Depression has made its way into many people’s life and every case is different. Like most thing in life, treatment methods and effectiveness of the condition varies from person to person. Even then, the best technique to tackle it is psychological treatment combined with medication. Irrespective of the cause of this problem, both of these methods will help alleviate major symptoms.
Symptoms of Depression
These symptoms of depression include:
- Feeling very sad for no reason
- Losing interest in things one usually enjoy
- Sleeping too little or too much
- Feelings of excessive guilt, worry or worthlessness
- Having difficulty in thinking, concentration or making decisions
People with depression often have an imbalance in certain natural chemicals in the brain. So anti-depressant medications work by helping the brain to restore its usual chemical balance and thereby reduce symptoms.
While it is not impossible to cure depression without professional help, it is considered best to seek guidance from a doctor or mental health professional. Note that some patients respond better to sessions with a psychologist while others depend more on medicines.
Before we get into the effectiveness of depression medication, I think that it would be helpful to outline exactly what medications are used to treat depression.
Medications for Depression
Anti-depressants are the most common form of depression medicines. These are designed to relieve or reduce the effects of depression. Different types of anti-depressants help patients differently. Some of the common types are:
- SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor): These help depressed individuals by restricting the nerve cell that released neurotransmitter serotonin from reabsorbing it. This compels the serotonin to work actively. Commonly prescribed SSRIs are Fluoxetine and Sertraline.
- SNRI (serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor) and SSNRI (selective serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor): Example of SNRi includes duloxetine and venlafaxine. are SNRIs.
Psychological Treatments for Depression
Treatment offered by psychologists and psychiatrists are often very effective as they help a person recover from depression. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is perhaps the most popular and effective among all psychological treatments methods.
CBT is basically a structured program which recognizes how a person’s thought process affects the way he feels. It teaches individuals to approach life differently and think rationally about common issues. When the thought pattern changes, the way they react to specific situations change as well.
Depressed people often she themselves, the world and their future negatively. They perceive everyone and cruel and assume that the world is a scary place. They see themselves as unwanted and unsuccessful. They also have no purpose to live as they are not hopeful for a better future.
All of these negative thinking interferes with the patient’s recovery and feeds the depression. CBT reverses the situation as it helps the individual identify these unhelpful thoughts and then replace them with realistic thoughts.
Device-based Treatment
While both the aforementioned techniques are quite effective, a new non-invasive antidepressant device-based treatment clinically proven for treatment of depression has arrived in the market. This was collaboratively designed by leading doctors and engineers. The devices rely on waveforms to stimulate the brain gently and produce neurochemicals like serotonin. This elevates mood and improves sleep. While anti-depressants stop serotonin from being reabsorbed, this machine enables the brain to release serotonin naturally. This improves the brain and enhances regulation of the limbic system.
This particular technique has been proven and recommended by many renowned and reliable sources. The device-based treatment has been approved by FDA. It treats not only depression but also anxiety and insomnia. It is also known to relieve chronic pain such as fibromyalgia when used on the body.