Antidepressants
Major depression is never an easy thing to deal with. It can impact on your family, work, social life and can even foster thoughts of suicide---which makes treatment for it very important. A common treatment for major depression is medication. Your doctor can prescribe an antidepressant drug as a first line of defense. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are type of antidepressants that have more tolerable side effects than other drugs. Examples of these include Zoloft, Prozac, Paxil and Celexa.
A secondary medication to SSRIs is tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs). These are used if the SSRIs are not working well enough, but they come with more severe side effects.
When no other antidepressants are working, your doctor may prescribe a medication called monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAIOs). These are saved as a last resort because they have the worst side effects of any other antidepressant, plus they can cause food interactions, so the diet needs to be closely monitored.
Your doctor may also prescribe stimulants, antipsychotic medications, mood-stabilizing medications or anti-anxiety medications. In a system called "augmentation," your doctor may prescribe more than one medication at once to increase the effect.
ECT
People who do not respond to medications or are at a high risk for suicide can get a procedure done called electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). With this procedure, a seizure is triggered by passing electrical currents of energy into the brain. Although it is not known exactly how this treatment works, it is speculated that there are neurotransmitters in the brain are positively affected, reducing depression.
Hospitalization
Your doctor might suggest that you be placed into a psychiatric hospital if you are not able to care for yourself or if someone else is at risk of being injured by you. The options with this treatment include 24-hour care, partial hospitalization or residential treatment.
VNS
Vagus nerve stimulation affects the mood centers in your brain. Electrical impulses are sent into a surgically implanted pulse-generator to elevate your mood. This treatment was approved for use by the FDA in July 2005.
Alternative Treatments
There are alternative paths you can take to treat major depression as well. Nutritional and dietary supplements like omega-3 fatty acids, Sam-E and St. John's wort can all be utilized. Mind and body techniques can also be done, including yoga, guided imagery, massage, acupuncture and meditation.
