Depression Treatment Options Include Medication and Therapy
There are many effective treatments for depression. Treatments will depend on your symptoms and the type of depression you are suffering from. The treatment for chronic depression may be different than the treatment for major or clinical depression.
The most popular treatments for depression include antidepressants and psychological therapy. Medications can help symptoms, but often a patient does best when therapy is also added to the treatment plan. Doctors will often initially prescribe a medication from the SSRI category. SSRIs, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, include Prozac, Celexa and Lexapro. Your doctor may also prescribe an antidepressant from the SNRI group which includes Cymbalta, Pristique and Effexor. For more severe cases of depression, your doctor may prescribe an atypical antidepressant or an MAOI inhibitor.
Your doctor or psychiatrist will decide whether you will need mood stabilizer drugs, sedatives or stimulants to effectively treat your symptoms of depression and anxiety. Sometimes your doctor may prescribe two or more antidepressants at once, using a strategy called augmentation. You may have to try many types of medications before you find the combination that works the best for you.
Generally, medication and therapy can bring a real improvement for most depression patients. Other patients may have to use more dramatic treatments including magnetic stimulation or electric convulsive therapy (ECT). ECT is also known as a shock treatment. Many people have also successfully used self-help methods, like journaling or yoga, to reduce their depression levels.
If you are suffering from chronic or major depression, there will be many different treatment options to help you regain your mental health. There have been great improvements in depression medications in recent years. Therapy techniques have also become more effective and helpful. The sooner that you are able to seek treatment from a doctor or psychiatrist, the sooner you will start to feel better.
Tags: clinical depression, depression and anxiety
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