DEPRESSION TREATMENT

Antidepressants

Pros
Antidepressants can be very effective in reducing severe physical symptoms of depression.
SSRI's work quickly to increase serotonin levels in the brain and temporarily lift the mood.
In mild cases depression medications can be useful to push through a short term stressful life experiences.
In extreme cases antidepressant medications can play a beneficial supportive role by suppressing
excessive symptoms and increasing the effectiveness of causal treatments.

Cons
When treated solely with depression medication, sufferers face up to an 80% chance of relapse.
Many people report the side effects of depression medication are worse than the depression itself.
Due to their mood lifting effects, depression medication often cause dependency.
Withdrawal from depression medication can cause new symptoms and/or exacerbation of old ones.
Antidepressants don't treat the cause they only temporarily mask the symptoms.
Most depression medication is effective in only one third of cases, partially effective in another third
with the remainder experiencing little or no improvement at all.

So then why are antidepressants so widely prescribed?

Because depression is a condition that pulls you into a downward spiral of negative thoughts and emotions that become so intense the body displays (often severe) physical symptoms. Antidepressants (most commonly prescribed are SSRIs) are designed to treat these symptoms and can be very effective in this regard, however depression medication alone cannot treat the causes. While boosting serotonin levels can be a very welcome temporary relief for the sufferer, when the medication is denied most people find themselves back at square one again.

What is the most effective alternative?

Research into a permanent alternative depression treatment has come a long way in recent years due to some alarming statistics that indicate we are fast becoming a society dependent on depression medication. When you consider that some commonly prescribed antidepressants have relapse rates of up to 80% you can see why studies today show a clear focus on developing long-term solutions rather than simply treating the symptoms with medication.