Treatments and Supporting Someone with Depression

By: Trinity Martin

There are a number of different treatments when it comes to remedying depression. The effectiveness of the method is often conducive to the specific diagnosis and the individual suffering from it.

Common treatments that are often explored are:

• Cognitive Behavior Therapy

• Dialectical Behavior Therapy

• Medication

• Psychotherapy

There however are some treatments dedicated to certain types of depression. Take Seasonal Affective Depression (SAD), for example. It has its own special form of therapy, which uses magically charged beams of light to cure sadness in a process known as Light Therapy. Okay, maybe they’re not magical, but the light is used to simulate the brightness of the sun in the happy season. It has indicated a significant difference in those affected by SAD, resulting in elevated moods and energy levels.

While not quite as special as Light Therapy, there are two other unconventional therapies that are implemented in extreme cases, Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) -which is as cool as it sounds. ECT has been around for decades and was often used in asylums during the 1950s and 1960s, where currents of electricity were transferred to patients via two conducting lobes held to their temples. Today, the procedure is much tamer and not as intense as it was in the past. It is also used now as a last-ditch effort with extreme caution. TMS, like ECT, stimulates the brain but with far less drastic and potentially lethal results. It is a non-invasive procedure in which the magnetic field current is transferred to the brain via a magnetic coil.

Support is just as important as treatment when it comes to recovery and can be pivotal in the process. Supporting someone suffering from this can look like any of the following:

• Attending meetings for victims of mental health illnesses or their families

• Learning the symptoms and warning signs of the disease

• Encouraging them to see a doctor

• Discussing their feelings and emotions

It can even be as simple as:

• Listening to the person

• Encouraging self-care

• Providing positive reinforcement

• Doing things and making plans together

It may take a combination of a few of these to make an impact. Just remember to be patient because slow and steady wins the race.