Various lifestyle factors may indicate need for Effexor

Prescribing medications like Effexor can help relieve some of the effects of depression and anxiety, but clinicians may need to look deeper to address the factors causing these depressive symptoms. Isolating underlying causes may require looking for pain problems and past medical history, among other things, that may trigger negative mood and outlook. Researchers are finding that financial situations may have a strong impact on the overall mental health of Americans.

Scientists at the Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine at The Miriam Hospital in Rhode Island looked at the relationship between certain factors, like age, gender, income and housing, and the likelihood of expressing depression symptoms. Reviewing over 480 adult patients, clinicians also asked participants to discuss their recreational drug and substance use patterns, exercise regimens, dietary activities and sleep schedules. Finally, they also asked respondents to talk about their perceived depression and anxiety.

The link between destructive behaviors and bad choices became clear when looking at a retrospective of participants. Instead of poor habits causing depression, scientists found that those with existing negative outlooks turned to substance abuse, rather than causing them. Most prominent among these causes was financial outlook, researchers found, indicating that Effexor may be able to help these people avoid perpetuating poor choices, but personal improvement on other levels may be the best path to overall depression and anxiety management.

Finding more linking behaviors
A similar study by the Academy of Orofacial Pain looked at other contributors to depression and outlook. In this scenario, researchers reviewed the internal factors as opposed to external variables, primarily looking at how pain, in this case from TMJ, could change how depressed or anxious participants became. By looking at a focus group of more than 4,000 patients, researchers were able to establish that muscle pain on its own created heightened levels of anxiety in respondents, but adding joint fatigue appeared to exacerbate anxiety symptoms.

Scientists stated that anxiety and depression could actually be the cause of these pain problems. Prescribing Effexor to treat these symptoms may therefore present reduction in other distress symptoms, creating a scenario in which, over time, the need for medications is less prevalent or absent altogether.