16 Dec Medication and Therapy in Depression Recovery – A Comparative Study
Medication vs Therapy for Depression is a mental health condition that needs immediate attention. People suffer from mood swings and agitated behavior because of unstable mental states.
Mood swings can affect people’s ability to think and work around things. The symptoms of depression and anxiety can be controlled by therapy and medication.
However, sometimes determining the course of action can depend on different factors. Are you constantly upset for no reason? Are you being more aggressive than normal?
Do you feel detached from your friends? Do you feel suffocated by your feelings? If yes, there are options you can opt for with the help of the best psychiatrist in Patna, Dr. Vivek Pratap Singh.
Does therapy actually work for depression?
Psychotherapy is a form of talk therapy that involves talking and using psychological techniques to help people in facing their emotions.
It helps foster a relationship between the therapist and the individual in order to heal them. It can help people understand their negative emotions and thoughts.
These therapists are trained to bring positive change in people’s lives, help them resolve their inner turmoil, and let them navigate through their personal feelings and interpersonal relationships.
Cognitive therapy focuses on a person’s negative thoughts and feelings. A lot of people deal with different kinds of negative thoughts that can make depression worse.
Depression can make people fall into a constant loop of negative thoughts with no end. So, with the help of Medication vs Therapy for Depression it helps people identify patterns and emotions that can stop these thoughts.
It teaches people to see the positive in any situation or circumstance they are put in.
It is short term therapy with already planned sessions as there is homework at the end of every therapy. Typically, the therapy can last for weeks to months.
Behavioral therapy focuses on changing the behavior that influences negative thoughts.
It centers on improving the behavior that causes the depression to exacerbate. People are asked to take up activities that help their well-being and improve their mood.
Cognitive behavioral therapy works well because it is a combination of behavioral and psychological therapy. Its aim is to change behavior and curb negative emotions.
The therapist might ask the individual to keep a diary of things they do, keep track of days and events in life. Along with that, whatever negative energy or emotions one feels, they should write it down and talk about it.
The reaction to an event in life can cause a depressed person to activate their negative thought system.
So, the therapy teaches people to recognize their thought patterns, reactions to experiences, and behavior that ensues after the experience.
This helps them control their train of overthinking, and deal with the situation better than their older self.
Dialectical behavior therapy is based on cognitive behavioral therapy with the only difference that people with depression are taught to acknowledge and face their emotions.
They learn to validate their feelings and how to cope with stress. Due to depression, interpersonal relationships are affected in many different ways.
People withdraw from their family and friends, negatively impacting their relationships. Interpersonal therapy targets the feelings of an individual by addressing their past experiences, and present social interactions.
It involves identifying the emotions behind social relationships with the family and most important people in one’s life.
Psychodynamic therapy happens by unresolved, pent-up conflicts typically since childhood.
This therapy aims to help people’s unconscious conflicts, and for the individual to understand their emotions and contradictory thoughts to help people see these emotions in an appropriate perspective.
This is a long term therapy focused on finding past connections and experiences and how they contributed to developing depression.
Does medication actually help depression?
Antidepressant along with psychotherapy, is the first line treatment for depression.
If one class of antidepressants doesn’t work, there are various classes that the doctor might suggest. Antidepressants are used when cognitive therapy alone is not enough and their symptoms are not getting better.
The main types of antidepressants most commonly prescribed are
- Selective serotonin uptake receptors are the most common class and examples are citalopram, escitalopram, fluoxetine. Another class called serotonin modulators and stimulators are similar to SSRIs but affect different brain receptors. Examples are vilazodone, and vortioxetine. These medications can cause side effects like nausea, stomach upset, insomnia, weight change, sexual problems, fatigue and headaches.
- Selective serotonin norepinephrine uptake inhibitors, a new type of class and includes venlafaxine, desvenlafaxine, and duloxetine. Side effects are similar to SSRIs.
- Tricyclic antidepressants are another class used in treating depression. The medications are amitriptyline, desipramine, nortriptyline, and trimipramine. It has side effects such as stomach upset, dry mouth, and dizziness.
- Monoamine oxidase inhibitors work by the mechanism of blocking a receptor called monoamine oxidase, this causes an increase in brain chemicals. Its examples are phenelzine, tranylcypromine, and isocarboxazid. Although, one disadvantage to this medicine is it can interact with other foods and medications.
Does depression medication make you happier?
The benefits of taking antidepressants are
- Person feels better and elevates their mood making them less irritable and content.
- Depression causes one to lose pleasure and interest in activities, taking medications improve overall mood and energy helping them feel excited about things.
- People can perform their daily activities and chores which they find difficult to accomplish.
Antidepressants work on the brain chemicals called neurotransmitters. Serotonin reuptake inhibitors can work on increasing the levels of serotonin.
In the brain, cells make and reabsorb serotonin. These SSRIs inhibit the receptors blocking the reabsorption.
As the serotonin levels increase it triggers the reward system in the brain and helps regulate the emotions and feelings. That is the reason, after taking antidepressants, a person feels better and relaxed.
What is the success rate of depression medication?
The success rate of depression can depend on the symptoms and how well the individual’s response to the medications is.
Antidepressants typically take time to work on symptoms. But 60% of medications work on people suffering from depression.
A lot of studies have been done with contradictory results. Although, most people have shown reduction in their symptoms with an improvement in the mood.
Can antidepressant take 3 months to work?
Antidepressants typically are long acting medications and show their full effectiveness only after around 4-8 weeks. People taking antidepressants experience an improvement after 6 to 8 weeks of treatment.
What is the safest antidepressant?
Celexa is one of the best medications with the least side effects. It causes less weight gain and low risk of insomnia.
The chances of drug interactions are low with using this drug. Antidepressants have been known to cause a lot of side effects and the one commonly affecting and fearful effects are sexual issues.
Although, more than the safest it is important for people to select the right kind of medication according to the symptom severity.
For example, some people’s depression symptoms vary with them having difficulty sleeping. For such people, antidepressants causing people to be calm and sleepy would be the right choice.
Can therapy replace antidepressants?
Therapy is used as the primary treatment for people with depression. An individual with symptoms of depression should opt for cognitive behavioral therapy for at least 4 weeks.
If there is no improvement in therapy, then the therapist might consider prescribing antidepressants. Antidepressants combined with psychotherapy is the best treatment option for people with depression.
Severe depressive episodes should be treated with SSRIs targeting the specific symptoms.
There’s no such thing as replacing antidepressants but sometimes people with mild depression can be better with therapy alone.
These people will be advised to continue therapy for longer if they are feeling better after 2-3 sessions.
Should I go to therapy or take medicine? Depression can affect everyone differently with symptoms varying in severity and duration.
To deal with people having depression, it is important to diagnose if it is mild that can be controlled by Medication vs Therapy for Depression.
Although, psychiatrists will always suggest therapy first because of its benefits. Psychotherapy focuses on the person’s emotional well-being without increasing the hormone levels artificially.
Therapy helps one deal with situations and work on them better. Rather than getting dependent on medicines and getting addicted to it, therapy is a better option.
The best option one can go for is the top psychiatrist in Patna, Dr. Vivek Pratap Singh.
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