(1)
Antianxiety medication includes agents such as:
(a) Hydroxyzine (Atarax, Vistaril).
(b) Meprobamate (Equanil, Miltown).
Chlordiazepoxide (Librium).
(c)
(d) Diazepam (Valium). Central nervous system (CNS) depressants
producing mild sedation are included in antianxiety medication.
(2)
Commonly used antidepressant agents include:
(a) Imipramine (Tofranil).
(b) Amitriptyline (Elavil).
Amitriptyline and Perphenazine (Triavil).
(c)
(d) Doxepin (Adapin, Sinequan). CNS depressants producing mild
sedation are also included as antidepressants. Improvement of depression may take
one to four weeks.
(3)
Antipsychotic agents that are commonly used are:
(a) Thioridazine (Mellaril).
(b) Haloperidol (Haldol).
(c) Lithium (Lithane, Lithonate). CNS depressants used as
antipsychotic agents are sedative or hypnotic and do not depress the vital centers.
(4) Generally, central nervous system depressants are NOT used to treat
depression. Amphetamines (Benzedrine) and Methylphenidates (Ritalin) fall in this
category.
2-4.
SUICIDE
a. Introduction. Suicide is defined as the intentional taking of one's own life. A
leading cause of death in most Western countries, it is estimated that over 200,000
persons in the United States attempt suicide each year. Of that number, about 26,000
are successful in their suicide attempt. The actual number of suicides may be higher
since official records often list a suicide as another form of death.
MD0586
2-8
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