OFFICIAL NAMES: Amitriptyline (Elavil), amoxapine (Asendin), bupropion (Wellbutrin), citalopram (Celexa), clomipramine (Anafranil), desipramine (Norpramin), doxepin (Sinequan), fluoxetine (Prozac), imipramine (Norfranil, Tofranil), isocarboxazid (Marplan), maprotiline (Ludiomil), mirtazapine (Remeron), nefazodone (Serzone), nortriptyline (Aventyl, Pamelor), paroxetine (Paxil), phenelzine (Nardil), protriptyline (Vivactil), sertraline (Zoloft), thioridazine (Mellaril), tranylcypromine (Parnate), trazodone (Desyrel), trimipramine (Surmontil), venlafaxine (Effexor); the herb St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) is sold over-the-counter without prescription

STREET NAMES: Happy pills

DRUG CLASSIFICATIONS: Not scheduled, psychotherapeutic drugs

Overview

Depression is an illness that affects the body, moods, and thoughts. It affects how people eat, sleep, take care of themselves, and how they think of themselves. It is an illness that requires medical assistance. It may originate with a stressful situation, a medication, or another illness.

Scientists were looking for drugs to treat different medical problems when their observations almost accidentally led them to the study of depression and its...