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.

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