Diagnosis and Testing of Depression
Depression is a treatable illness. In fact, over 80% of people who are treated for depression make full recoveries and start to feel significantly better about them selves in as little as a month. You can take antidepressant medications which are essentially mood stabilizing drugs that can improve your frame of mind and relieve you of many of the symptoms that you feel. Treatment also may include psychotherapy which not only helps your depression now, but can help you cope with ongoing problems that may lead to chronic or reoccurring depression. For most people, the best course of action is a combination of both medications and psychotherapy over an extended period of time.
Typically depression is treated in two stages. First you start with the medication to relieve the immediate symptoms, and then once your symptoms are under control you usually take maintenance medication for another four to nine months to prevent a relapse. You will feel much better at this point, but it is essential that you keep taking your medication even if you are back to your usual self. By continuing your treatment you will be less at a risk for developing another episode of depression. If you have already had two previous bouts with depression, a long term medication plan may be necessary.
Medication, although used optionally, can be extremely helpful in the case of depression. It doesn't necessarily cure it, but it does make you feel significantly better. It can help with your sleep disturbances, appetite changes, concentration, memory, fatigue, and allow you to start enjoying life again. The medication allows you to relieve the symptoms so that you can make real strides in psychotherapy and deal with the problem at hand.
Again, along with medication it is important to have some sort of psychological treatment for your depression, which is known as psychotherapy. The supportive counseling that you get will not only help to work with the medication to relieve your symptoms, but more importantly, it will address the issues that lead to the depression in the first place. Whether you are feeling pessimistic, hopeless, or even suicidal, counseling can get to the root of the problem and help you learn how to control and get through your feelings rather than mask them with other symptoms.
Through cognitive therapy you also learn how to recognize which life problems are critical rather than minor. You can develop a more positive aspect on life, as well as better self esteem. It also helps you to develop better coping skills that along with the medication can help you get through even the hardest of times. The length of the treatment varies according to the severity of the depression but the average is about 20 to 30 sessions.
By combining both medication and therapy, you can make the life changes that you need to feel better about yourself and everything that is going on. You will back in control of your life, and you finally come out of that dark hole that has been plaguing you.