How to Treat Depression Without Medication Essay

While it takes more than a simple â€Å"lifestyle change† to effectively attack a medical issue such as depression, it is not more medication that this Country needs more of, but rather a greater awareness, better mental health education and greater access to therapy for those suffering from this condition. Depression is as much an organic, physiological issue as a broken bone or heart problem but because it cannot be â€Å"seen† it is often ignored, dismissed, mistreated or over-medicated by the vast majority of healthcare providers. Today’s HMO driven, medication dependent society tends to throw pharmaceutical â€Å"band-aids† at the problem of depression. A more holistic, therapeutic approach, ideally involving the family/support system of the patient would, in the long run, be both a more effect and lasting treatment for the patient and more cost effective as well. While depression can, in fact, be helped by the use of proper medications, any long-term treatment must include counseling/therapy and significant and lasting lifestyle changes. Depression is, in fact, the catalyst that has lead me to pursue my current academic and professional dream to become a Psychologist. It is also something that I have a great deal of personal experience with, both as a parent of a clinically depressed teenager and as a woman living with a depressive disorder myself. In my own personal experience, the majority of doctors tend to â€Å"throw medication† at the issue of depression, when in fact, for many patients, therapeutic counseling and psychotherapy is often all that is needed. This tendency to medicate first and counsel second, especially in teens, can be irreparably damaging. Psychological medications, by their very nature, effect brain chemistry and can have huge negative side effects: suicidal tendencies, physical aggression, dramatic weight gain (which can have psychological and other medical side effects of its own), to name a few. These side effects can often times be even more emotionally damaging and dangerous to the patient than the depression itself. In 1998, after years of struggling, I was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. My own personal struggle with depression has also involved quite a few medications, with varying successes and varying degrees of side-effects. While searching for an effective treatment for me, my doctors prescribed any number of SSRIs, Beta Blockers and other commonly prescribed medications for the treatment of depressive disorders. I fought with sexual side effects, weight gain, crippling panic attacks, suicidal thoughts and more. In the end, I chose to wean myself from the medication and focus on therapy and the necessary lifestyle changes that go along with it. It is still a daily struggle and a choice to be happy and fight the â€Å"demons† that haunt me, but with the help of God, my family and my therapist, I am happier and more â€Å"well-adjusted† than ever before in my life. In a developing brain, like that of a depressed adolescent, these potentially hazardous side effects can be even more detrimental. In 2006, My then 14 year old daughter, when faced with depression due to her parents’ divorce and adjustment to life as an â€Å"Army Brat,â€Å" was put on Prozac by her Family Practice Physician. Within 30 days she had to be hospitalized and detoxified after suffering a psychotic episode at school and weeks of suicidal and homicidal thoughts. After a year of numerous diagnoses, multitudes of different psychological medications and weight gain of almost 80 pounds, she was no more emotionally stable than she was when she had begun the treatment. With the assistance of a new Psychiatrist and Primary Care Physician, we weaned her off all of the psychological medications and instead enrolled her in bi-weekly, one-on-one counseling with a Psychologist. It took her almost 3 years to undo the damage the experience with the hospital and medication trials had inflicted on her. She is finally doing well, is stable and uses counseling, meditation, breathing techniques and a number of other therapeutic tools to deal with the stresses of life, rather than continuing to be medication-dependent and suffering the side effects of those medications.