|
Depression Treatments
Depression is a mental disorder that affects a person’s moods. It affects millions of people around the world. People with depression may feel sad, angry, irritable, tired, confused, guilty, hopeless or worthless. When a person is diagnosed with depression, it’s bad news for himself and his family. It’s painful for the person and can also be difficult for the person’s family. Depression if left untreated could get worse. It will affect a person’s ability to function in daily life and work. Worst still, depression even may lead a person to suicide.
A serious disease depression may be, it is treatable. Proper treatment can help people with depression get back to normal daily activities.
Main treatments for depression are antidepressants and psychotherapy. Antidepressants are medicines that help to relieve depression so that a person suffering from depression can function more normally. There are mainly four types of antidepressants:
1.Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) – Celexa (citalopram), Lexapro (escitalopram oxalate), Luvox (fluvoxamine), Paxil (paroxetine), Prozac (fluoxetine), Zoloft (sertraline). These antidepressants help the brain absorb the chemical serotonin.
2.Tricyclics antidepressants (TCAs) - Adapin (doxepin), Anafranil,(clomipramine), Elavil (amitriptyline), Endep (amitriptyline), Ludiomil (maprotiline), Norpramin (desipramine), Pamelor (nortryptyline), Pertofrane (desipramine), Sinequan (doxepin), Surmontil (trimipramine), Tofranil (imipramine), Vivactil (protriptyline)
3.Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs) - Nardil (phenelzine), Parnate (tranylcypromine)
4.Serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) - venlafaxine (tradenames
Effexor
XR®, Efexor®), nefazodone (tradename Serzone®), milnacipran (tradename
Dalcipran®/ Portugal; Ixel®/ France), desipramine (tradenames Norpramine®,
Pertofraneis®), duloxetine (tradename Cymbalta®)
In the market,
there are also antidepressants that don’t fall in the above categories
available such as buproprion (Wellbutrin), nefazodone (Serzone), trazodone
(Desyrel), venlafaxine (Effexor), and mirtazapine (Remeron).
Certain
antidepressants cause side effects. In most cases, side effect disappears
once a person’s body has adjusted to the medicines. Sometimes people
on antidepressants may feel worse before feeling better. It takes time
for depression medication to work correctly.
Besides taking
medications, psychotherapy or talk therapy can be also of help to depressed
individuals. It includes short-term therapy sessions, usually from
ten to twenty weeks. Positive results for the depression patients will
generally be showing up after one or more sessions of psychotherapy.
This type of depression treatment actually helps the individuals by
slowly making them open up about their feelings, the root of their
problems, most important of all, the root of their depression. Healthy
verbal exchanges between the cognitive behavior therapist and the depression
patient is great depression treatment that’ll positively affect the
depression patients by helping them discuss and talk about whatever
they’ve been keeping inside.
Even though either medication or
psychotherapy works independently all by itself, many experts feel
combination of both medication and psychotherapy can work more effectively
to help depressed individuals overcome depression and become mentally
healthy.
|
