Depression is a disease that affects almost one-fifth of the world’s population, tends to be chronic, causes significant disability, worsens the prognosis of other diseases, and is associated with a large number of suicides. For all these reasons, it is very important to make a correct diagnosis of depression and offer effective treatment. If, in addition to being effective, Palm Tree Clinic treatment is started immediately, the prognosis for depression will be better. Click here, Ixande Clinic, to learn more.
Definition
Depression is a mood disorder involving persistent sadness and loss of interest. Unlike the mood swings that people often experience as part of life.
Major life events like death or job loss can trigger depression. However, doctors only consider feeling sick as part of depression if it persists.
Depression is an ongoing problem, not one that goes away. It consists of episodes where symptoms last for at least two weeks. Depression can last weeks, months, or years.
Signs and symptoms
Symptoms of depression can include:
- depressed mood
- lack of interest or pleasure in activities you used to enjoy
- loss of sexual desire
- appetite changes
- unintentional weight loss or gain
- sleeping too much or too little
- agitation, restlessness, and pacing
- slow movement and talking
- fatigue or loss of energy
- feelings of worthlessness or guilt
- difficulty thinking, concentrating, or making decisions
- recurrent thoughts of death or suicide, or a suicide attempt
Treatment goals for depression
- Treatment of depression has three main goals:
- Improve depressive symptoms.
- Restore previous levels of psychosocial functioning.
- Prevent future depressive episodes.
A good treatment for depression must take these three goals into account. First, the symptoms of sadness, hopelessness, apathy, loss of interest, and pleasure must be corrected quickly. Improvement in symptoms must be accompanied by restoration of the previous level of psychosocial functioning. It means that the person must be able to return to work, interact with their friends, take care of themselves and their family, and enjoy life again.
These goals can be achieved in various ways, as we will now see.
Treatment Options for Depression
For depression treatment, we have two main options:
- Psychotherapy for depression
- Antidepressants
The adequacy of each of these treatments will depend on the following:
Treatment indications for type and severity of depression
Availability of treatment
First, it is necessary to assess the patient’s symptoms and the type of depression, as well as its severity. Mild depression can be treated with psychotherapy, while more severe depression is better treated with medication or a combination of medications (psychotherapy and medication).
Everyone has special needs, and there are different types of depression. Therefore, general recommendations cannot be made for everyone with depression. However, we can develop the advantages and disadvantages of each treatment.
Current antidepressant drug treatments are very safe and have very few side effects. Usually, one dose a day is sufficient and does not interfere with a person’s daily performance. They need prescriptions and medical prescriptions, preferably by a psychiatrist. Unlike psychotherapy, there is no need to go to consultations every week; therefore, the cost of treatment is lower.
The time it takes for antidepressants to start working is relatively quick: two to three weeks. Although it sounds like a lot, it is certainly faster than psychotherapy.
Psychotherapy benefits
Psychotherapy is a technique that can help many people feel better about themselves and achieve personal growth. In particular, for people with depression, psychotherapy can:
- Improve depressive symptoms.
- Help understand the origins of depression.
- Analyze the factors that contribute to the emergence of this discomfort.
- Understand the meaning of the symptoms if they are found.
- Modify attitudes and behavior patterns to prevent further depressive episodes.
- A skilled mental health professional will be very careful and ensure that the therapy does not harm the person.
Psychotherapy treatment involves playing on memory, fear, shame, or guilt, which can be painful. Very intense therapy can overwhelm the patient emotionally, while too shallow therapy will have no effect. Everyone has their rhythm, and a psychotherapist, psychiatrist, or psychologist must know how to adapt.
