The Treatment of Depression

Is Recovery From Depression Possible?

Is recovery from depression possible? It depends upon how one defines recovery. If one is talking about remaining free of the symptoms of depression for the rest of their life I would say that this is possible for some but not others. Some people are fortunate in experiencing only one episode of major depression in their lives. For others the prognosis is not as good. These individuals will likely experience recurrent episodic bouts of clinical depression. Persons in this second group may need to take medication for the rest of their lives. If the side effects are not too bothersome one will become used to taking meds. It will become part of their daily routine similar to taking nutritional supplements on a daily basis,

There is another type of depression known as dysthymia. Dysthymia is a mood disorder in which an individual may still be able to function at their job and can meet most of life’s demands. The problem is that they are in a chronic state of low mood and are rarely happy. A person with dysthymia may also develop episodes of full blown major depression.

Psychiatric medications can often be very effective in treating the disease of depression. These medications may not cure depression but they can potentially reduce or eliminate the symptoms of depression for significant periods of time. The challenge is to find the medication or medications that are right for you. Both you and your doctor will need to work together on this. The problem is that one medication may work very well for one person but have little efficacy with another. The side effects of the medication may not be tolerable for some individuals. Also the patient needs to give a medication time to see if it is working for them. In many cases this could take several weeks. Your doctor will likely try you on the medication for a reasonable amount of time. If the medication does not appear to be working for you he or she may try you on either a higher dose of the same medication or on a different medication.

There is also such a thing as treatment resistant (or refractory) depression. This is a condition where the symptoms of depression do not improve significantly over a long time period after trying a number of different medications. This is a frustrating but not hopeless situation. Psychiatrists have found that adjunctive therapy can often be helpful. This occurs when two or more medications are used simultaneously to treat the symptoms of depression.

I am not a doctor so please see your doctor if you suspect that you could be suffering from depression.