Depression is a serious medical illness caused by a combination of environmental, physical and psychological factors. "Comparing everyday 'blues' to a depressive disorder is like comparing a cold to pneumonia," wrote Dianne Hales in the textbook "An Invitation to Health." More than 18 million Americans have some form of depression, but most of them can resume a normal life with proper treatment.
Exercise
Exercise is an effective, but underused, way to improve depression. By itself, exercise can treat mild to moderate depression and prevent mildly depressed people from becoming very depressed. Exercise can also help people with major depression in combination with medication. The medical journal "Psychosomatic Medicine" reported in 2000 that the mental health of all 150 people in a study conducted by the Duke University Medical Center "improved significantly" when they walked, jogged or bicycled regularly for 10 months and took medication. They were in better shape mentally than people who were only treated with medication and were less likely to have a relapse.
Social Interaction
People suffering from mental depression often try to shield their disorder from other people, partly because they don't want to negatively affect other people. Seclusion often "reinforces" a depressed person's feelings of worthlessness, however. Caring friends and family members can actually boost your mood or help you solve a problem that is a partial cause of your depression. Communicating with people who understand that depression is a serious medical illness and not just the blues is beneficial. Being active is also, by itself, a way to treat depression.
Therapy
Psychotherapy can also combat depression. In fact, psychotherapy alone also works more than 50 percent of the time with patients who are having mild and moderate episodes of major depression, wrote Hales. Psychotherapy helps people ascertain the problems and behaviors that helped cause their depression. Cognitive behavioral therapy and interpersonal therapy can be particularly effective. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps patients replace negative behaviors with positive behaviors. Interpersonal therapy helps people develop strategies for dealing with relationship problems.
Medication
Many people who suffer from depression are reluctant to take medication because they regard their condition as a sign of weakness. Anti-depressants, however, address a medical disease in the same way that blood-pressure and anti-cholesterol drugs address hypertension and high blood cholesterol. Medication works for more than half of people who have moderate to severe depression, according to "Invitation." Anti-depressants such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, serotonin-norepineephrine reuptake inhibitors and tricyclic anti-depressants increase the amount of neurotransmitters in your brain.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Depression Treatment
- MayoClinic.com: Depression Overview
- "Essentials for Health and Wellness"; Gordon Edlin and Eric Golanty; 2004
- "An Invitation to Health"; Dianne Hales; 2010
- "Psychosomatic Medicine"; Exercise Treatment for Major Depression; Michael Babyak, Ph.D., et al; July 1999
- The Merck Manual of Medical Information; 2003
