Treatment of Depression

• What is depression?

• Which drugs are used in the treatment of depression? Do these drugs have side effects?

• What are the drug-free treatment methods for treating depression?

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What is depression?

Depression; It is a mental disorder that means depression in Turkish and causes the individual to experience feelings such as reluctance, sadness, grief, hopelessness and stagnation intensely and for a long time. Along with the lack of enjoyment in previously enjoyable activities and difficulty in carrying out daily life tasks, adaptive impairments may be observed in important areas such as work, school, family and social life. A depressed person sees himself, his environment and his future negatively. Its lifetime prevalence is 10-25% in women and 5-12% in men.

The emergence of depression may be caused by some or all of the environmental, hereditary, biological, cognitive and physical factors. Life events that trigger depression; These may include job loss, moving city, ending a relationship, losing a loved one, moving house, seasonal change, dissatisfaction with work, conflict with family members, loneliness, birth, graduating from school, alcohol/drug use and physical illnesses.

The depressed individual reduces his activities due to reluctance, lack of energy and feeling tired, which are symptoms of depression. He even starts not to do the important things he needs to do (going to work, school, etc.). He feels guilty and unsuccessful by not fulfilling his responsibilities and by accumulating undone work.

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Which drugs are used in the treatment of depression? Do these drugs have side effects?

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In the treatment of depression, biological drugs are used primarily as antidepressant drugs and other physical therapy such as Electroconvulsive Therapy-ECT, TMS. treatments are used. Antidepressants act on the central nervous system from bottom to top, providing improvement on the subcortical structures dorsal raphe, locus cerelous, hypothalamus and hippocampus. This helps improve sleep, energy and appetite, which are the vegetative symptoms of depression on the individual.

Antidepressant drugs used in the treatment of depression He doesn't do good. It is important not to exceed the doctor's recommendations when starting, using and finishing medications. It is very important that you use your medications on time and regularly and do not drink alcohol with the medication. Improvement usually begins within 2-3 weeks after you start using medication. It may take up to 8 weeks to see the full effect. After the improvement begins, the medication is continued for an average of 3-6 months. If there have been previous depression attacks, the period can be extended.

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What are the non-drug treatment methods in the treatment of depression?

In therapy, the individual's self and It is aimed to provide control over the hopeless expectation of the future, helplessness and emotional state. The person learns new skills to overcome this situation. For this reason, cognitive behavioral therapy is accepted as an effective psychotherapy approach in the world in the treatment of depression and prevention of its recurrence.

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