When You’re Diagnosed with Depression
When you’re presented with a diagnosis of depression, the first thing you must realize is that there is help. You’ll want to work closely with your doctor to figure out the best treatment for your type of depression and to keep in close contact about side effects you might have with prescribed drugs or treatment procedures.
The appropriate treatment for your depression diagnosis will depend on the results of the evaluation. Some people can work through depression with psychotherapy, but others may require antidepressants, plus psychotherapy. The good thing about antidepressant medications is that they can bring relief quickly and effectively, but remember that medications only masks the symptoms, they don’t cure depression.
Your depression diagnosis might be “chemical,” meaning that something prevents your body from producing the chemicals it needs to ward off normal depression. You may have situational depression, which means that you’re suffering from an incident or thoughts that may have preceded the depression.
Almost everyone needs some kind of relief from the symptoms of depression at some time in their lives. This changing world and all the problems that come with change might cause you to worry and fret about your future. When depression begins to get in the way of living life to the fullest, you should definitely consult your health care provider.
Life’s problems can be overwhelming at times and negative thoughts and attitudes could sneak into your mind no matter what you do to prevent them. When you see your doctor for depression, you’ll be given a complete psychological evaluation and a medical evaluation to establish whether you have a psychological type of depression or whether it might be caused by a medical condition.
Sometimes, health care providers are quick to focus on medicating depression rather than also pursuing the psychological aspects. Before you agree to medication, ask your doctor about referring you to a psychologist to assess whether this type of treatment should be included in your therapy.
A health care provider should talk to you about the history of your symptoms, such as how long you’ve been having them and the severity of them. Symptoms might include sleeping too much, insomnia, loss of appetite or eating too much, if you’ve had thoughts of suicide or anything else that may be troubling enough to interrupt your lifestyle. He or she will also want to know about alcohol or drug use, if any.
The problem with depression might be temporary, or you might need long-term therapy, but whatever the situation, know that help is available.
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