Recovery from Depression

[David Baxter PhD]

Recovery from Depression: Part 1
by Deborah Gray
Thursday, May 28, 2009

So you've recovered from depression - mazel tov! I remember what an amazing rebirth it was for me when the first antidepressant medication I tried lifted the depression that had been with me for twenty years.

Not to be a wet blanket, but there are a couple of things that you should keep in mind. One is that you can't get complacent about your depression treatment. The other is that you should focus some attention on preventing the depression from recurring.

Don't get complacent about your treatment
Unfortunately, there is rarely, if ever, such a thing as a "cure" for depression. More often than not, it will come back if treatment is discontinued. At my doctor's direction, I discontinued my antidepressant treatment six months after my symptoms first subsided. However, symptoms came back in full force, if not worse than before. We tried discontinuing the medication six months after that, with the same result. My doctor concluded that I'd probably be on antidepressants for the rest of my life. Granted, I had had depression for a very long time. First time depression that is quickly diagnosed and treated is probably less likely to come back.

I didn't have any problem with staying on the medication indefinitely. I was so happy that I had found something that worked. Taking antidepressants seemed like a small price to pay for getting my life back. However, many people who have found relief on antidepressants are eager to discontinue them as soon as they start to feel better. This can be a mistake. In On the Edge of Darkness: America's Most Celebrated Actors, Journalists and Politicians Chronicle Their Most Arduous Journey, journalist Mike Wallace recounts what happened when he went off his antidepressant medication against his doctor's recommendation. While playing tennis, he fell and broke his wrist.

Within twenty-four hours, I was deeper in depression than I had been the first time. All of a sudden. Why? Mortality, old age, the fact that I had gone off the drug? I had all of the manifestations, all over again...And this episode lasted longer and there was no proximate reason beyond this.​

If you are eager to be off antidepressants, ask yourself why. If your doctor advises you to remain on them and you do not have severe side effects, what's the rush?

Consider Starting Therapy
Numerous studies have shown that the most effective treatment for depression is a combination of medication and psychotherapy. If you are not in talk therapy now, it's a good idea to look into it. Depression can be caused by emotional issues you haven't confronted and/or experiences that may have shaped your perception of yourself (i.e., being bullied or abused as a child). Also, years of living with depression can create negative thought patterns that may have become habitual. Cognitive behavioral therapy is particularly helpful in this regard.

Boost Your Antidepressant's Effectiveness
As I discussed a few months ago, there is some evidence to suggest that folic acid supplements can boost the effectiveness of your antidepressant treatment. My own experience with taking folic acid has been positive. Check with your doctor first to ensure that it's safe for you to take folic acid and that it won't contraindicate with any prescription or over the counter medication or supplements you are taking.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Recovery from Depression: Part 2
by Deborah Gray
Sunday, May 31, 2009

As I said in my part one of my depression recovery series, an important step to take once you've recovered from depression is to do everything you can to ensure that your depression will not recur. We're starting to understand that the whole body is involved in the treatment of depression and depression resistance, not just the brain. So even if your depression has been banished or is being held at bay by treatment, you can take steps to ensure that you improve your resistance to the disease.

Improving Your Diet
By diet, I don't necessarily mean that your goal is to lose weight, although you very well could end up doing so. What you want to do is cut back on the junk like sugar, fat, simple carbohydrates and caffeine. The more junk there is in your food, the less room there is for the good stuff. When we're depressed, many of us tend to gravitate towards foods that are high in sugar and carbohydrates as a way to self-medicate. Unfortunately, at the very least, eating this way will not improve our mood and in all probability compounds the problem.

I remember years ago when the book Sugar Blues came out, I was amused (and still am, to be honest) by the somewhat hysterical tone. However, I am fairly moderate in my consumption. I rarely drink soda or eat fast food. Even so, I do notice a positive difference in my mood when I cut back on it. If you're someone who consumes a lot of sugar, you might want to see how your mood improves when you cut back gradually. Keep a log of your consumption and your moods to see if there's any correlation.

Not that I'm a health nut. If I have the choice of a veggie burger or nice juicy hamburger, which is the case when I get my lunch at a restaurant near UC Berkeley, I have to say that I have never chosen the former. But I've found that it's pretty easy to make food choices that can improve my mood instead of being detrimental to it. Two very helpful (and eye-opening) books are Eat This, Not That! and Restaurant Confidential.

Exercise
If you're aren't already exercising, consider beginning some sort of exercise regime. You already know all the reasons it's beneficial for your physical health. But it's also beneficial for your mental health. Strenuous exercise causes your body to produce a natural mood lifter called endorphins, also known as a "runner's high." I've never exercised strenuously enough to notice this myself, but I have always found that depression seems to lift when I'm exercising regularly.

Stress Reduction
I've found that being stressed out increases my susceptibility to bouts of depression, and from what I've heard and read, this is fairly common. Obviously, it's impossible to completely avoid stress, especially in a recession, but what you can do is keep the stress from affecting your body. Try exercise, yoga, meditation or some other stress relief method.

Sleep
Sleep really is the great healer. If your depression made you sleep too much, you may be reluctant to spend too much time in bed. But you need to make sure that you are getting sufficient sleep. Everyone is different, so experiment till you find the optimum number of hours per night for you.