Prevention of depression

[Into The Light]

from what i have read, statistics indicate that if a person has had one episode of depression, they have a 50/50 chance of getting it again. a second episode means a 70% chance of depression again. third time around gives you a 90% chance.

what exactly does this mean though? are these numbers based on people who got treated? people who didn't get treated?

if at the first signs of depression a person takes action and gets back on meds and has some maintenance therapy, how much of the depression can you prevent? how much control do we have over it? what if some major loss occurs you have a really hard time with? does that put you straight back into the depths of it? can it sometimes happen to you anyway no matter how hard you try to prevent it?

 

[David Baxter PhD]

I'm not sure what it means, really.

The risk for relapse has been shown to be related to several factors, including how long the individual remains on medication, whether or not treatment includes psychotherapy, and how effective the therapy is in initiating lifestyle and cognitive changes that are resistant to relapse.

 

[braveheart]

I would also think that it also depends on the age at which the depression started. The younger you are when you first get depressed, the more deeply embedded the susceptiibility would be.