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Understanding Treatment Options For Depression

17 February 2016

Lieve Boekholt

For many suffering with clinical depression the challenge before them can seem insurmountable, as work, relationships and personal goals seem to produce an ever increasing volume of disappointment. It's important to understand that no two people will have the same response to most treatments, whether you or someone you care about is struggling with depression. Keeping an open mind is important, as dismissing any potential solution merely reduces likelihood of successfully overcoming depression. 

Medication

It's often far too common for depression sufferers to dismiss prescription medication out of hand, either due to fear of the side-effects, reliance or simple reluctance. While not everyone will see the same outcome, many patients report positive outcomes after starting a prescription regiment. Many of these pills simply help to balance neurochemical levels in patients with a specific pathology behind their symptoms. 

There is sometimes a bit of trial and error involved in finding the right prescription and the proper dosage. Using an anti-depressant medication will mean remaining in contact with the medical professional who prescribed it as well. Unfortunately, not everyone who deals with depression is merely suffering from a chemical imbalance. 

Therapy

Often the root cause of depression comes from learned behaviors that have developed over the course of a person's life. Regular and ongoing perceptions of rejection, loss, failure, or feeling inadequate can all lead a person down an ever-degrading path of negative self-imagery. While there may be some chemical imbalances that exacerbate these feelings there's often no magic pill a person can take to change those ingrained habits.

Working with a mental health professional (such as one from Dr Kuris Counseling Centers), whether in concert with medication or not, can help make dealing with depression easier. Not only does it provide the patient with a positive outlet for their feelings, but a good therapist can also spot inconsistencies that might be the result of a negative drug interaction caused by a prescribed anti-depressant. If you can avoid buying into the stigma of mental health treatment as an indicator that there's something seriously wrong then there is a lot of good that can be done with regular sessions.

Most people who suffer from depression can see the most positive results when both therapy and medication are used in conjunction with one another. The most important first step is acting on the desire to change things for the better, rather than accepting things as they are perceived to be. It won't happen overnight, but depression can be overcome so long as the will to do so exists.

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