Natural Cure and Programs for Destroying Depression

Natural Cure and Programs for Destroying Depression

If you have depression you can feel vulnerable but you are certainly not. In this post, I discuss natural treatments first before discussing treatments with prescription drugs because from my research I discovered that there is a lot you can do yourself to battle different types of depression. Change of behavior, change of physical activity, change in your way of life, and even change in your way of thinking or mindset are all common but effective natural cures for destroying depression.  If you follow the following simple tips, you will help yourself feel better starting this very moment: 

1. Set a schedule or a routine for yourself.

First don’t be discouraged. Here is a simple solution: you need to get in a routine. If depression has removed structure from your life, setting a daily structured schedule will help you get back on track and take each day smoothly into the next.

2. Set daily objectives.

People who have depression often feel like they are unable to finish any task. This fact usually worsens your feelings about yourself. This must be reverted. Set for yourself some every day objectives. Start with a simple task and create an objective, like something you know you can easily succeed at. For example, prepare a dish every other day. As you start getting better, try to add some more difficult everyday objectives.  So set daily objectives for yourself starting today!

3. Do Exercise.

Participating in physical activities helps us to temporarily increase the amount of endorphins in our body, the chemicals that make us to feel good. Likewise, it can help people having depression on the long term. If you do exercise consistently, it will urge your mind to rebuild itself in good and positive ways. Now you might ask, how much exercise do you really need? You do not have to do marathons. Merely walking a few times a week can help you.  If you do exercise effectively, you stand to enjoy one of the most encouraging and regular depression medications. It helps you to be rapidly and positively disposed. The reason for this is that exercise has great influence on the same framework of neurotransmitters that medication also has.

In a recent survey, some accessible controlled trials were made in individuals who were diagnosed with depression. Exercise was compared with (1) no treatment and (2) some other sort of secured treatment. The result of the survey proved that exercise really helps to relieve depression side effects. Although the degree and the sort of exercise to be done has not be provided, a number of studies, as far back as 1981, supports the fact that using exercise as an important aspect of  depression treatment really helps mild to moderate depression. Many specialists’ recommendation is that doing thirty to sixty minutes of moderate exercise daily will help to uplift your state of mind.

4. Good eating habits can help.

There is no magical food for easing depression. It's a lot better, however, to watch the food you eat. If depression is likely to make you overeat, it is better to control what you eat so you can feel better.  Although there is no definite food, it has been confirmed that diets having high content of omega-3 unsaturated fats, such as fish and salmon and folic acid, such as avocado and spinach can help you ease your depression.

5. Get sufficient sleep.

You may be unable to get enough sleep because of your depression. Unfortunately, having insufficient sleep can worsen your depression. How can you get out of this vicious circle? Start by making some changes to the way you live your life. Go to sleep and wake up about the same times very consistently. Restrain yourself from napping. Remove all distraction and diversions from your room. no TV and no PC. It is just a matter of time. You will soon notice an improvement in your sleep habits.

6. Tackle your obligations.

If you are really ready to tackle your depression, do not draw back from life or try to surrender your obligations at work home or at home. Include yourself in and have a day to day obligation to help yourself. This can help provide a natural treatment for your depression. Obligations keep you busy and give you a feeling or sense of achievement.  If you are unable to participate in full-time college program or job, this is fine. You can consider a part-time program or job. If you are still unable to manage any of those, look for volunteer work.

7. Beat negative thoughts.

While battling your depression, you will discover that most of the work to be done is mental, and this involves making changes to the way you think. Whenever you are discouraged, it is easy to jump to extremely bad or negative conclusions.  The next time you have a negative thought in your head, immediately apply rationale as a characteristic treatment for your depression. For example, if you feel there is nobody that likes you, you must confirm this genuinely. Here is another example: If you feel you are the most useless per on this planet, you must find out if this is really true! Beating negative thoughts takes time and practice but is very achievable. With time you will know how to defeat such negative thoughts and destroy them before they take control of you.

8. Ask your specialist before taking medication and supplements.

There is a growing number of medications and supplements people use to treat depression. Some common supplements are folic corrosive, fish oil, and SAMe, also known as S-adenosy-L-methionine. I provide detail of medications and supplements you can use in later in this chapter. However, more research is needed for us to confirm the use of the above mentioned supplements. Ask your specialist before you start taking any supplement, especially if you are already taking some other prescriptions.

9. Look for something new to do.

Depression can really get you stuck. Look for something new for you to do. For example, you can visit a museum or park. You can also visit the library and look for a book to read. You can also attend a foreign language class.  When you try some new things, certain chemical changes will take place in your brain. Trying something new will help you modify the dopamine levels of your mind. Dopamine helps the brain to learn, have delight and satisfaction.

10. Try to have some real good times.

To quickly alleviate your depression, set a few minutes aside for certain things you really appreciate. Do not believe the thought that there is nothing fun in anything you do any longer. That kind of believe is simply pointing to the fact that you have depression. You must continue trying whatever happens.  Even though it may sound contradictory, you must work at having fun! Plan and try to enjoy those things you used to appreciate in the past, even if they possibly feel like a daunting task. Continue to go to the movies, go out to have dinner with your friends, and so on.  Depression destroys your ability to discover the thrills in your life. Now that you have discovered the truth on this blog, you must relearn and rebuild how to do it. It is just a matter of time before fun things come back to make you feel enjoyable even more than before.

My conclusion of this chapter is simple: Try one or more of the above 10 natural programs and cure for destroying depression and you will see a difference in your life!

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How to Use Medication to Treat Depression

How to Use Medication to Treat Depression

As can be said of many things in life, the treatment of depression and its effectiveness depend on the individuals we are trying to treat. For this reason, the medical industry largely agrees that medication and psychological treatment are the best treatment for depression. Whatever might be the cause of your particular depression, both medication and psychological treatments can help you relieve your main symptoms.

That is why the best thing for you to do if you have depression is to work together with your doctor or your mental health expert, to get the treatment that is best for you. The reason why I said this is that even though there are people who respond very well to psychological treatments, there are many other people who respond even better to medications. I have seen some people who got better with only some of the 10 natural programs discussed above, or with some kind of "talking" (psychological) treatment, and I equally know some other people (including me), who require both medication and psychological treatment.

Here is an important word of caution:

 I am not advising every person who is having depression to use medication for treatment. What I am now going to share with you are my personal experiences and research results on the use of medication for treating depression, which I have used to treat my own depression.

Before I go into discussing the effectiveness of the medication for treating depression, it is better for you to first see an outline of exactly the medications that are used for treating depression. The most common ones for treating people having depression are anti-depressants.

Anti-depressants.

What exactly are anti-depressants? They are a class of medications that are purposely produced and designed to alleviate or relieve the symptoms of depression.

Types of Anti-depressants.

There are various types of anti-depressants in the market. Every type, class or family helps to relieve depression in its own way. Within each class, each drug works slightly differently. Each class has side-effects and common warnings, and several of each drug have additional warnings and side-effects of their own.

Now let us look more closely at each class of anti-depressants, beginning with the one a lot of people have been talking about.

1. SSRI.

SSRI is an abbreviation for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. SSRI drug works by inhibiting or preventing your neurotransmitter serotonin from re-absorption by your nerve cell that released it, and by so doing, forcing the serotonin to continue working actively.

Examples of SSRI's are Fluoxetine and Sertraline (I use this one to manage my own depression).

2. SNRI and SSNRI.

These 2 medical terms are very synonymous. SNRI is an abbreviation for serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, while SSNRI is an abbreviation for selective serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, but there is really not any considerable difference.

Examples of SNRI’s are duloxetine and venlafaxine. I managed my depression with venlafaxine for three years before I noticed it no longer worked for me.

Of course, we have other family or classes of anti-depressant drugs, but those two mentioned above are the ones I have tried. I can mention more but I am trying to not to go too technical in my discussion on anti-depressants.

It is unfortunate that you cannot one particular anti-depressant that works for everyone! Only by trial and error you can find an anti-depressant that works very well for you, or by trying the ones prescribed for you by your psychiatrist or doctor. It is also through trial and error that you can determine the correct dosage of the drug. In my own case, my psychiatrist recommended starting with a small dosage every time he placed me on a particular anti-depressant and then asked me to increase it according to my need over time.

Do not forget that medications generally have side effects, so the ones prescribed here are not excluded. I had luck with both sertraline and venlafaxine in that the side-effects I experienced were just minor nausea and headache.

Those side-effects I mentioned lasted me only a few days, so they can be ignored when compared to the numerous positive benefits I got from those anti-depressants.

If you are having depression, It is very important your psychiatrist or doctor monitor your anti-depressant medication so that both of you will know if you are taking the correct dosage and if it is working well for you.

How Long Does it Take Anti-depressants to Work?

Anti-depressant medications, as already discussed above, help you alleviate the symptoms of depression. Please read the post Types of Depression, Symptoms, Warning Signs and Effects for details. People having depression usually have an imbalance in some natural chemicals in their brains. So what anti-depressant medications do is help their brains to restore this usual chemical balance and in so doing alleviate the symptoms.

One question people often ask me is, "How long does it take anti-depressants to work?"

From my personal experience, it took me 2 to 3 weeks to see substantial improvements. From my personal researches however, I discovered it can take some people as many as 6 weeks after taking your first dose of anti-depressant medication before you will notice substantial improvements. Yet for some other people, it can take even up to 8 to 10 weeks before they begin to feel better. They however received the maximum benefit after taking the medications for over 6 months.

In general, Anti-depressant drugs have good tolerance and are very effective. From my research, about 71 percent of people having major depression begin to feel better after taking the first type of anti-depressant medication their doctors prescribed for them.

Before I began taking my anti-depressant medications, my depression got worse each day. Although I was already taking some therapy before then, I experienced no appreciable improvement in the symptoms of my depression. The only time I had a break-through in my depression was when I began taking anti-depressant medications.

Psychological Treatments.

Psychological treatments are often used by psychiatrists and psychologists because of their effectiveness in helping someone having depression to get relieve and recover it. I must let you know that the psychological treatment I received really helped me to treating my depression because I am now living a very joyful and happy life.

What Are the Available Psychological Treatments and How Do They Work?

1. CBT.

A very effective one of these psychological treatments is called CBT, which is an abbreviation for Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. It is a program that is structured in such a way as to recognize how people’s feelings are affected by that the way they think. CBT helps people having depression to think rationally about mutual difficulties, thereby helping them to change the patterns of their thoughts and their reactions to certain situations. You can think of CBT as "My feelings are affected by my thoughts."

Like some of the examples I gave above, people having depression may think negatively about their future, environment, other people and even themselves like these:

"I'm a failure.”

"If I died nobody would miss me."

"This world is a scary and cruel place."

"I’ve got nothing and I live for nothing.”

“My life will never get any better."

When you think negatively it will not help you recover and will make you more vulnerable to depression very quickly. It is very important for you to recognize any negative or unhelpful thoughts in your mind, remove and replace them with enthusiastic, realistic and rational thoughts. This explains why I love CBT. It has the power to provide people experiencing depression the tools they need to challenge their negative thoughts.

2. IPT.

IPT is an abbreviation for Interpersonal Therapy and is used to treat people who are easily upset by criticism or other people's reactions or comments. They may even feel criticized where there is no any intention of criticism. In this regard, how IPT can help is that it will help you seek for different ways you can get along with other people such as friends and families, especially in social gatherings.

3. Family Therapy.

The use of Family therapy is also effective helps treating people having depression because the members of their family and their close friends have the opportunity to learn and recognize depression. This will make them to accept it as a real medical ailment that they should help to treat. If you have depression your bosom friends and family members should give you their understanding and support. This is a very important aspect of Family therapy for treating depression.

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Types of Depression, Symptoms, Warning Signs and Effects

Types of Depression, Symptoms, Warning Signs.

There are different types of depression. I want to you to understand the different types and how they overlap so I will explain each of them in detail one after the other:

1. Major Depression - This is commonly called Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) by doctors. Patients of this type of depression feel depression almost every time and every day of the week.

Below are some of the symptoms, warning signs and effects the patients might have:

·         Loss of pleasure or interest or in their activities

·         Weight gain or weight loss

·         Finding it difficult to sleep or feeling like going to sleep during the day

·         They feel like they are slowed down or sped up

·         Feeling very tired and having no energy

·         Feeling guilty or worthless

·         Finding it difficult to concentrate or make decisions

·         Having suicide thoughts

2. Mild, Chronic Depression (Dysthymia) - This is a less severe form of major depression. The symptoms can linger for years, usually 2 years or more. Patients of Dysthymia can also experience intervals of major depression and that is why this type of depression. Depression experts cannot say precisely the cause of this type of depression but they say genes are a major role. Other causes may be abnormal brain nerve functioning (the nerves that regulate your moods), major life stresses, chronic illnesses and medication, relationship problems, work problems and so on may also raise the chances of having dysthymia, especially in those people who are biologically predisposed to developing depression.

Dysthymia symptoms, warning signs and effects are nearly the same as those of major depression except that they are fewer in number and less in intensity. The patients may have the following:

• Depressed mood or sadness almost every hour of the day or nearly every day.
•  No longer finding enjoyment in things they once found pleasurable.
• Experiencing significant change in weight (loss or gain of over 5 percent in less than 30 days) or change in appetite.
• Sleeping excessively or experiencing insomnia nearly every day.
• Noticeably feeling restless or rundown physically.
• Feeling of fatigue or having no energy nearly every day.
• Feeling very hopeless or worthless, or feeling excessively guilty nearly every day.
• Finding it difficult to concentrate or make decisions.
• Frequently having suicide or death thoughts, plans or attempts of suicide.

Is Dysthymia Commonly found in the United States?

According to a report published by the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly 2 percent of adult Americans have developed dysthymia. Although it is not as disabling as MDD, dysthymia can hinder the patients from feeling their best and performing optimally. Dysthymia can commence in adulthood or even childhood and it seems to be more prevalent in women.

3. Atypical Depression - When you have this type of depression you develop a mood that can temporarily be improved by positive events. Symptoms, warning signs and effects of Atypical depression are listed below. The patients may have the following:

·         Increase in appetite

·         Sleeping more frequently than before

·         Feeling heavy in their arm or leg or both

·         Too sensitive to criticism

4. Postpartum Depression.

This is a type of major depression that usually occurs to women weeks or months after childbirth.

Postpartum Depression symptoms, warning signs and effects.

·         Sadness.

·         Hopelessness.

·         Feeling excessively guilty.

5. Bipolar/Manic Depression.
Bipolar or Maniac depression is a major affective or mood disorder. It is usually accompanied by hypomanic episodes, that is, changes from somebody’s normal mood with high energy states. Bipolar depression is a serious health condition. It is accompanied by depressive episodes and can be harder and more devastating to treat even in people who never experienced hypomania.

Bipolar Depression symptoms, warning signs and effects.

• Frequent sleeplessness, sometimes lasting for days.
• Hallucinations.
• Psychosis.
• Grandiose delusions, also known as paranoid rage.
• In serious cases, inability work or live a normal life.

Causes of Bipolar Depression.

The exact causes of bipolar depression are unknown. What we known is that it is connected with dysregulation of brain functioning. Occasionally it possesses a genetic component. In other words, it can affect families. It is a complex depression that probably arises from a combination of both genetic and non-genetic factors. It is associated with mood episodes, and there are periods of energy elation and normal mood in between these episodes. The seriousness of this mood swing can go from just mild to very extreme. It can also occur gradually or all of a sudden in just a matter of days or weeks. Depression experts call this mood swing cycling. We have a rapid cycling when we get four or more mood episodes in a year. Don’t confuse rapid cycling with mood changes that occur frequently from one moment to another in people having this bipolar depression or some other conditions like borderline-personality dysfunction.

Bipolar depression usually occurs to people within the age bracket of 15 to 24 and can persist through their lifetime. It is rare to diagnose bipolar depression mania in young children or even in adults who are over 65 years of age.

Because of its remissions and relapses, bipolar depression possesses a high rate of reoccurrence if it is not properly treated. Patients having severe hypomanic are usually hospitalized to restrain them from risky behaviors. Patients who are experiencing severe depression too may need to be hospitalized to restrain them from putting their suicidal thoughts into action or to help them control their psychotic symptoms (hallucinations, delusions and disorganized thinking.

About 90 percent of people who have severe hypomanic has one or more psychiatric hospitalization. 2 out of every 3 of them will have 2 or more hospitalizations in their lifetime.

6. Seasonal Depression.

This depression is also known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). It is a kind of mood disorder that happens to someone around the same time of every year. If you think the months of winter make you ill more than they ought to do, you might be experiencing seasonal depression or SAD.

There is another form of seasonal depression called Summer Depression. Generally, summer depression starts in early summer or late spring and ends in fall.

Causes of Seasonal Depression.

Although the exact causes of Seasonal Depression are unknown, some depression experts think that it is caused by certain hormones produced deep down in the brain that trigger changes which are related to our attitudes at some times of year. These experts have reasons to believe that SAD may be connected with such hormonal changes. A theory explains that because we have less sunlight in winter and fall the brain produces less serotonin. Serotonin is a chemical linking brain pathways and they help us regulate our moods. When the pathways of nerve cells in the brain that are responsible for the regulation of our moods do not function as they should, depression feelings will result, in addition to fatigue symptoms and weight gain. Usually, SAD begins in young adults and is more common to women than men. There are some patients of SAD who have mild symptoms and are easily irritated or annoyed. There are others who have symptoms that are worse than these, interfering with their work and relationships. Because of the relationship of SAD with lack of sufficient daylight in winter time, SAD is not often found in countries that have tropical weather, that is, countries that have plenty of sunshine.

Seasonal Depression symptoms, warning signs and effects.

In winter, people who have SAD show most of the normal warning signs of depression, such as:

• Having little energy.
• Having trouble concentrating.
• Experiencing fatigue.
• Having greater appetite.
• Prefer to be alone.
• In need of more sleep.
• Gaining weight.

In summer, people who have SAD show the following warning signs of depression:

• Having less appetite.
• Having trouble sleeping.
• Weight loss.

7. Psychotic Depression.

Psychotic depression is a smaller form of Major Depression that occurs to someone when they experience a form of psychosis which is a severe depressive illness.

Psychotic Depression symptoms, warning signs and effects.

Psychosis could come to you in the form of hallucinations, like hearing a strange voice that says you are worthless or useless, or delusions, like acute feelings of worthlessness, feelings of sinfulness, feelings of failure, or some other reality break. Psychotic depression has been observed to affect about 1 out of every 4 hospitalized people who are having depression.

Is Psychotic Depression the same as Major or Clinical Non-psychotic Depression?

No. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, someone who is psychotic is not in touch with reality. Patients of psychosis may hear strange voices or they may possess illogical or strange ideas. For instance, they usually think that other people are hearing their thoughts or that other people are trying to hurt them or do them harm. They might also think that they are possessed by the devil or wanted by the police for crimes they have not really committed.

People who have psychotic depression can get very angry for no reason at all. They like to spend many hours alone in bed or like sleeping during the day and keeping awake at night. Someone who has psychotic depression may not care about their appearance by not caring to take their bath or change their clothes. It may be very hard to have conversations with such a person because perhaps they rarely talk or they say meaningless things.

People having other mental ailments, for example, schizophrenia, also have psychosis. However, people having psychotic depression usually have hallucinations or delusions which are consistent with depression themes, like failure or worthlessness, whereas schizophrenia’s psychotic symptoms are more often implausible or bizarre and have nothing whatsoever to do with mood state like thinking that strangers are running after them for just no reason other than to attack them. People having psychotic depression may also be ashamed of their own thoughts and strive to hide them, or may also feel humiliated. This explains why this variety of depression seems very hard to diagnose.

However, diagnosis of psychotic depression is very important. Its method of treatment is different from that of non-psychotic depression. Also, if you have one psychotic depression episode, you have a higher chance of having bipolar depression with reoccurring episodes of psychotic depression or mania, or even suicide.

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Depression in Teens

Depression in Teens

It is not uncommon for teenagers to feel unhappy occasionally but when the unhappiness continues for over 2 weeks, and the teen also shows some of the other symptoms of depression mentioned above, then we can say he or she is suffering from teen or adolescent depression.

According to a research study, an estimate of 1 of every 33 children and 1 of every 8 adolescents are affected by teen depression. Find out if your teen suffers from this type of depression and follow the recommended treatment discussed on this blog or seek help from a depression expert.

If you have an unhappy or irritable teenager, have you ever wondered why he or she is like that? He or she might really be having teen depression! At times, most of our teens feel unhappy of course. But when the effect of hormone havoc is added to the several other changes taking place in their lives, we can easily understand why teens’ moods swing very often. Yet researches have shown that 1 out of every 8 teenagers has adolescent depression. Fortunately, depression and its associated tons of problems can be treated. Therefore if you notice your teenager’s unhappiness is lasting over 2 weeks and he or she also shows other depression symptoms mentioned earlier, please follow the recommended treatment discussed on this blog or seek help from a depression expert.

Why do teenagers get adolescent depression?

There are various reasons why your teenager might have adolescent depression. For example, he or she can develop feelings of inadequacy or worthlessness over his or her grades. Performance in school, social status with their peers, their sexual orientation, or even family life can have a serious effect on the feelings of a teenager. Sometimes, environmental stress can be the cause of adolescent depression. Well, whatever might be the cause, when family, friends or something that a teenager often enjoys is unable to make any improvement in his or her unhappiness or isolation, we can conclude that the teen has adolescent depression.

Adolescent Depression symptoms, warning signs and effects.

Very often, you will notice a change in the behavior or thinking of children having adolescent depression. They may be unmotivated and often become withdrawn, lock themselves up in their bedrooms after school and stay there for several hours.

Kids having adolescent depression enjoy excessive sleep, have eating habit changes, and may even show criminal behaviors like shoplifting or DUI (driving under the influence of alcohol). I list below some more symptoms, warning signs and effects of adolescent depression. Please note that teens may not show all the listed:

• Loss of memory.

• Lack of enthusiasm or emotion.

• Feelings of pains, such as stomach aches, headaches, fatigue or lower back pain.

• Difficulty in concentrating.

• Difficulty in decision making.

• Inappropriate or excessive guilt.

• Irresponsibility, bad behaviors, forgetting of obligations, getting late for classes, skipping of school.
• Very little or no interest in food leading to weight loss.

• Compulsive overeating leading to rapid weight gain.

• Preoccupation with ideas of death or dying.

• Act of Rebellion.

• Anxiety, sadness, or a hopelessness feeling.

• Staying up late into the night or sleeping during the day.

• Sharp drop in school grades.

• Use of drug or alcohol.

• Promiscuous sexual activity.

• Withdrawing from peers or friends.

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Anti-depressants

Anti-depressants

What exactly are anti-depressants? They are a class of medications that are purposely produced and designed to alleviate or relieve the symptoms of depression.

Types of Anti-depressants.

There are various types of anti-depressants in the market. Every type, class or family helps to relieve depression in its own way. Within each class, each drug works slightly differently. Each class has side-effects and common warnings, and several of each drug have additional warnings and side-effects of their own.

Now let us look more closely at each class of anti-depressants, beginning with the one a lot of people have been talking about.

1. SSRI.

SSRI is an abbreviation for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. SSRI drug works by inhibiting or preventing your neurotransmitter serotonin from re-absorption by your nerve cell that released it, and by so doing, forcing the serotonin to continue working actively.

Examples of SSRI's are Fluoxetine and Sertraline (I use this one to manage my own depression).

2. SNRI and SSNRI.

These 2 medical terms are very synonymous. SNRI is an abbreviation for serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, while SSNRI is an abbreviation for selective serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, but there is really not any considerable difference.

Examples of SNRI’s are duloxetine and venlafaxine. I managed my depression with venlafaxine for three years before I noticed it no longer worked for me.

Of course, we have other family or classes of anti-depressant drugs, but those two mentioned above are the ones I have tried. I can mention more but I am trying to not to go too technical in my discussion on anti-depressants.

It is unfortunate that you cannot one particular anti-depressant that works for everyone! Only by trial and error you can find an anti-depressant that works very well for you, or by trying the ones prescribed for you by your psychiatrist or doctor. It is also through trial and error that you can determine the correct dosage of the drug. In my own case, my psychiatrist recommended starting with a small dosage every time he placed me on a particular anti-depressant and then asked me to increase it according to my need over time.

Do not forget that medications generally have side effects, so the ones prescribed here are not excluded. I had luck with both sertraline and venlafaxine in that the side-effects I experienced were just minor nausea and headache.

Those side-effects I mentioned lasted me only a few days, so they can be ignored when compared to the numerous positive benefits I got from those anti-depressants.

If you are having depression, It is very important your psychiatrist or doctor monitor your anti-depressant medication so that both of you will know if you are taking the correct dosage and if it is working well for you.

How Long Does it Take Anti-depressants to Work?

Anti-depressant medications, as already discussed above, help you alleviate the symptoms of depression. Please read the chapter Types ofDepression, Symptoms, Warning Signs and Effects for details. People having depression usually have an imbalance in some natural chemicals in their brains. So what anti-depressant medications do is help their brains to restore this usual chemical balance and in so doing alleviate the symptoms.

One question people often ask me is, "How long does it take anti-depressants to work?"

From my personal experience, it took me 2 to 3 weeks to see substantial improvements. From my personal researches however, I discovered it can take some people as many as 6 weeks after taking your first dose of anti-depressant medication before you will notice substantial improvements. Yet for some other people, it can take even up to 8 to 10 weeks before they begin to feel better. They however received the maximum benefit after taking the medications for over 6 months.

In general, Anti-depressant drugs have good tolerance and are very effective. From my research, about 71 percent of people having major depression begin to feel better after taking the first type of anti-depressant medication their doctors prescribed for them.

Before I began taking my anti-depressant medications, my depression got worse each day. Although I was already taking some therapy before then, I experienced no appreciable improvement in the symptoms of my depression. The only time I had a break-through in my depression was when I began taking anti-depressant medications.

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Depression Myths and Facts

Depression Myths and Facts

Depression will go away on its own.

Although for a few individuals depression may fade away slowly by itself without treatment or medication, this is not usually the situation for most people! If not treated, depression in most people can proceed for a very long period of time (months or even years), leading to suicide or sudden death. From my research, I discovered that depression can lead someone to the edge of suicide. I found out that depression is one of the major causes of death among the youth, typically 18 to 25 years old. This is the most important reason why a depression patient should seek treatment. Happily however, a large number of people affected by depression respond to treatment and their conditions improve.

I am not affected by depression.

You might be wrong! According to a research study conducted in 2004 by the American College Health Association, about fifty percent of all the students reported feeling so badly depressed at one point or another that they experienced difficulty working. Fifteen percent of them met the criteria for clinical depression. The result of this study leads me to the conclusion that somebody you care for, if not yourself, could face depression threat sometime in school or in their adulthood.

To me, depression is not really a medical problem or illness.

You are wrong! It is really a medical problem and is very genuine. It is as real as a coronary disease or diabetes and can affect your life just as these diseases. The medical experts have identified depression as an ailment and accepted its seriousness. It has connection with hereditary qualities, your environment and your brain chemicals. It has been diagnosed in disabled people and has connection with many ailments like headache, diabetes, coronary diseases and much more! It can result in physical or emotional complications and make life extremely difficult for its patients.

I am a strong and positive-thinking person. So I can escape depression.

Neither you nor anybody else decided to be depressed in the first case so you cannot escape it with your strength or because you think positively, just as much as nobody decides to have a terrible health condition like a coronary disease or diabetes. Having depression has nothing to do with sluggishness or who you are. Rather, depression has to do with your well-being arising from the changes in the chemistry of your brain structure as a result of natural and ecological factors.

I don’t like talking about depression. It makes things worse for me.

It is obvious that some people are hesitant or simply don’t like to talk about their depression. If you happen to be one of such people you must know that carrying away your thoughts from everybody is like preparing yourself for self-destruction. Don’t let that happen to you! You must confront the issue. Now that you are reading this post, get ready to talk and share the tons of advice and help in it with a friend or loved one suffering depression. Remember that many people who have depression are belittled or ridiculed in the society so they need your strong and decent attention. Convince them to chat with you and listen to them non-judgmentally. If however you are feeling reluctant to discuss your challenges with a loved one or a relative of yours, consider other important individuals like your colleague or your spiritual leader who is ready to listen to you.

Depression is not so common.

Unfortunately depression is typical among Americans and is also found in people from other parts of the world. It is a condition that is affecting a large proportion of the American population. According to research studies carried out by depression specialists, approximately every one in ten individuals will have at least one depression episode in their lifetime.

People with depression can get well quickly if they want to.

The large majority of people having depression would be more than happy to feel better very quickly if they can. Unfortunately getting better cannot work magically for depression even if the patient makes an attempt. Many renowned and well-to-do people have had depression one time or the other in their lives.

Depression is found only in women in the age bracket of 20 to 30.

I’m sorry to disagree with you. Depression can attack anyone of any age, although it is more commonly found in women. Anyone - young, elderly, men or women - can have depression.

Even if I have depression, there are no effective treatments.

People who have depression can be treated successfully. In another post on this blog where I discuss treatment, I give details of various treatment methods like counseling, psychotherapy, prescription and a combination of these. These medications have been proven to be very effective.

Even if you treat depression it will return, so you have it for life!

There are several individuals who can endure bouts of depression. For some individuals, the depression specialist has to commence treatment to fight the symptoms, typically in eight to twelve weeks, and then moves on to support treatment for additional six to twenty-four months. If the patient proceeds with treatment after they start to feel better, the possibility of returning is largely reduced.

Prescriptions for treating depression are very addictive.

No. If you have depression and you take the medications recommended on this blog, you will not be addicted or form a habit. Once you are done with treatment the medications can be decreased or halted.

Nobody can help me. I’m alone with my depression.

I have written this book to help people like you. The treatments recommended in this blog are very effective. There are other patients who are stressed as a result of the shame of metal health issues resulting from depression. Fortunately there are healthcare experts waiting to help you. Make your appointment and discuss with them. They will find out how best to treat your specific form of depression.

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What Are The Causes of Depression?

Depression, also called Major Depressive Disorder(MDD), is more than just a feeling of guiltiness, sadness or unhappiness. It is a systematic problem that results in unstable emotions, gloom or torpidity. From my personal researches and experiences, I discovered that if you have depression it can rob you of your sleep, your energy, your memory, vitality, concentration, your ability to work, play or love, and in chronic cases, it can rob you of your willing to live! It is a devastating illness that affects many Americans and millions of other people around the world. Yet, it can be defeated and I promise you that, if you continue reading this book, you will no longer be confused about depression. You will know the myths, the facts and the sure ways to fight and cure depression using natural programs and medication.

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is a feeling or state of worry and nervousness, usually accompanied by compulsive behaviors or panic attacks which may affect your state of mind or cause mental disorders. If you suffer from anxiety then know from this minute on that it can be controlled so that you can live a better life and prosper. In the second half of this book, I discuss in detail about anxiety disorders, its symptoms, how it affects people, including children, how it relates to depression and finally how to deal with it and destroy it permanently.

Causes of Depression

Many people think that depression comes only when bad things happen in our lives, for example, an exam failure, a marriage breakup or death of a loved person. Depression is a lot more than merely having a terrible incidence, a tragic accident or thought. Even though all of us, at one time or another, encounter bad and good times in our lives and feel frustrated for a period of time (especially after a genuine dissatisfaction or misfortune), depression may not be initiated by one specific negative event or occasion. Delayed instances of pity, melancholy, or absence of enthusiasm for something we typically appreciate are some of the ways depression manifests in our lives. Hereditary and other natural factors can cause depression. Finally, depression can occur suddenly, even when everything in our lives seems to going the way we want.

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