5 Common Treatments for Depression

Hey Optimist Minds!

In 2017, the World Health Organisation released a report listing depression as the leading cause of disability worldwide. The report mentioned that 322 million people, or 4.4% of the world’s population, lived with depression.

The condition is characterised by persistently depressed mood or loss of interest in activities, causing significant impairment in daily life. When you’re depressed, you feel disconnected and isolated. There may be changes in appetite, sleep, socialising, and the ability to feel joy.

Treatment options for depression incorporate many different approaches to psychopathology. In this video, we’re going to describe five common treatments for depression.

We want our viewers to know that this information shared here is only descriptive and meant to help you make informed decisions. However, when making choices for treatment options, always take into consideration the expert advice of a licensed therapist.

Now, let’s begin.

Number One

Pharmacotherapy.

The most traditional approach to the treatment of depression is through prescription drugs. A special category of medication, labelled as antidepressants, are exclusively made for the treatment of clinical depression.

Many different types of drugs fall into this category. The most popularly known brand names are Zoloft, Prozac, and Lexapro.

Taking medication can help lower the intensity and frequency of symptoms, but they cannot cure depression by themselves. It takes regular psychotherapy, lifestyle changes, and a strong support system for one to overcome depression.

Number Two

Psycho-dynamic therapy.

Another conventional treatment for depression is psychodynamic therapy. This method is designed to promote self-examination and self-reflection. 

Through conversations with the therapist, you learn the psychological causes behind your actions. You also develop coping strategies based on awareness and intentional action, rather than reactive feelings and behaviours.

When taken in combination with medication, psycho-dynamic therapy can be a pretty effective treatment.

Number Three

Cognitive-behavioural therapy.

A more recent approach for treatment is to understand and change patterns of thinking. Depression is essentially a thought disorder. It is caused when we fall into habits of unhelpful ways to think. 

The habits form strong neural connections in our brain and we lose our ability to look at things from multiple perspectives. We think that only the negative narrative is true.

Cognitive-behavioural therapy, better known as CBT, uses techniques to help individuals recognise the unhelpful patterns and to replace them with helpful ones. 

It takes time and effort, but practising CBT is like undoing the damage depression causes. You train yourself to develop multiple outlooks so you get to choose the one which brings you the most peace.

Number Four

Interpersonal therapy.

The previous two methods of psychotherapy mainly deal with the client taking them. But sometimes, the cause of depression has more to do with the client’s relationships with other people.

Perhaps you’re having a difficult marriage or your family just doesn’t seem to care about you. In interpersonal therapy, the work done is focused on improving communication and social skills.

The idea is to help the individual nourish their relationships to develop a stronger support system.

Number Five

Neuropsychiatric medical devices.

Today, several devices are being used to improve both physical and mental health. 

For depression, there are various kinds of neuropsychiatric medical devices, such as vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), deep brain stimulation (DBS), and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

Each of these devices stimulates different parts of the nervous system to reduce symptoms of depression. Plenty of research is being done on how to optimise these treatment options.

Now that you’ve heard of all these different options, which treatment seems most appropriate for you? Do you have any personal experiences related to fighting depression that you’d like to share?

Please let us know your thoughts in the comments section. The Optimist Minds Community would love to hear from you!

A link for further reading and the studies & references used in the making of this video are mentioned in the description below.

Thanks for visiting optimist minds, take care. Until next time.

Resources

• https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dorothea-Huber-3/publication/236598309
• https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1991-15989-001
• https://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-244X-13-49
• https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1348/014466509X479186