Home | Provider Resources | About Us | Contact Us | Search

Treating Depression

Print Version (PDF, 1.5MB)

Back to all Preventive Health Programs

1. What are Antidepressants & How Do They Work?
2. How Can Antidepressants Help Me?
3. What About Side Effects?
4. How Can I Make Therapy Better?
5. What Can I Do To Take Care Of Myself?

In the first weeks or months of treatment, it can seem that you’ll never feel better. Be patient. Learn about your medicine. Understand how talk-therapy can help. The more you know, the better your treatment will work for you. This newsletter will tell you about ways to take care of yourself and feel better.

1. What are Antidepressants & How Do They Work?

Chemicals send messages between the cells in your brain. If there is a low amount of one of these chemicals, your brain cannot function the way it should. When this happens, you may get depressed. Antidepressant medicine helps with these brain chemicals. It also repairs the brain’s ability to send messages between cells. This happens in different ways. That is why there are different medicines.

back to top

2. How Can Antidepressants Help Me?

Antidepressant medicine can help you feel better. It can help you feel less nervous, guilty, hopeless and sad. It can give you more energy and make it easier for you to pay attention. Medicine can help you enjoy the things you used to like to do. It can help you sleep better and eat right. You cannot get addicted to your antidepressant medicine.

The first 3 months of treatment require the most monitoring by your doctor and therapist. It is important to take your medicine just as your doctor prescribed. It is common for people to stay on medicine for 6 months or more. You should take your medicine for as long as your doctor tells you.

Medicine can't help with family or relationship problems or the loss of someone you love. It can't help with things like money trouble. That's why talk-therapy is important. Talk-therapy can help with these problems.

back to top

3. What About Side Effects?

Take your medicine just the way the doctor tells you. It works best this way. Usually you will take medicine every day. Tell your doctor how the medicine makes you feel. This helps the doctor treat your depression quickly and safely. Your medicine may give you side effects. Side effects usually only last a short time. The most common side effects are a dry mouth, feeling tired, and problems with sex. Many side effects will go away 2 to 6 weeks after starting medicine.

Can I Change Medications If I'm Having Side Effects?

Talk with your doctor about your side effects. Do not change you medicine on your own. Do not stop taking your medicine. This is dangerous. It can make you feel worse. If you don't like the side effects, you and your doctor can make changes. Your doctor might add a second medicine or change the dose of your medicine. Changing your medicine in a big decision that you and your doctor should make together.

It is important not to drink alcohol while taking medicine. Ask your doctor or pharmacist before taking over-the-counter medications, including herbs or vitamins.

back to top

4. How Can I Make Therapy Better?

Talk-therapy takes time. You must be active in your therapy. Talk about what makes you depressed. Do the following things to help to make therapy a success:

• Make a commitment to therapy. Talk with your therapist about what makes you depressed. Some things are hard or painful to talk about, but talking about them may help you feel better.
• Keep your therapy appointments. Therapy won't help if you don't go to sessions.
• Think about your therapy before and after each session. Each day think about what you talked about in your last therapy session and what you want to talk about in your next therapy session.
• Write down your thoughts between sessions. This can help you and your therapist see what makes you depressed.
• Do any homework that your therapist gives you. Homework can help you sort out your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
• Tell your therapist about your thoughts, feelings, and actions. Talking with your therapist is the most important part of therapy. Be honest. Don't hide information from your therapist. Tell your therapist about your problems and what you do about them. Tell him or her about the other people in your life. Use the symptoms listed in the first newsletter in this series to talk with your therapist about how you feel. Then your therapist can decide the best way to treat your depression.
• Tell your therapist if you are uncomfortable or unhappy with therapy. Depression can make you feel hopeless. Tell your therapist if this is how you are feeling. You and your therapist can work on a treatment plan that helps you feel hopeful.
• Your relationship with your therapist can be an example of a successful relationship. Two people are involved in therapy. This is a relationship. Problems you have with other people may also come up in your relationship with your therapist. You and your therapist can use the feelings that come up between you to understand how you think and feel in other relationships.

back to top

5. What Can I Do To Take Care Of Myself?

Medicine and therapy can make you feel better. The following list shows you some other things you can do to feel better.

• Take care of your health. Taking care of your basic health is important. When you are depressed, you are more likely to get physically sick, like getting a cold or the flu. This can make you even more depressed.
• Get enough sleep. Sleep during regular hours. Try to go to sleep and wake up at about the same time each day.
• Eat a well-balanced diet at regular times. You might not feel like eating. However, if you don't eat, you will feel worse. Eat breakfast, lunch and dinner.
• Eat meals at the same time every day. This will help you to be physically healthy.
• Exercise daily. Exercise helps you think about something besides depressing thoughts. Ask your doctor what kind of exercise is best for you. Think about walking, jogging, aerobics, weight training, or a sport.
• Be around others. When you're feeling bad, it can be painful to talk with other people. However, getting out of your home and being around other people can help you feel better.
• Work at your friendships. Friendships can help you feel better and supported. It is important to have someone to talk with. Friends and family are good people to talk to.
• Know your limits. When you're feeling bad, being around people can be hard. It might make you feel worse. It's okay not to socialize a lot until you feel better. Make sure to tell your family and friends how you feel. Tell them you need time for yourself now.
• Let close friends and family members know what you are going through. Let people you trust know you are depressed. They can help you feel better. Ask your family members and friends to put less stress on you for a while.
• Take up a hobby. Doing something fun helps take your mind off depressing thoughts. Some ideas include gardening, crafting, dancing, music, or art.

back to top