Posted by SLS on May 28, 2005, at 8:40:46
In reply to Is it possible to beat depression without ADs?, posted by Denise1966 on May 26, 2005, at 6:38:23
> hi,
>
> I sometimes wonder if it's possible to beat depression without the use of any medication.I think this depends on the nature of the depression. That is a terse answer, but it is true. If the dynamics of one's psyche is one of depressive thinking, correcting the dysfunctional thoughts can have profoundly positive effects on mood for the long-term. Talk therapy, including CBT can be quite effective. Some people enter depressed states transiently as the result of a loss of some sort or a situation in which one feels helpless to effect change. There are a whole bunch of reasons why someone might become depressed as the result of internal and external conflicts.
What makes it so difficult to distinguish between a hard biological depression versus a constitution of depressive thinking is that the way one feels effects the way one thinks. Are the dysfunctional thoughts the result of depression, or is the depression the result of dysfunctional thoughts?
Would you be willing to go through a course of psychotherapy in an effort to isolate and resolve any psychological and emotional issues that perhaps yield a depressive thought style? Of course, you can do this while you are taking medication.
What my concern is in your case is that your depression is so recurrent. It might be that a continuous "pulsing" of antidepressants to treat multiple episodes may lead eventually to a resistance to biological therapy.
What I think makes the most sense is to seek psychotherapy while you are taking antidepressants and in remission. You will be much better able to mentally process your issues. Psychotherapy involves work. It involves recognition, processing, and practicing. For some people, this is all but impossible while in a biological depressed state. At some point in your psychotherapy, you may elect to discontinue the antidepressants to see if you can live without them. If you do this, you should create a list of signs and symptoms of biological depression to refer to so that you can recognize it as soon as possible should you begin to relapse.
Give yourself ONE more chance to live without biological intervention. This is it. You better make that psychotherapy really count. If you relapse within 4 months of the discontuation of drug-therapy, you must classify yourself as having recurrent major depressive disorder, and accept the reality that you will need medication indefinitely until medical science develops a better way.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:503076
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050527/msgs/504100.html