In this world full of stress and tension most of the people tend to suffer from depression. Because of this they are taking antidepressants or the tranquilizers to improve their condition. Tranquilizers are those drugs which act on our nervous system. They alter the message transmission that happens from nerves to receptors. They are sedative in nature and also used on animals to make them sleepy or unconscious at times.
Tranquilizers are the chemical compounds which are very useful in the treatment of stress and severe or mild mental diseases. They induce a sense of well-being in a person thereby releasing him from stress, tension, anxiety or irritability. They are one of the essential components of sleeping pills. There are many types of tranquilizers and each has different modes of functioning. For example- a tranquilizer which helps in uplifting mood is called noradrenaline. If the level of noradrenaline is low then the signal sending activity also becomes low which in return makes a person feel depressed. In these situations antidepressant drugs or a tranquilizer can be used. These drugs inhibit the action of those enzymes that catalyze the degradation of noradrenaline. When the enzymes are inhibited, noradrenaline is slowly metabolized, and therefore it activates its receptors for a longer duration of time, and so the effect of depression is counteracted.
Some of the examples of tranquilizers are phenelzine and iproniazid. Drugs like, chlordiazepoxide and meprobamate, are relatively mild in nature and are suitable for relieving tension and stress conditions. Equanil also a form of tranquilizer is used in controlling depression and hypertension. Another important class of tranquilizers is constituted by the derivatives of barbituric acid viz., veronal, amytal, nembutal, luminal and seconal. These derivatives are known as barbiturates. Barbiturates are hypnotic in nature, i.e., they are sleep producing agents. Some other substances which are also used as tranquilizers are valium and serotonin.
Difference between analgesics and tranquillizers?
Analgesics and tranquillizers are those drugs which act on the nervous system. They mainly affect the message transmission that happens to receptors from nerves.
Analgesics are chemicals which reduce physical pain. Contrary to this, tranquillizers help in the treatment of stress, and mild or severe mental diseases. Tranquillizers enhance the mood of a person which helps in inducing a feeling of well being. Therefore, stress and tension are reduced. In order to induce sleep, psychiatrists will prescribe a pain killer which contains tranquillizers.