Questions???

[Ashley-Kate]

someone who is depressed and has been for a very long time . like well me i have been sad for about 8 years constantly and never really had a good day like a real good day and well i was wondering since my psychologist asked me today if we should maybe think of having a" break " i thought she meant of her but she asked me if i thought hospitalization for a certain time to gain a bit more strength and because she is worried about my state of mind getting more and more pessimistic every week and well i said no to that and she asked me to explain why she shouldn't put me in anyway and i was able to stay out of the hospital . but she also questioned me about medication yet again and i refused again and she made a very interesting comparison that depression needs to be treated with meds such as diabetes needs to be treated with insulin and well i am not sure so can we get better from depression without meds ?
yours truly ashley

 

[Into The Light]

that really depends on how bad your depression is. mild depression can be worked at without medication through exercise, socializing, taking time to relax (while being kind to yourself), and diet improvements. moderate to severe depression requires the combination of medication and therapy in addition to all the other things i just listed. just medication, or just therapy alone will only do so much for you. you really need the combination if you want to get well.

 

[Daniel E.]

can we get better from depression without meds ?

What do you have to lose, anyway? Even subtle benefits from antidepressants can be magnified over time due to resulting positive changes in behavior.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

As the others have suggested, some can "get better" without medication. But some cannot, and virtually everyone with major depression does better with a combination of medication plus psychotherapy than with either psychotherapy alone or medication alone.