Treatment of Depression

Mild depression can be treated effective through psychotherapy. Even short-term therapy can help you understand your natural inclination towards more negative and low moods. Also, you can learn to cope better with life's disappointments and triumphs. When depression is triggered by a seasonal change, light therapy, which extends exposure to bright light for measurable periods of time, may work to relieve symptoms.

In cases of more severe depression, medication will provide the main avenue for treatment. At the same time, psychotherapy is usually an important complement to medication. By restoring chemical balances within the brain, psychotropic medications will help lift the "veil of sorrow." The most commonly used anti-depressant medications are SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), which include fluoxetine, sertraline, paroxetine and fluvoxamine, and TCAs (tricyclic anti-depressants), which include imipramine, nortriptyline, amitriptyline, and desipramine. Although general practitioners can usually prescribe these types of medications, it is usually best to consult with a psychiatrist or psychopharmacologist, who is specially trained to evaluate and monitor the need for and use of anti-depressant medicines.

For lots of different reasons, treatment with anti-depressants takes time to work. Because every person and his depression differ, finding the most effective medication is often a process of trial and error. While the process may be frustrating, you and your doctor will eventually find the right treatment.

During a severe episode of depression, there may be severe paranoid persecutory delusions or even hallucinations. There may even be suicidal behavior. When these occur, hospitalization, antipsychotic medication or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) may be necessary. After the acute phase has subsided, psychopharmacologic treatment should be continued to decrease the likelihood of relapse or future recurrence.

Unlike medications for physical illness, psychotropic medicines do not work to cure the depressive illness; rather, they work to relieve acute episodes and prevent recurrences. For many people, medications work most effective in conjunction with psychotherapy. Insight-oriented therapy can allow you to consider how such contributing factors as early experiences of loss and cumulative negative life circumstances and disappointments have colored your disposition. Cognitive techniques can also provide significant relief insofar as they address the negative and distorted thinking that typically characterizes depression.