SSRIs -- How They Work in the Brain SSRI is the acronym for Selective Seratonin Re-uptake Inhibitor. It is a relatively new class of prescription anti-depressants. Seratonin is one of many chemicals that our bodies naturally produce, and without the correct balance of it in the brain, bloodstream, and body, lots of things don't function very well. Two of the most obvious symptoms are depression and anxiety. Brain chemistry can become skewed, and it may or may not ever fully recover. SSRIs assist the brain to keep the proper amount of seratonin available. Some people have better fortune than others in terms of whether their brain (an organ, like the heart) can learn to get its timing straight again. Those people are short term users for these prescriptions. Many other people have had a series of stresses and crises in their lives, and the brain chemistry will continually need a chemical monitor to keep it functioning the way it is intended. A stressed out brain tends to have a lot of greedy cells that suck up the stuff far to quickly after they put it out into the synapse (the space between nerve cells), so that the cells can communicate with each other. The next cell doesn't get a chance to absorb it's necessary share. An SSRI slows the re-uptake process enough that each cell gets what it needs to function. Think of it like a cop at a busy intersection where the traffic lights have gone down. The cop knows how to direct the traffic so that there are no accidents, and everyone gets their turn to go. There is no implication that the drivers are too stupid or too weak; the cop is no more a crutch than the traffic light. Something is necessary at that dangerous intersection, so that traffic flows smoothly. So, back inside your head... The traffic light system is squirrelly. The cop is doing an excellent job, and traffic is flowing, and there are no accidents. But something either in you or in society or both (most likely) has convinced you that you SHOULD be able to do just fine with no cop. So, you send her home, and traffic snarl ensues, ...there are several fender benders, and you miss getting to your appointments. You could choose to deal with daily traffic jams, and repair your car and your whip-lashed neck from time to time, while complaining that the damn light ought to work better, or you could allow the cop to do the job, efficiently, and be glad she is available and so skilled at the task. Needing to remain on a prescription does not imply addiction to that drug. You are not talking about addiction in the medical sense of the word. You are actually looking at a parallel to using insulin for diabetics. A diabetic's body cannot regulate the blood sugar, and an effected person will go blind, loose limbs, go into shock and seizures, and die. The insulin regulates that part of the system. SSRIs regulate a brain part, but in a similar manner. The symptoms you are getting are a sudden return of you symptoms that originally caused you to accept the medication in the first place. You are not scoring an illegal drug, to get a high. You are being prescribed a chemical necessary for you to be able to experience a normal sense of well being. During times of greater stress, your body may require a higher dose for a while. And all of our bodies develop a tolerance to anything we take in, so the dose may need to be increased from time to time anyway. Tolerance is the very first sign of addiction, but it does not point to addiction unless there are lots of other signs and symptoms also occurring. There can be other complicating factors too, like menopause, or even perimenopause, in women. Hormone changes interact very closely with brain chemistry. A compounding pharmacy can make natural estrogens and progesterone, which is a heck of a lot better than the man-made substitutes. But that's a totally different topic... Holly Pechter-Walters