by editor on March 24, 2010
If you suspect that you may have a mood disorder and you are wondering how to fight depression, where can you turn for help? The first thing to do is to schedule an appointment with the family doctor for a complete physical. This is important because there are many possible physical conditions that can generate the signs and symptoms of depression. A strenuous learning curve for how to fight depression may not be necessary if the signs and symptoms of depression that you are experiencing are caused by a hormone deficiency, for example.
There are specific questions you need to ask your doctor. QUESTION 1: During the examination, say to the physician, “I’m wondering if I have the symptoms of depression. What do you think?” This will ensure that part of the physician’s time will be spent having a simple discussion with you about what you are experiencing and discuss how to fight depression in a clear, straightforward manner.
It’s useful to understand a little about the purpose of lab work. A standard part of an annual physical examination is to send a sample of your blood to the lab for various tests. There are always scores of different tests that the doctor does NOT order the lab to do because of the added expense (for the insurance company or for you) and because many conditions represented by those added tests are relatively rare.
TIP: it’s best to ask the question about depression near the beginning of the exam, especially before the doctor orders the routine lab tests. The reason for this is simple. There are various conditions such a anemia or low thyroid that can produce depression symptoms.
Asking about depression near the beginning of the exam allows your doctor to order additional tests on the blood sample that is drawn from you. When you are thinking about how to fight depression, take one of the easier steps right away and ask for a photocopy of the actual numbers of your lab results.
Once it has been diagnosed, the challenge of how to fight depression becomes easier to map out. This naturally leads to the next question to ask your doctor during your physical examination. QUESTION 2: Ask the doctor, “Do you know of a good psychologist or therapist that I could meet with for an evaluation?” TIP: although clinical depression is a medical condition, it can be caused by non medical factors that can easily escape the notice of someone lacking specialized training.
QUESTIONS 3: Additionally, ask the doctor, “Can you explain which antidepressant medications seem to work the best for your patients?” QUESTION 4: “If medication is what your patients choose for how to fight depression, what have you found are the pros and cons of the main antidepressants?” TIP: ask this followup question, mentioning specific medications by name. For example, “Can you explain to me the benefits and side-effects of Zoloft, Lexapro, and Cymbalta?
Mentioning the medications by name is important if you are in an HMO insurance plan because doctors are sometimes restricted from telling you about the more expensive medications unless you specifically ask. Also, keep in mind that when someone starts a course of treatment with medication, it will take some time (at least a few weeks) to start feeling the positive effects of the medication.
QUESTION 5: Also ask, “Are you comfortable prescribing these medications?” This is important because not all general practitioners have as much training as they would like in order to monitor medication for depression.
TIP: Before you actually meet with your physician for the exam, make a short list of these questions and others. Depression makes concentration and memory temporarily less reliable and more frustrating. A simple list will ensure that you ask all the questions you had been thinking about beforehand.
A final question can be asked just before you leave. QUESTION 6: “Is there anything else you can tell me about how to fight depression?” If you ask these six questions you will have made a good start in learning how to fight depression and as well as acting on what you have learned. Also, additional tips on how to fight depression can be found at a more specialized website.
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how to fight depression
by editor on March 17, 2010
Three Options for How to Fight Depression
Once people realize they have a problem with depression they have three options. There is the medication option where the doctor writes a prescription for an antidepressant and sends you on your way. In this day of fast work, fast food and fast cures that just may fit your picture of a solution for how to fight depression. But it isn’t the best nor the safest way. Research has shown that people who use one of three types of psychotherapy alone or psychotherapy and medication are taking a route for how to fight depression that has much better results than those only using medication. Depression is caused from an alteration in brain chemistry. The question many people ask is,” what caused the alteration?” Theoretically the change could happen genetically, from a genetic predisposition or triggered by stress. Or it could be triggered by all three. At this time researchers have not been able to identify a specific gene for people to be depressed, although there are genetic predispositions that are triggered by stress. Also, from a statistical point of view, depression seems to run in families.
How to Fight Depression: How Important is it for a Person to Know Specific Causes?
While it is interesting to know why your depressed it doesn’t necessarily change the treatment plan for how to fight depression. Depression is a chemical change in the brain regardless of what caused the change.
Treat the Signs and Symptoms of Depression or the Underlying Condition?
This being the case, medication without any other treatment can give a person relief from the signs and symptoms of depression, but leave them empty-handed when it comes to a method for how to fight depression as an underlying condition. One of three different types of psychotherapy supply many of the answers to patients questions and concerns about their problems.
Three Main Approaches for How to Fight Depression
There are three specific psychotherapeutic approaches to treating depression. Many times people consider psychotherapy as a talking cure (Sigmund Freud) when in fact it is a way to figure out what ails you and to find better ways of coping with the stress. In these different types of psychotherapy your words and feelings play a central role. The job of the therapist is to support and professionally guide you through the process. You will examine your thoughts, feelings and actions and then determine how well they have worked in the past and how to change the ones that have been non-productive.
It is important to work with a therapist who you can trust enough to be open and honest. You may have to shop around a bit before settling with someone but this is important since keeping your thoughts and feelings to yourself can deepen your depression. Although there are three different types of psychotherapy most therapists are versed in all three. This knowledge can help you to pick from various tools for how to fight depression that may work for your individual situation. Of course the explanations are a bit simplistic but they help you to understand the basic premise behind each approach.
CBT: Talking to Yourself Is How to Fight Depression
In Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) the basic idea is that thoughts, feelings and behaviors are all interconnected so that if you make a change in one area it will affect others. For instance, if you make a change in the way you feel about something then they way that you act and your thoughts will also change. If your depression is making you feel worthless then you and the therapist will explore the specific, unrealistic beliefs you have about yourself and the world that make you feel worthless. Then you’d choose alternative behaviors until the system you are stuck in breaks down and your symptoms fade.
How to Fight Depression? Some Say, “Interpersonal Therapy is the Way to Go”
Therapists who believe that Interpersonal Therapy is the key weapon for how to fight depression assume that the most difficult aspect of depression is how it affects your relationships with others. This type of therapeutic approach is effective with people who have had unresolved grief of the loss of a loved one or significant conflicts within relationships. The therapist and the patient focus on the relationship to identify personal needs that are going unmet and find ways to meet them by ending negative relationships and building social skills.
Using Brief Psychodynamic Therapy for How to Fight Depression
This approach for how to fight depression involves uncovering an event in your life that triggers core conflicts. These events may no longer play and active role in your conscious memory or thoughts. For instance an individual may be feeling overwhelmed by a situation as an adult that isn’t in proportion to the event but may have been appropriate in a similar situation when they were much younger. The aim is to help the person make a connection between the past and the present and work through the feelings associated with the past events.
So, once informed, choose a method for how to fight depression in a systematic way. It’s important that you feel the treatment you are receiving is relevant and helpful to your individual situation and to have a voice in the approach you are using. However, since there are three types of psychotherapy that lend themselves very nicely to the treatment of depression you should have no trouble picking a therapeutic approach that works for you.
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