Cognitive Therapy Basics

Depression is a disorder which affects mind and body in a number of ways. It has many symptoms. They include loss of energy and lack of concentration. Other symptoms include sadness, anger and frustration. Extreme cases can lead the victim to attempt suicide. Depression can be caused by an unbalanced state of mind or some physical factor.

The various options for the treatment of depression varies from medication to psychotherapy to self help. Study suggests relaxation techniques may improve symptoms of depression (definitely in the case of mild depression).

Talking to someone close to you can go a long way in keeping away the blues. Your spouse/partner, your parents, your siblings or your close friends can be your pillar of strength during this depressive phase. Always remember… those who love you, will not judge you based on your weaknesses and will definitely give you the support you need.

The biggest problem with depression is how it affects the lives of those who live or work with the person with the condition; now after many years of research, medicine has recognized a number of types all with slightly different symptoms. Even though there are number of types, they are all based around some issue in the life of the affected person that has never been resolved; almost every person will suffer from it (usually to a lesser degree) from time to time during their lives.

Depressive illnesses make you feel exhausted, worthless, helpless and hopeless. Such negative thoughts and feelings make some people feel like giving up. It is important to realize that these negative views are part of the depression and typically do not accurately reflect your situation. Negative thinking fades as treatment begins to take effect.

In a therapy process, the person is exposed to a therapist who advices the patient to balance his thoughts. The depressed person can also consult a doctor and prescribe suitable drugs to deal with different cases of depression. People are often hospitalized so that they do not hurt themselves being influenced by their own depression. Proper care is taken for them. In severe cases shock treatment is also used. The patient is given electric shocks to let out the internal shocks which are caused by the depression.

If there is no obvious cause for the depression, or if reactive depression persists longer than might be expected, or if you are having suicidal thoughts, more aggressive therapy is needed. This means drug therapy and, possibly, hospitalization. The mainstay of drug treatment has long been a group of medications called tricyclic antidepressants, including amoxapine (Asendin), clomipramine (Anafranil), desipramine (Norpramin), imipramine (Tofranil), and nortriptyline (Aventyl, Pamelor). These drugs do not take effect immediately, so a test period of at least two weeks is necessary to determine whether they are working.

There are various situations in life where an individual may have to go through the procedure of depression. Although the cause of depression varies from person to person, the main reason may be due to some personal problems which may be work related, relationship problems or due to family problems but personal and family problems mainly contribute to the build up of depression.

What does Depression cause?

For many, depression does not seem complex because they live with it. But depression causes problems in work, social life, family adjustment. If you suffer from depression then you must be well aware of the problems that you face, but it is not only you that suffer, but people around you suffer too because they care for you.

Types of Depression:

You may wonder how can there be different types of depression. The truth is that there are 5 types of depressions and the following section explains it further.

Ø Major Depression: This is the most serious type and the variety and number of symptoms are huge.

Ø Dysthymic Disorder: A depression that is generally moderate and has been present for nearly two years or at times longer.

Ø Unspecified Depression: This type exists in people who have depression that is quite serious in nature but not severe in nature.

Ø Adjustment Disorder Depression: A type of depression that occurs with people due to problems or due to a crisis in one’s life.

Ø Bipolar Depression: People facing this type of depression may have low and high mood swings along with other symptoms.

If you suffer from depression, depression therapy will help you to combat it. You can do depression therapy on your own and the first thing you need to do is stop thinking negative. Negative thinking is the main reason for depression and it pulls any person back from achieving what they want to do. The following steps given below are useful when considering a good depression treatment :

1) In the initial stages set goals that are not tough for you by breaking them down to smaller ones and then accordingly proceed to fulfilling the goals.

2) Avoid staying alone and instead always try to have friends or relatives around so that you can enjoy every moment. By enjoying yourself you keep all problems away.

3) Avoid negative thinking whenever it comes to your mind, instead think the positive version of it and try and achieve that.

Although you can start and catalyze a depression therapy, getting help from a psychologist would speed up the healing process and also make it simpler for you.

There are various websites which you can search to get loads of information about depression therapy, its types and ways to implement to help people suffering from depression.