by Stacey Duran

Created on: April 05, 2010

Treatment for Depression

When a person suffers from depression, there are many different ways to treat this emotional disorder, such as psychological approaches, sociocultural approaches and biological approaches. Because depression affects people both physically and mentally, treatment should also address both of the problems. Without one or the other, one aspect of the disease is being left untreated. While some may feel that medication is not the best route, most people benefit from the medication and the benefits outweigh the risks. Medication alone may not cure a person from their state of depression, but along with proper therapy, a person can overcome their feelings of hopelessness and the medication can stabilize their emotions so that they can lead a normal life. 

Depression is an emotional state characterized by a low, sad state of mind and sadness, lack of energy, low self-worth, guilt, or related symptoms. 7% of Americans suffer from severe depression and 5% suffer from mild depression each year with 17% of adults experiencing an episode of depression in their lives. (Comer, p. 242) While symptoms can vary from person to person, most people exhibit indecisiveness, uncontrollable sobbing, feelings of despair, anger, worthlessness, inability to function doing daily tasks, ability to feel pleasure, feeling empty, humiliated, a lack of initiative, desire to stay in bed all day, pessimism, hopelessness and helplessness. Physical symptoms can be experienced, such as headaches, indigestion, constipation, dizzy spells, general pain and disturbances in sleep and eating habits. (Comer, p. 244-245)

Depression can be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, genetic and biological factors, or a traumatic emotional event. It commonly runs in families and scientists believe that they have found genes on chromosomes that are directly related to depression. People who suffer from low levels of the neurotransmitter chemicals norepinephrine and serotonin have been shown to be vulnerable to depression. It is not only the low levels of these neurotransmitters that leads to depression but the reaction of the two together or lack thereof. There is also proof that brain circuits that trigger one another produce certain emotional reactions and one brain circuit is tied anxiety disorder, another to panic disorder, and another to obsessive compulsive disorder. On learning this, more research is being done to find the brain circuit for depression. A person who is

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