Drug classes
Medications for mental health fall into families, and understanding the family is often the fastest way to understand the drug. These pages explain each class on PsychiatryRx: what the medications in it have in common, how they work, how they differ from one another, and where they fit in treatment. The site covers SSRIs, SNRIs, atypical antidepressants, benzodiazepines, ADHD medications, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, and sleep medications. If psychiatric medication is new to you, a class page is a good place to start before reading about a specific drug.
ADHD medications explained
The two groups of ADHD medication, stimulants and non-stimulants, and how they compare.
Antipsychotics explained
What antipsychotics are, and how they are used in bipolar disorder and depression.
Atypical antidepressants explained
Antidepressants that work differently from SSRIs and SNRIs, and when they are used.
Benzodiazepines explained
What benzodiazepines are, how they work, and why they are usually used short-term.
Mood stabilizers explained
What mood stabilizers are, how they are used in bipolar disorder, and how they differ.
Sleep medications explained
What the main sleep medications are, how they differ, and why most are used short-term.
SNRIs explained
What SNRIs are, how they work, and how they compare with SSRIs.
SSRIs explained
What SSRIs are, how they work, and how the medications in the class compare.