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out of it!” or, “Toughen up!” or, ‘Stop
feeling sorry for yourself!’ will not make
depression go away.
Myth: Depressiongoes awaywith time.
While for some sufferers, depression can
be overcome without treatment, this isn’t
usually the case (perhaps it wasn’t depres-
sion to begin with). Untreated symptoms
can go on for weeks, months, even years,
andmay even lead to suicide. “Time alone
doesn’t help,” according to psychcentral.
com. Sometimes, the overwhelming feel-
ings of hopelessness and helplessness can
appear for no apparent reason and have
debilitating effects, with no end in sight.
Like other illnesses, it usually improves
with appropriate treatment (webmd.com).
Myth: Depression canonlybe treatedwith
antidepressants.
Individual doctors, psychiatrists and psy-
chologists practice various approaches
in treating depression because no one
individual are exactly alike in severity or
symptoms. Some sufferers may require
medication, but talk therapy (also known
as psychotherapy) also helps. Cognitive
Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is common
in treating depression where depression-
related thoughts and behaviours are
taught to be replaced with positive ones
(everydayhealth.com). Many doctors
consider a combination of bothmedication
and therapy to be effective in helping
someone with depression. It also isn’t as
easy as simply popping a pill. Medication
may take six or more weeks inmost cases,
and for many, they might even need to
try a number of different medications or
methods to find one that suits them best
(psychcentral.com).
Myth: I’ll be addicted tomedicationor I’ll
need tobeon themforever.
While medications need to be taken as
prescribed for a certain duration of time,
most sufferers who are doing well can be
taken off it (everydayhealth.com). The
time required to be on medication varies
for each individual according to how they
respond to the treatment. Research also
suggests that “most people can be treated
successfully in as little as 24 weeks with
a combination of psychotherapy and
medications” (psychcentral.com). Some
doctors have opined that “if you are doing
well on antidepressants for nine months
to a year, you can start to be tapered off”
(everydayhealth.com).
Myth: Talkingabout depressionmakes it
worse.
There’s a lot of social stigma surrounding
depression that has made it a taboo topic.
Very often, sufferers of depression are
misunderstood by those around them,
which makes expressing their problems
difficult. Huffingtonpost.com put it quite
eloquently, that ‘by abandoning the stigma
associated with the disorder and being re-
ceptive” to people who are suffering from
depression or people who are concerned
about a loved one who is afflicted by it,
“we are able to initiate the conversation
in a proactive, helpful way rather than
reinforce destructive, negative feelings.”
For sufferers, seeking the help of a mental
health professional should be just like
going to see a doctor when you have a
cold or a fever.