I've recently come across two terms "Anxiolytic drugs" and "Anti-depressant drugs". I wanted to know how they differ from each other; if they do.
I mean, sure, "anxiety" isn't the same as "depression" but do the effects of these drugs differ widely (so much, that they're classified under different names)?
For example, Chlorodiazepoxide is classified as an anxiolytic drug, while Phenelzine is classified as an anti-depressant. Say I had a patient A who's been prescribed Chlorodiazepoxide; patient B has been prescribed Phenelzine by a different physician. Barring possible allergic reactions, or some kind of known sensitivity to either drug, could they possibly take each other's medication and hope for more or less, the same effect? As in; A takes Phenelzine, but B takes Chlorodiazepoxide. [I just cooked up that example, only to see the difference between the two classes of drugs]
I'm still in High School, so if my question seems a little naive, apologies.
