Answer:
An antidepressant is a drug that counteracts the symptoms of depression. Antidepressants are indicated in patients with major depressive disorder, especially in moderate to severe episodes. In addition, contrary to what the name suggests, antidepressants work well against anxiety symptoms, for example against panic attacks.
Antidepressants can sometimes be seen, especially by the target group itself, as a medicine for the environment. Depressive behavior can be experienced as annoying by the patient's environment, and the use of antidepressants reduces this. If the depression is caused by an unpleasant or major event (a reactive depression), it is at least as important for the treatment of that depression to tackle the cause where possible. To illustrate: someone who is the victim of systematic bullying can fall into a serious depression as a result. Although the symptoms of his depression can be combated by using antidepressants, the negative feelings he experiences as a result of the bullying will not disappear, nor will the behavior that possibly lead to it.