Treatments For Depression - What Are They?
Depression is an illness which is characterized by bouts of melancholia, sadness or feeling down emotionally in such a way that a persons normal functioning in everyday life. It is one of the more usual psychological problems and affects nearly everyone at some point in their lives whether it is personally or through a family member or close friend who is suffering with the condition. Those that have depression may experience problems at work, and in their social as well as family life. Depression can be a major contributing factor of suicide if it is left untreated.
There are treatments for depression available and most of them are effective when used to treat the illness and its symptoms. There are a great variety of treatments for depression and it would be impossible to list all of them here, but you can categorize them into the two areas of medications and therapy.
There are those depression sufferers who will respond better to therapy whilst others will be able to take anti-depressants and continue to lead a normal every day life. Because of this, the two methods of treating depression can be used individually or by combining the two under the advice of a qualified health practitioner. Each person’s reaction will be a contributing factor to their treatment.
Treatments for Depression - Medications
The main thing to remember about medication when used for depression is that it does treat the cause of depression, much in the same way that taking a pain killer will not clear up an infection but will be suitable for simply reducing the symptoms of a fever or cold. Anti-depressants can only be used to help control the depression symptoms but will not cure it.
Another important thing to remember is that depression medications will not be as effective on everybody. There can be side effect which will affect how it works for a patient and the results will be dependant upon factors such as age, sex, body chemistry and so on. There are however a lot of people who will respond well to anti-depressants as a treatment for depression. How long a person needs to take anti-depressants will be dependant upon the severity of their depression.
Treatments for Depression - Therapy
Therapy is a totally different way of approaching the treatment of depression where a person is aided in many different ways including supportive counseling, cognitive therapy and problem solving therapy.
Supportive Counseling
The feeling of hopelessness is one of the main symptoms of depression that an individual will experience and supportive counseling is used to help ease this pain. This is the purpose of supportive counseling, to directly address the feelings of despair and hopelessness.
Cognitive Therapy
Cognitive therapy is used to address all pessimistic ideas, unrealistic ideas and overly critical self-evaluation that create depression in a person. The key to cognitive therapy is to aid the depressed person in realizing which of their problems are critical and which of them are minor. The depressed individual can use this help themselves develop more positive goals in their life.
Problem-solving Therapy
A person may be depressed due to certain problem areas in their life. The main purpose of problem-solving therapy is to find a solution to the areas in an individual’s life that are causing them significant stress.
Henry Anderson
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/treatments-for-depression-what-are-they-133000.html
October 16th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
Has anyone else tried all the ‘treatments’ for depression and they dont work?
I have been taking meds for almost 3 months now, upped the dose, beein seeing a counsellor, i wanted to go back to london but people kept saying i had to wait until i was better but now i am just worse and have no energy to do anything, i have tried exercising, i just dont know what to do anymore as it has now been 6 months and i am no better,……..has this happened to anyone else?
October 16th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Get the Attacking Anxiety and Depression program it costs about the same as a few sessions with a psychiatrist it really helped me! 1-800-944-9428 or go on-line at http://www.stresscenter.com
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October 16th, 2009 at 9:53 pm
It took me a while to regulate the proper dose, but I figured out that counseling and group counseling consistently has helped it. Exercise really helps in a consistent manner at the same time a day and definitely get your sleep. Reorganize your goals plans and see if you are reaching what you hoped for. Allow yourself time to grieve if you need to–bad things happen to all of us and take care of yourself, trust others and if it is a severe depression, let up on yourself for a time such as not working overtime, not overdoing workouts, etc. I am an advocate of antidpressants if it keeps you functioning, but don’t let them avoid confronting the real issues.
Hope this helps.
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October 16th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
It sounds like you’ve only been taking one medication. Let me just say that the road to recovery is long, and you can’t give up! You need to discuss this with your doctor. If you both come to the conclusion that your current meds aren’t working for you, then you’ll need to gradually lower your dose until you are off of it and try something else. The thing about treating depression and/or anxiety is that not every medication works the same way for every person. You’re going to have to stick it out until you find something that does work, but hang in there! It won’t be this difficult forever:o)
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October 16th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
Some meds work better than others with some people. Also, the dosage makes all the difference in the world. Talk to your doctor about either changing your meds or the dosage. Not only that, but your hormones may have an effect on your moods as well. I’ve been depressed for most of my life, and I have had several different therapists and have taken different meds. I recently stopped taking Effexor XR, as a matter of fact. While it really helped my depression and anxiety, I noticed that during certain times of the month, I still had the symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder. That is to say, I felt extremely depressed, had irrational thoughts and uncontrollable rages, and even sometimes toyed with suicide. Just talk to your doctor about your symptoms and the progress you have (or haven’t made), and maybe an adjustment in the dosage or a change of meds will help you. Good luck!
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October 16th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Hi:
I have Bipolar, Depression and more. I have been on many anti-depressants for years. It takes time for the new medicine to start to work The average I believe is 6 - 8 weeks. If the medicine works great, stay on it and you will improve, sometimes it is just not the right medication for you and it doesn’t work, then you must switch to a new med and begin again. Sometimes the medication will work right and you can be on it for years.
Medication work differently in every person. Just because this medication works for me, it necessarily doesn’t mean it will work for you. Medication therapy is a tricky thing. But please try and hang in there until you have the right combination (if more than 1 med) or medication that is exactly right for you.
As for going back to England, Best for you to check with your doctor on that. He/she is the best person to seek that answer from.
I wish you are able to be home soon and be well.
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My life experiences
October 16th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
I had the same problem. It seemed like i spent so much money for pills and none of them helped. I did 2 things that really helped me: One was along with some exercise, I took around 20 grams of whey protein. All it is, is just a protein shake with protein derived from dairy products. Whey will balance the neurotransmitters in your brain much like anti-depressents do. It will also raise your metabolism. Just dont take more than 24grams a day. your liver is not meant to filter more than that type of protein in a particular day. Another thing I did that really helped, was got a night time sleep pill. There is many out there, but the one I got was Ambien CR. This helped me get to sleep fast so I wasn’t up all night with that depressed feeling, and the next day I had more energy so I was happier and had more drive. Best of luck to you and I hope this helps you as much as it did me.
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October 16th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
yes the pills will just mask the problem and the drs love prescribing pills to people, i am weaning myself off the antidepressants and trying to exercise more, stay happy, look for pleasures in small things, and stay away from negative people, and eat better, the world is not the same place as it was, so naturally we are not either, seek your own cure with the guidance of a dr or therapists, don’t think pills will cure you they don’t, find your underlying reasons for the way you feel.
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