Treating Depression

Psychological "Talking" Therapy | Anti-depressants | Psychological AND Anti-depressants

Herbal / Natural Remedy | Professional Help / Support Groups | Exercise | Electroconvulsive Therapy | Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation | Self-Help

How is depression treated?

Untreated, an episode of depression lasts an average of ten months. Treatment is important not just to resolve the individual episode as soon as possible, but also to prevent future episodes. Many people who have suffered one episode of depression suffer repeated episodes (i.e. recurrences) and studies show that the risk of recurrences increases with the number and severity of previous episodes.

There are three primary or traditional approaches to treatment: the use of (1) psychological or talking therapies, the use of (2) antidepressant drugs, and a (3) combination of both. Many people believe that psychological therapies make more sense than the use of antidepressants - but this ignores the fact that depression is a genuine physical illness. However, the choice of right treatment depends on a variety of factors, such as severity of illness, presenting symptoms, age, etc.

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