Someone suffering from major depression, a serious mental health disorder, needs professional attention and needs to make lifestyle changes in order to decrease the severe symptoms. People who have major depression are at risk for suicidal thinking, which can result in someone taking their own life. This can be prevented with the help of proper treatment by mental health professionals.
Psychiatric Hospitalization
Someone who is suffering from major depression and experiencing thoughts of suicide may need a period of psychiatric hospitalization to stabilize his mood. During the hospitalization, a team of mental health professionals such as social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists will work together to get the person the outpatient mental health services he needs. Children, adolescents, and adults can be hospitalized if the depression is severe enough. Usually, the hospitalization is short-term, and the person leaves as soon as he is stabilized with medication, no longer experiences thoughts of suicide and is linked to therapeutic services.
Medication
When someone experiences severe depression, doctors and psychiatrists often recommend medication as one form of treatment. Depression alters the chemicals in a person's brain, which can be hard to change with therapy and lifestyle changes alone. Sometimes, medication is needed to balance the neurotransmitters and other chemicals in the person's brain. The Mayo Clinic reports that most doctors prescribe a type of antidepressant, SSRIs, before trying other forms of medication. If the patient suffers from negative side effects or the medication isn't effective, the doctor will try other types of medication such as SNRIs, atypical antidepressants and tricyclic antidepressants. If the patient also suffers from other mental health issues such as anxiety, the doctor might prescribe other psychotropic medications as well.
Psychotherapy
Medication only treats the symptoms on the surface. It doesn't treat the stress, anxiety and sadness that caused the depression, so it is recommended that people with depression also participate in psychotherapy. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that the two main types of therapy used in treating depression are cognitive-behavioral therapy and interpersonal therapy. In cognitive-behavioral therapy, the therapist helps the client understand how her thoughts affect her emotions and behaviors and helps her to change her thinking from negative to positive. With interpersonal therapy, the therapist and client focus on social functioning, conflicts, extended grief and role transitions that affect the client's level of depression.
Electroconvulsive Therapy
When portrayed in the movies and in the media, electroconvulsive therapy seems like a method of torture; however, the Mayo Clinic reports that it can be effective in treating severe depression. It works by passing electrical currents through a person's brain changing the levels of neurotransmitters. Doctors recommend this form of treatment for patients who don't respond to therapy and medication.
Member Comments