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Depression is very much a medical ailment, as can be attested to by the wondrous results of the right medication. Like a ray of sunlight breaking through a cloudy sky, it came, then end of my depression, thanks to the miracles offered by modern psychopharmacology. My recollections put the beginning of my depression sometime in childhood, and despite many medications and therapies, I remained a bit down most of the time. At the age of twenty eight, I was introduced to a specialist in the field of neuropharmacology, and within months of beginning my treatments with the doctor, I feel better than I ever remember feeling. Just as I take daily injects of insulin to treat my diabetes, I take a medicine to treat my depression.

Certain cases of depression are purely psychological in nature, such as that of a grieving spouse who just can't move on. Their depression is most likely of a purely psychological nature, it can be successfully treated through talk therapy alone. Other cases of depression have an organic element, a chemical imbalance within the system, like so many other medical maladies. In the case of depression, there are a few certain neurotransmitters within the brain which can be either too low or too high. The neurotransmitter tell the nerve cells what to do and whats going on, so a disruption in these chemicals can have strong effects, such as seizures, delusions and depression. Antidepressant medications correct the brain's levels of these chemicals and restore the sufferer's moods to a more comfortable state. The use of antidepressants is no different than the use of medicines for high blood pressure, if they're needed, they should be taken as directed by your doctor or ideally, a specialist.

Varieties of depression vary from purely medical conditions to purely psychological conditions and every shade of gray in between. Dysthymia, a long lasting, low-level depressive state, can be difficult to treat through talk therapy, often as the condition is so low-level that no event triggers the sufferer to enter treatment for their condition. I suffered from dysthymia between outbreaks of major depression, and both of which have been staved off by the right pharmaceuticals. If depression were merely a state of mind, it wouldn't have taken me all these years to get a placebo effect from an antidepressant. It may be difficult to wait out the trial-and-error process that it takes to find just the right medicine and dosage, but depression is a treatable medical condition and should be respected as such.

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