Depression Counseling Offers Options For Recovery

By Claudine Hodges


Diseases caused by microorganisms can often be easily cured using medications because they follow predictably similar patterns of infection. Although depression is a serious illness, it is not contagious, and successful treatment requires a completely different approach encompassing biological, psychological, social and spiritual elements. Depression counseling is a crucial factor in achieving a longer-lasting solution.

Determining who the victims are is not difficult, but finding a precise cause for their condition is more complicated. The physical manifestations include weight gain or loss, chronic fatigue, digestive trouble, and other symptoms common to many ailments. Triggering factors may include unremitting stress, deeply felt personal loss, or substance abuse and resulting addiction, none of which necessarily indicate the presence of disease.

Because of these significant differences related to causes and symptoms, the most effective treatments use a combination approach. The development of antidepressants and other pharmacological aids has given many patients relief from the worst symptoms, but medications are not a stand-alone solution. Some have well-documented side effects, and while they can relieve the most severe symptoms, they are not a cure.

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.

That journey becomes easier when there is an environment that feels safe and inspires trust. Advisers offer proven ways to reduce intractable stress, and examine the role that others may play in triggering a depressive period. When making long-term changes seems like an impossible personal goal, counselors help people get back on track. They can also help patients cope with pharmaceutical side-effects of antidepressants.

Residents of Port Charlotte FL who cope daily with the symptoms and causes of depression can greatly benefit from building a relationship with a counselor who understands their unique circumstances, and who can be the link to a better quality of life. Medications are helpful, but are not often a permanent solution. For most people, the worst choice is to take no action and continue to suffer.




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