious mental disorders like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. These medications help much in mood stabilization and decrease psychotic symptoms. Antidepressants fall into a few main classes that depend on their mechanism of action. The most prescribed are SSRIs, due to their relatively benign listed side effects and effectiveness. TCAs and MAOIs are older classes that have proved quite effective but often consist of more significant side effects along with dietary restrictions. Atypical antidepressants, like bupropion, have alternative mechanisms of action and are sometimes used when other treatments are ineffective.

Tranquilizers are a class of chemical compounds used for the treatment of stress and mild or even severe mental diseases. These relieve anxiety, stress, irritability, or excitement by inducing a sense of well-being. They form an essential component of sleeping pills.

There are various types of tranquilizers. They function by different mechanisms. For example, noradrenaline is one of the neurotransmitters that play a role in mood changes. If the level of
noradrenaline is low for some reason, then the signal-sending activity becomes low, and the person suffers from depression. In such situations, antidepressant drugs are required. These
drugs inhibit the enzymes which catalyze the degradation of noradrenaline. Iproniazid and phenelzine are two such drugs.

Some tranquilizers namely, chlordiazepoxide and meprobamate, are relatively mild tranquilizers suitable for relieving tension. Equanil is used in controlling depression and hypertension.

Derivatives of barbituric acid viz., veronal, amytal, nembutal, luminal and seconal constitute an important class of tranquilizers. These derivatives are called barbiturates. Barbiturates are hypnotic, i.e., sleep-producing agents.

Some other substances used as tranquilizers are valium and serotonin.

Applications and Implications in Real Life

Tranquilizers and antidepressants have very wide applications and are related in real life.

Many people count on these drugs to get through the complications of modern life, in which the stresses of employment, relationships, and expectations of others in society become too overwhelming in the form of anxiety and depression. For example, a student who feel overwhelmed by academic pressures may find an avenue through benzodiazepines by simply calming themselves in order to focus on studying. An SSRI could also help mute the emotional highs in a professional beset by workplace stress and continue to function. This raises questions about the long-term consequences of over-reliance on these medications. There is always the fear of dependency, the side effects outweighing the short-term benefits of relief. Take, for example, the potential reaction to the long-term use of benzodiazepines, where tolerance builds up and he would require a higher dosage to feel the same effect, or there may be withdrawal symptoms if it were suddenly stopped.

The cognitive effects of these drugs affect scholastic and professional performance. A person is drowsy, has memory problems, or lacks concentration one needs to do something. This calls for an integrative approach to mental health, including therapy and lifestyle changes, as well as other remedies that are not pharmacological with the medication.

The social implications, therefore, are huge as well. Higher prescription rates point towards a greater tolerance to a pharmacological response to problems in mental health. We have, therefore, got to unearth the 'why' of distress of anxiety, and depression with respect to societal pressures, support systems, and lifestyle factors. Promoting mental health awareness and encouraging other coping mechanisms, hence would go a long way in making sure that we seek a holistic approach towards wellbeing.

Some Solved Examples

Example 1
Question: Which one of the following is employed as a tranquilizer drug?
1. Promethazine
2. Valium
3. Naproxen
4. Mifepristone

Solution: Tranquillizers are medicines used for the treatment of stress and mental diseases. They reduce mental tension and anxiety. Out of the given compounds, Valium acts as a Tranquillizer. Hence, Option 2 is correct.

Example 2
Question:

Which one of the following is employed as a tranquilizer?
1. Naproxen
2. Tetracycline
3. Chlorpheniramine
4. Equanil

Solution: Tranquillizers are medicines used for the treatment of stress and mental diseases. They reduce mental tension and anxiety. Out of the given compounds, Equanil acts as a Tranquillizer. Naproxen is an analgesic, while tetracycline and chlorpheniramine are antibiotics. Hence, the correct answer is Option 4.

Example 3
Question:

The correct match between items of List - I and List - II is:
List - I
- (A) Phenelzine
- (B) Chloroxylenol
-(C) Uracil
- (D) Ranitidine

List - II
-(P) Pyrimidine
-(Q) Furan
- (R) Hydrazine
- (S) Phenol
1. (A)-(R), (B)-(S), (C)-(P), (D)-(Q)
2. (A)-(S), (B)-(R), (C)-(P), (D)-(Q)
3. (A)-(S), (B)-(R), (C)-(Q), (D)-(P)
4. (A)-(R), (B)-(S), (C)-(Q), (D)-(P)

Solution:Phenelzine contains Hydrazine. Chloroxylenol contains Phenol. Uracil is the Pyrimidine base. Ranitidine contains a Furan ring. Hence, the answer is Option 1: (A)-(R), (B)-(S), (C)-(P), (D)-(Q).

Example 4
Question:

Chemotherapeutic drugs can cause?
1. Only neurosis
2. Only Apoptosis
3. Both neurosis and apoptosis
4. Anoikis

Solution: Chemotherapy involves the use of any chemical to treat any disease without causing injury to the host, mainly used for the treatment of cancer to destroy cancerous tissue. Chemotherapeutic drugs can cause neurosis. Hence, the answer is Option 1.

Example 5
Question: What term is used for chemicals that are used for communication between neurons and muscles?
1. Deceptors
2. Targets
3. Enzymes
4. Chemical messengers

Solution: Chemical messengers are used to relay electrical signals between a neuron and another cell. At a chemical synapse, an action potential triggers the presynaptic neuron to release neurotransmitters. These molecules bind to receptors on the postsynaptic cell and make it more or less likely to fire an action potential. Hence, the answer is Option 4.

Conclusion

Anxiety and depression are alleviated in millions by two principal medications: tranquilizers and antidepressants.

One needs to be aware of their classification, mechanisms, and real-life implications while making an informed decision on the course of treatment regarding mental health. Even while such medication might be very useful, one has to do so with a lot of care since there are attached risks, and within those parameters, comprehensive strategies toward mental health are essential. One can, therefore, make a more supportive environment for those facing the challenges of mental health today by enhancing their sense of awareness and other ways of coping.