Treating Depression - Pills or Talk Therapy - Essay Example

Treating depression; pills or talk therapy- or both Depression is a mood disorder that causes the variation in feelings such as sadness and loss of interest, and self confidence. At times it is called the clinical depression or the blues, or biological depreciation or major depression. But all the way it is the same; depression is the feeling of sadness and low self esteem. The feeling is accompanied by feeling of hopelessness, a lack of energy, and taking little or no pleasure in things that gave you pride in the past. Depressed people just can’t get moving, they feel completely unmotivated and they feel like the world sucks. They have the feeling of being rejected and they start acting as if they are an outcast. It is a completely complex disease that occurs due to various reasons. Some of which are known and others are unknown. Some people experience depression as a sub effect of serious medical illness, while others experience depression as effect of life changes such as move or death of a loved one. Depression can also be hereditary to some extend especially when the family is having a history of depression. Various factors have contributed to the increased chances of depression, but the following are the most common causes: abuse - physical trauma, sexual, or emotional breakdown can cause depression. Certain medication – some drugs such the ARVs, the cancer drugs can increase individuals risk of depression. Death or loss ­- grief from loss of a loved one, even though the process in natural the emotional breakdown involved can be a greater cause of depression. Conflict – disputes and conflicts with family members can cause someone to be depressed. Substance abuse – studies indicate that approximately 30% of people having substance abuse problem suffers depression. The most common symptom of depression nowadays is the feeling of hopelessness has discussed before. The feeling that you may never get help when you need it most, or the feeling that you have been occupied in a certain mental state. Major depression can be very harmful to your life especially when you fail to get help completely. It can also be incapacitating, or even a very dangerous disorder, which at its worst can lead to suicide. Discussion Major depression often do get better on their own, but it can take a long period mostly six months or a year, and to some extend some symptoms can take as long as months or even years (Myers, 2011). It can be dealt with through treatment or therapy talk also known as Psychotherapy for depression. Adequate treatment of depression always shorten the time of you are suffering to a few weeks or less. Getting help from a therapist can keep one from losing a very important relationship or even job. Dysthymia as one type of depression can be life-long, and also it can be experienced by people who suffer from major depression. Talk therapy (psychotherapy) is an effective and most preferred treatment recommended by mental institutions to help depressed individuals. Though therapy may not be enough solution to resolve severe depression, it can as well play an important role when use with other treatments such as medication. Therapy has a role of developing good coping strategy for dealing with everyday stressors, and also it encourages the use of proper medication (Hollon, Thase, & Markowitz 2004). A number of research have supported the idea that therapy can be powerful treatment for some depression type but not all, and they have identified that the use of both talk therapy and use of medication is particularly effective. The use of therapy help reduce stress in life, gives the patient a new perspective of problems with friends, family or co-workers. It makes it easier to stick to treatment, and patients can use it to learn to talk to people about your condition. Therapy also helps the patient to notice when the symptoms of his/her depression is getting worse. A study that was carried out on a large-scale involving more than 400 patients with treatment resistant depression realized that the use of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) alongside depression medication significantly reduced depression symptoms. The quickest way of relieving major depression is by the use of medication with antidepressants, and it is also helpful for depression associated with suicidal thoughts. The use of this medication reduces depression symptoms and allows the patient to go on with their lives, and in general two thirds of depression patients who use this medication has responded positively to the use of medication. Medication is a recommendation for treatment of dysthymia, even though the treatment might look very different from major depression since the improvement may look less dramatic but it can lead to a meaningful improvement in your life. The best and recommended treatment for both major depression and dysthymia is the combination of both talk therapy and medication. The problem faced by depression is that there is lack of first rule on how to treat it since it has no genetically or if it is self developed. Research that was done by scientist from Emory University in Atlanta has indicated that patterns in the brain can show whether is it best to go through therapy or to take or take anti-depressant drugs. But the extend use of different treatments or medication affect brain activities and what happens in the brain when somebody is suffering from depression. The best thing with therapy is that ii deals with the present as the starting point, where you get a grip on the damaging day to day condition that are affecting you and makes you feel depressed. It is important at some point to dig into the root causes so that it doesn’t morph into something greater or of no definition. Talking therapy helps because it gives people a real opportunity of being able to manage their condition and moving forward from the experience. It is also good to know that, just like any other type of depression. Bipolar affective disorder (which is a mood disorder, an affective disorder) presents itself a state of extreme excitement, euphoria or intense irritability. Since it is a rare type and of a much less common condition it seems to be inheritable. Many people like to take various recreational drugs with no idea that they are another cause of depression. Therapy talk in most cases make patient realize the cause of their depression condition. The use of alcohol or alcohol withdrawal, amphetamines, cocaine, crystal, and ketamine causes depression or feeling of anxiety. There has been no significant scientific data that can determine the relationship between recreational drugs and depression but the adequate provision of clinical knowledge of the subject justifies recreational drugs as another foundation for depression initiation. When under medication of using antidepressants drugs it is important to know that the use of recreational drugs reduces your chances of getting better. Depression is a condition of feeling moody and therefore it has a greater influence mentally. It is good to know that the use of psychiatric drugs is always advised by doctors and that does not mean that you are crazy. The importance of therapy is to make you understand the condition and make you stop being judgmental on yourself. Therapy helps in building social relationship in which when combined with medication it becomes the fastest way of getting better from depression. It is also required that when early symptoms of depression starts showing it is really important to seek for help from either friends, family, health facility, or a therapist to avoid the sereneness and maturity of the condition. Depression is not a disease but just a mere condition that can be treated without medication but being open for ideas. References Hollon., Thase., & Markowitz. (2004). Introduction to psychology (6th ed.). Australia: Wadsworth Thomson Learning. Myers, D. G. (2011). Exploring psychology: eighth edition in modules (8th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers. Read More