Treating Depression - Pills or Talk - Research Paper Example

Treating Depression - Pills or Talk Introduction There has been a rise of various mental disorders. One of such mental disorders is depression (Myers, 2011). Such disorders have been shown to affect people of all ages. However, the old population seems prone to such mental disorders. Sometimes it is not possible to identify the characteristics of a mental disorder in any given population. As a result, this leads to harmful effects to the individuals affected. Such people are forced to spend a lot of money seeking treatment. Moreover, their personal life is affected in significant ways. The problem also affects the family members and society. Therefore, treatment of depression is the only effective ways of reducing the negative effect to individual and society. The treatment may be through either medication or the use of therapy (Hollon, Thase & Markowitz, 2004). However, there are those that believe that combination of medication and therapy can serve right in the treatment of depression (Hollon et al., 2004). Describe the main symptoms of Depression and populations affected by disorder There are various symptoms of depression. The main symptoms of depression include prolonged hopelessness and laziness as in major depressive disorder and overexcitement as in bipolar disorder (Myers, 2011). Several predictors have been cited to the development of disorders. Such include poverty, crosses ethnic and gender lines (Myers, 2011). Poverty has been shown to contribute significantly to the development of depression especially among women. On the other hand, the symptoms of depression have been shown to be prone to a certain age group. The bipolar disorder has been shown to start at the median age of 25 while major depression is shown to start at the age of 25 years (Myers, 2011). The disorders affect different population in certain ways. For example, the bipolar depression is common in 1 to 2 percent of the population (Hollon et al., 2004). On the other hand, the unipolar depression affects the majority of women as compared to men (Hollon et al., 2004). It has been shown to affect 20 percent of women and 10 percent of men (Hollon et al., 2004). Effects of depression There are various effects of depression. The individual affected, family, and society feel the effects. The disorder affects the person in significant ways. First, the person feels not satisfied with life and has no hope for the future. Such person may also feel not connected to the family members and society (Myers, 2011). The person may also lack energy or to do some of the activities (Myers, 2011). This will affect an employee as it may lead to dismissal and hence lack of money for support. Moreover, such person is sometimes forced to pay a lot of money to cater for medication. Such negative effect may also lead to a person developing thoughts of committing suicide (Myers, 2011). The reduced availability of money may also affect spouse and children. This may occur if the affected person acted as the only breadwinner in such families. Family members may also be affected emotionally as they cater for the affected member of the family. This is because depression sometimes leads to disability (Myers, 2011). Antidepressants There are three types of antidepressants listed in the article. They include monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI), tricyclic antidepressants (TCI), and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI). The first widely used antidepressants were MAOI (Hollon et al., 2004). They stop the action of an enzyme and are responsible for breaking down neurotransmitters. As a result, they affect the activities of norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine. These are involved in regulating mood (Hollon et al., 2004). The side effects includes rare interaction with certain common foods. The other common antidepressants are TCA. They help in stopping the reuptake of neurotransmitters inephrine and serotonin (Hollon et al., 2004). The drugs have significant side effects. These may include fainting, dried mouth and unclear vision. Moreover, the drug can be a dangerous one it is taken in excess quantities. The other group is the SSRI. The drug stops the reuptake of serotonin back into presynaptic neurons (Hollon et al., 2004). The drug has gained preference as compared to TCAs due to fewer side effects and reduced rate danger on taking excess dose (Hollon et al., 2004). However, still there are some side effects. The effects include gastrointestinal and sexual problems (Hollon et al., 2004). Both of the two main drugs have been shown to “block the reuptake” (Hollon et al., 2004). This means that the neurotransmitters are prevented from being reabsorbed back after the action is completed. Focus and techniques of therapy There are a number of psychotherapy techniques. However, there are those that are the most influential. The most common includes psychoanalysis/ psychodynamic, humanistic, cognitive behavioral and interpersonal therapy (Myers, 2011). These can be used either as one or in groups. In psychodynamic therapy, the focus is on trying to help people understand their current symptoms and hence reduce anxiety through self-insight (Myers, 2011). The focus is usually on the themes across serious relationships (Myers, 2011). This may include childhood experiences and the therapist relationships. The discussion usually occurs in face-to-face interactions. In humanistic therapy, the focus is on boost people’s natural potential for self-fulfillment (Myers, 2011). This helps such people grow in self-awareness and self-acceptance (Myers, 2011). The therapist explores feelings as they occur. It also calls for taking responsibilities for one’s feelings and actions rather than avoiding them. On the other hand, interpersonal therapy (IPT) has it focus. This therapy focuses on problems in relationships (Hollon et al., 2004). Therapist helps patients events that may have caused depression. They also help such patients to find ways to overcome such events and turn round life from social problems, weakness, and lack of concentration (Hollon et al., 2004). The therapy emphasizes that symptoms are the result of mood disorder and not as a result of personal failures. This helps in lifting the guilt and self-blame most common in depression. In cognitive behavioral therapy, several assumptions are made. It holds that mood disorders are caused by learned beliefs and behaviors and hence can be avoided through experience (Hollon et al., 2004). The cognitive part emphasizes the role of patient in unusual beliefs and abnormalities (Hollon et al., 2004). The behavioral part focuses on how external circumstances shape patient responses. It aims to promote healthier thinking and thought. Phases of treatment for depression and effectiveness for treating depression at each of these stages There are three phases involved in the treatment of depression. This involves medication, therapy, and a combination of medication and therapy (Hollon et al., 2004). Medication has been shown to be effective in certain cases of severely depressed individuals (Hollon et al., 2004). Moreover, use of medication has been shown to be ineffective in the treatment of symptoms after relapse (Hollon et al., 2004). This is because medication at this stage acts as antibiotics. On the other hand, therapy has been shown to be effective in preventing reoccurrence of depression (Hollon et al., 2004). This is because the approach helps in establishing the real causes of depression. Hence, they provide long-term benefits as compared to medication. However, the combination of medication and therapy has been shown to be more effective (Hollon et al., 2004). This is because medication help in the treatment of severe cases while therapy helps in minimizing relapse and recurrence. Why don’t many people get the help that they need? There are various reasons as to many people that need it. One reason may be due to lack of knowledge on development of symptoms at an early stage. Second, some of the alternative treatments are costly. Moreover, few researches exist on the effectiveness of alternative treatments (Hollon et al., 2004). Conclusion It is clear that depression has been challenging. This is because it affects persons affected, family and society. Moreover, it leads to large economic burden due to the high cost involved in treatment and management. On the other hand, it is clear that combination of treatments is effective in control of the condition. However, more information needs to be made available on alternative forms of treatment. References Hollon, S. D., Thase, M. E., & Markowitz, J. C. (2004). Treating depression: Pills or talk. Scientific American Mind, 14(5), 34-39. Myers, D. G. (2011). Exploring psychology: Eighth edition in modules. New York, NY: Worth Publisher. Read More