Nowadays many men of the street do not know how to treat depression effectively. However, the treatment of the first signs of depression trouble not only them. The effective help for depression is still not only the task of psychiatrists, but also psychotherapists. The successful depression treatment requires a biological therapy, psychotherapy and a number of social measures aimed to improvement of the patient’s status.

The spontaneous recovery by lingering depression is quite uncommon and forms about 10% of all cases. At that, the return of depression happens within the next 2-4 years.

The effectiveness of the depression treatment depends on its clinical presentation and on the adequacy of therapeutic intervention. The biological treatment of depression first of all includes pharmacological therapy. At the same time for the biological treatment of depression may be used: electroconvulsive therapy, sleep deprivation, phototherapy, dietetic therapy, phototherapy, efferent treatment methods and other biological modalities on the patient’s body. Among the pharmacotherapy of depression more often are used antidepressants, however during the therapy of this disease are also spread other medications: tranquilizers, neuroleptics, vitamins, hormones, antioxidants, the lithium, medicines that improve the metabolism in brain cells and influence the immune system.

It should be noted, that antidepressants can also be effective by the treatment of anxiety, impulsive obsessions, migraine, bulimia, vegetative crisis, and even by removal of different pains, because antidepressants usually raise pain threshold. The treatment of depression signs can be conducted with the help of psychotherapy. In order to get rid of depression patients aspire themselves to this form of medical and psychological aid. A great while, depressed patient can’t bring himself to ingestion, and starting the intake of antidepressants, he quite often ceases the pharmacotherapy of depression.

By virtue of helplessness and constant doubts, patients are usually suggestible and while reading the annotations of one or another drug, they easily find by themselves side effects in the first days of the treatment. Besides, depressed patients have functional disorders of internal organs and thereby are really sensitive to some side-effects. Many patients experience a false alarm living in constant dependence on antidepressants. The main part of the patients, suffering from depression, is a placebo – reactors, i. e. people who are easily responsive to even «blank tablets», which generally do not contain any active materials. All aspects listed above determine the heighten interest of such patients in the psychotherapy.

A major argument, which testifies the role of psychotherapy in depression treatment, is the experimental data, which show the importance of psychological factors in the formation of therapeutic resistance of depression to medical products. The effective course of psychotherapy in long-range outlook is likely more useful than pharmacotherapy, because it teaches the patient. The last one acquires the skills of overcoming depression. It learns to recognize its approximation, as well as to prevent its recurrence. According to the results of many studies, the normalization of endocrine indicators during the depression therapy is achieved not only by the process of treatment with antidepressants, but also by psychotherapy. The influence of psychotherapy upon the endocrine indicators is observed both in its combination with psychopharmacological therapy and in the case of its using like a single treatment.

In a number of cases, psychotherapy allows patients to adapt to real life. With an independent therapeutic effect, psychotherapy promotes the optimal collaboration of the patient and a physician. It also improves the efficiency of medical treatment, as well as family relationships and professional status of the patient.

The frequent depression after acute trauma or lingering stress leads to a persistent search of its origin. This circumstance strengthens the patients` aspiration for psychological help. However, an excessive overestimation of its abilities, unfortunately can lead to complete repudiation of psychoactive drugs, as well as to formation of resistant and lingering kinds of depression and to its early exacerbations. For patients the issue how to treat depression remains open.

From the doctor’s point of view the psychotherapy of depression should be primarily aimed at removal of depression symptoms. Some of them are more sensitive to psychotherapy, and other come relatively difficult under its influence. It is assumed that by severe depressions the possibilities of psychotherapy are more limited than in light cases. As targets of psychotherapeutic effects they choose mood disorder, behavioral disorder, motivational and physiological symptoms. Among affective symptoms - is sadness, feeling of guilt and shame and especially anxiety.

Depression – is a mental disease which is characterized by the disturbance of the mood.

What are the main symptoms of depression?

The most common symptoms of depression include:

• Joyless, depressed condition, loss of pleasure
• Disinterest
• Inability to concentration, amnesia.
• Inability to come to decisions, obsessive return to the same issues.
• Fear (before commonness or vagueness), inner agitation, anxiety.
• A sensation of weariness, lack of the energy.
• Disturbance of sleep
• Lack of appetite, weight loss
• The feeling of weight in the belly or in the chest
• Vegetative symptoms (dry mouth, constipation, sweatiness and so on.)

What can you do if your loved one is suffering from depression?

• You should not ignore or forbid patient complaints
• Do not make trivial or comforting speeches or banal whistlings in the dark.
• Do not try to amuse the sick man.
• Stress the momentary of the depression and offer the hope of its ending.
• Do not call upon the exercise of will by the sick man. Do not tell him: «you should pull yourself together», «you might have do it, if only you want it» etc.
• Do not make the patient feel helpless and guilty.
• Do not call upon such virtues like faith and responsibility.
• May depressed person not take decisions, especially very important.
• Be calmly and confidently with this person.
• Organize independently the doctor’s advice and accompany the patient
• Relieve the patient from his private and official contacts.
• Do not change cardinal patient’s habits
• Do not insist on the patient’s vacation, especially if there are no signs of pronounced depression.
• Show your sympathy and understanding, support the patient in performance of his vital and real tasks.
• Pay patient’s attention to everything what he succeeded to do. At that, do not show triumphal emotions.
• Look after regular patient’s daily routine
• Do not allow patient lie for a long time in the mornings, go to bed early and stay alone.
• Take care that patient look after himself
• Avoid assumed cheerfulness
• Do not reproach and rebuke
• Try to stimulate patient’s breathing
• Do not mention about past patient’s successes
• Do not self-medicate of the patient, ask for psychiatrist’s help.

How to treat depression?

Modern depression treatment includes:

• The use of biological treatment (first of all psychopharmacological medications). The requisite conditions for the effectiveness of the treatment are collaboration with the doctor: strict adherence of ordered therapy, the regular visits to the doctor, a detailed, unconcealed statement about your condition and life difficulties.
• Psychotherapy (individual, group and family) is not an option, but an important complement to the pharmacotherapy of depression. In contrast to pharmacotherapy, the psychotherapy supposed more active patient’s role in the treatment. Psychotherapy helps patients to develop the skills of emotional self-regulation, thus in future they can more effective cope with crisis situations, and not be absorbed in depression.

What usually prevents the treatment of psychotherapeutic help?

• Lack of information by people about what psychotherapy means.
• The fear for devotion a third person in personal, intimate experiences.
• Skeptical attitude that “talks” can provide appreciable curative effect.
• The concept that one need to cope with the psychological difficulties on his own. To call on another person is a sign of weakness.

The assistance of relatives in depression’s overcoming. The support of relatives, even when the patient does not express any interest, is very important in depression’s overcoming. In this connection we can give following pieces of advice to patient’s relatives:

• Remember, that depression – is a disease which need sympathy, but on no accounts you need not be absorbed in a disease together with a patient, sharing his pessimism and despair. It is necessary to keep a certain emotional distance, all the time reminding yourself and the patient, that depression – is a transient emotional state.
• According to studies, depression proceeding negatively especially in those families, where patient gets a lot of censorious remarks. Try to give the patient to understand that his condition – it is not his fault, but misfortune. He is need of help and treatment.
• Try not to focus on disease of your loved one and bring positive emotions in your life and in family’s life. As far as possible, try to involve the patient in some useful activity, but not dismiss him from the work.