Friday 5 December 2014

By Claudine Hodges





Illnesses spread by microorganisms often follow a predictable course, and in many cases can be successfully treated using medications alone. Depression is a disease, but it not transmitted from person to person, and requires a completely different approach. It includes social, biological, psychological and spiritual factors, and depression counseling has become a significant part of recovery today for millions of people living with the illness.



Although there is usually no problem identifying its victims, pinning down an exact cause of their problem can be problematic. There can be physical symptoms that mimic many other conditions, including fatigue, weight gain or loss, or digestive problems. Depression can be triggered by situations that include severe personal loss, relentless stress, or addictions and substance abuse, but those factors alone do not necessarily constitute disease.



Because the symptoms and causes vary from person to person, the most successful treatments rely on a combination of approaches. Many patients experience relatively rapid symptom relief when given antidepressants or related medications, but the results are not necessarily permanent. Some of these medicines produce well-documented and potentially unpleasant side effects that cause some patients to stop taking them.



Those who achieve long-term remission, including relief from the worst symptoms, do so because their illness has been addressed on a psychological as well as physical basis. Some find that medications allow them to function well enough to embark on a program that helps achieves understanding of this disease on many levels. While personal behavior is important, a multifaceted approach stresses counseling, which overlaps with traditional psychotherapy.



Sometimes referred to as talk therapy, this approach addresses specific problems related to the disease. It gives sufferers a variety of therapeutic options, but also encourages patients to choose their own best path. Counseling sometimes leads to longer-term psychotherapy, which employs many of the same approaches but goes further in helping patients understand personal patterns and motivations.



For the best results, a wide variety of personal factors have to be examined closely and honestly. Counselors provide insight into though processes common to depressed people, and may provide solutions involving cognitive changes. The relationships people experience daily are addressed through interpersonal therapy processes, which also details how those associations directly affect mental health. While offering solutions, their main goal is to provide greater patient self-understanding.



They provide a safe and trusting environment to begin that journey. An adviser can offer help in stress reduction, and can help people understand the role that others play in triggering a depressive episode. When long-term changes seem too difficult or complicated to complete, a counselor helps patients continue to make real progress. They also help patients cope with the effects of medications.



People living in Port Charlotte FL who must deal with the causes, symptoms and solutions to depression benefit from a counselor who best understands their predicament, and who can make the personal connection that is crucial to getting better. The most successful approach does not rely on medications alone. The worst option is to do nothing and continue living with the problem.









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