Depression Treatment
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- Introduction for depression
- Diet for depression
- Nutrition and supplements for depression control
- Depression herbal treatment
- Acupressure treatment for depression
- Aromatherapy treatment for depression
- Homeopathy treatment for depression
If you are suffering from symptoms of depression, see your doctor. The first step in diagnosis is to rule out the possibility that a physical disorder is causing your symptoms. Your doctor will probably do blood tests to check your hormone levels, thyroid function, and other indicators of possible problems.
If the depressed state persists and deepens, especially if there is no obvious cause, seek help from a mental-health professional. The prognosis is good for most people with clinical depression. A knowledgeable mental-health professional will tailor his or her treatment approach to your individual situation.
If depression is a reaction to a specific event, counseling, psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and/or the simple passage of time will most likely resolve the problem.
If there is no obvious cause for the depression, or if reactive depression persists longer than might be expected, or if you are having suicidal thoughts, more aggressive therapy is needed. This means drug therapy and, possibly, hospitalization. The mainstay of drug treatment has long been a group of medications called tricyclic antidepressants, including amoxapine (Asendin), clomipramine (Anafranil), desipramine (Norpramin), imipramine (Tofranil), and nortrityline (Aventyl, Pamelor). These drugs do not affect immediately, so a test period of at least two weeks is necessary to determine whether they are working. Toxicity is a problem with these drugs, and therapeutic levels are close to toxic levels, so repeated blood tests to check the level of the drug in the body are necessary. Possible side effects include delirium, seizures, heart-rhythm problems, dry mouth, low blood pressure, depression, drowsiness or agitation, rashes, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cramping, and blood problems. For obvious reasons, newer, less potentially toxic medications are now considered more desirable. Fluoxetine (Prozac) is the best known of these. Others include bupropion (Well-butrin, Zyban), fluvoxamine (Luvox), nefazodone (Serzone), paroxetine (Paxil), sertraline (Zoloft), and venlafaxine (Effexor). Though these drugs are less likely to cause side effects, they still can - effects including nausea, diarrhea, stomach pains, dizziness, tremors, insomnia, dry mouth, and excessive sweating. These drugs should not be mixed with many other classes of drugs. Make sure your doctor knows about everything you are taking.
Another type of drug used to treat depression is the monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor. These are usually resorted to only when the others have failed. Phenelzine (Nardil) and tranylcypromine (Parnate) are in this class. These drugs can cause high (sometimes extremely high) or low blood pressure, headaches, liver stress, seizures, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, rashes, and sensitivity to light. There are also important dietary restrictions that must be adhered to. You must avoid cheeses, chocolate, wine, beer, liver, and more. Eating any of these forbidden foods while on an MAO inhibitor can result in a dangerous spike in blood pressure. Also to be avoided are certain medications, including many over-the-counter cough and cold preparations, eye drops used for glaucoma, and drugs used to treat asthma and emphysema. If you must take an MAO inhibitor, consult your doctor before taking any other medication, whether prescription or over the counter.
Though no one understands why, serious depression may respond - and very well - to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Most people wince when they hear this. However, it is not quite as barbaric as it may sound, s the patient is unconscious for the brief procedure. Negative reactions are mostly related to heart rhythm, and are remarkably infrequent, but thee is a period of amnesia after treatment that can be very disturbing.
Seasonal affective disorder may be treated with phototherapy. In this treatment, a person is exposed to full-spectrum light by means of special light fixtures, giving a daily dose of the light frequencies that would be available on a bright sunny day.
Most cases of postpartum depression resolve on their own. Participation in a support group with other new mothers can be immensely helpful. In severe cases, antidepressant medication may be prescribed.
Holiday blues usually disappear as the season passes. Treatment is seldom necessary.
- Depression: It provides medical information about depression disease including causes, symptoms, etc.
- Depression diet: It gives information and guidelines to choose your sample diet to eliminate your depression.
- Depression nutritions and supplements: This section provides comprehensive list of nutritional supplements for depression.
- Herbal treatment for depression: This section focuses on various traditional herbal treatments used to cure depression.
- Depression acupressure treatment: This section provides various acupressure points on the body to treat depression.
- Depression aromatherapy treatment: This section provides information about essential oils which are helpful to cure depression.
- Depression homeopathy treatment: It provides information about homeopathic medicines required for curing depression.