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Recovery & Treatment
Back to all Preventive Health Programs
As you continue in treatment,
- Your mood will get better.
- You will have more energy.
- Your symptoms of depression
will start to go away.
- It will be easier to live a normal
life again.
Because you feel better, you might think your
depression is cured. This is a mistake.
Do not stop taking your medicine. Do not
stop going to therapy. It is important that you stay in
treatment. If you don’t, the symptoms of depression
might come back. This is called a relapse. Relapses are
discouraging because the symptoms that you worked
hard to get rid of return. Many times
treatment must start all over again.
1. What are the Stages of Recovery?
Recovery happens in stages.
When your symptoms start to
get better you might feel like
your previous self. You might think your depression is gone. When this happens, it is important to continue your medicine and therapy. If you don’t, the symptoms can return. You can have a relapse.
- How long will I take medicine? Ask your doctor how long you need medicine. If this is the first
time you are treated for depression, you will usually take medicine for many months. Take your
medicine for as long as your doctor tells you to help avoid a relapse.
If this is the first time you are treated for depression, talk
with your doctor about when to stop taking medicine. You
should stop your medicine slowly over a few weeks. Do not
stop your medicine all at once. This can cause side effects.
When you are stopping your medicine, watch for any of the
symptoms of depression to come back. If you have any
symptoms, tell your doctor. Your doctor can start the
medicine again before you have a full relapse.
- How long should I go to therapy? You and your
therapist should talk about when to stop talking therapy.
Decide together how you’ve gotten better and what needs more work. You and your therapist
should both agree that you no longer need therapy before you stop.
As a first step in stopping therapy, your therapist might tell you that you need fewer sessions. Try
to use what you have learned in therapy, even if you are not going as often. If you need it, your
therapist can start treatment with you again.
- Staying better. About half of the people who have depression have it only once. For the other
half, depression comes back. For these people, the symptoms of depression usually go away
between the times they are depressed. However, some people have symptoms that don’t go away.
People who have had depression more than once might need treatment for a longer time. The more
episodes of depression you have had, the more likely it is that your depression will come back.
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2. What About My Antidepressants?
Managing your medicine is important to a fast and successful
recovery from depression.
Take your medicine as the doctor tells you. Take your medicine
even when you start to feel better. Start a reminder system so you
don’t forget to take your medicine. A pillbox can remind you which
medicine to take each day.
Talk with your doctor. Ask questions. Tell your doctor how you
feel. Write down any side effects that you have and tell your doctor.
Do not take any new medicines until you talk with your doctor or the
pharmacist at the drug store. Do not take any over-the-counter
medicines until you talk with your doctor or the pharmacist.
Keep all appointments with your doctor. Don’t miss
appointments with your doctor. Even if you feel better, keep
your appointments.
Make sure that you do not run out of medicine. Plan your prescription refills.
Do not drink alcohol while taking medicine. Don’t drink alcohol. Don’t use drugs.
If you feel like using alcohol or drugs, be sure to talk to your doctor about it.
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3. What If I Don't Feel Better?
Treating depression takes time. Be patient. If you do not
see any changes after a few months of treatment, do not
get discouraged. Talk with your doctor or therapist about
how you feel and about the changes you want to see.
Your doctor or therapist will help find a treatment that
works for you.
If you have questions about medicine for depression, talk
to your doctor or therapist. If you are not happy with your
therapy, talk with your therapist. There are different ways
to treat depression. Most therapists know how to work in
different ways. Together you can find a way that works.
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4. What Else Can I Do To Take Care of Myself?
In the last newsletter, we listed some things you
could do to take care of yourself. Here are some
more suggestions. As you begin to feel better,
think about what could have led to your depression.
Think about what you can change in your
life to avoid becoming depressed.
While you are getting better, you will have demands on your time and energy and problems to
solve. This might feel like too much stress. Try to take care of yourself in the following ways.
This can help to lower stress.
- Keep a daily schedule. Set small goals. Do one thing at a time. Then tasks won’t feel so impossible. Reward yourself for each goal you reach.
- Think positive thoughts. If you have negative thoughts about yourself, you can try to change them. Don’t blame yourself. Don’t expect to fail. Try to think good things about yourself.
- Fight your negative thoughts. Don’t just accept them. If you find yourself thinking something negative, try to look at it another way. Depression often makes you think the worst. Step back from the problem. Write the problem down. You will see that your negative thoughts often do not make sense.
- Notice good things about yourself. Seeing good things helps
you put your negative thoughts in perspective. The negative thoughts are not as true as you might think.
- Write down good things. It is helpful to write down good things
about yourself. Write down nice things that people say to you. You can carry this list with you. This will help you to remember that there are many things you do well.
- Try not to make big decisions when you feel depressed.
Depression changes how you think about yourself and how you
feel about situations. You might not make clear decisions when
you are depressed. If you have to make a big decision, ask
someone you trust to help you. This person could be your doctor,
your therapist, a family member or a friend. When you feel better, start making decisions again.
- Ask for help when you need it. Depression changes the way
you think about yourself. You might think that no one
wants to hear about your problems. But there are people
who want to help you and know what you’re feeling.
Don’t be afraid to ask people, such as your doctor,
therapist and friends, for help. Don’t think that you
are a burden to them.
- Don’t criticize yourself when things go wrong.
Everything doesn’t always go as you hope. Feeling better
takes time. Making positive changes in your life takes
time. Sometimes changes can only happen by trial and
error. Be patient. Be sure to notice improvements.
- Think about taking stress management or assertiveness classes. These classes teach things that can help you get over being depressed. They help with the problems that cause
depression. You will learn ways to deal with stress and problems
expressing yourself.
- Think about joining a self-help group. Join a group for
people who have had depression. It will help to talk to people
who have had the same problems as you.
- Get help for problems that make treatment harder. Talk to
your doctor or therapist about your alcohol or drug use. Using
alcohol or drugs can make depression worse. Getting treatment
for alcohol or drug abuse, if you have this problem, is important
for long-term success in treating depression.
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To download a pdf version of this newsletter, click here. (PDF, 379K)
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