If you take prescription drugs for depression, like Prozac or Zoloft, you may want to reconsider. Now, I’m not telling you they are bad drugs, but what I am telling you is that there is a more effective means to reliving depression. Studies have shown that cognitive therapy, which means seeing a cognitive psychologist, is just as effective as prescription drugs for relieving depression but more effective at eliminating depression altogether. Let me elaborate, recent studies show that relapse time for people who underwent cognitive therapy is 30 percent, in comparison to 70 percent for people using anti-depressants. If you don’t understand what I mean think of it this way: the study showed that people who stopped using anti-depressants because they decided they no longer needed them had a 70 percent chance to revert back to their abnormal depressive moods. Likewise, for those who underwent cognitive therapy, the study showed that had only 30 percent chance to revert back to their abnormal depressive moods.
There are various arguments for why this happens. Some scientists think it has to do with moral support, which has been shown to help reduce addictions. However, others think it has to do with the therapy tapping into a certain part of the brain that is not affected by anti-depressants. Nevertheless, cognitive therapy helps you deal with your emotions, as opposed to anti-depressant in which they only help you relive your emotions for a short period of time. For this reason, anti-depressants act much like a pain-reliever – you take it to reduce the pain but it doesn’t cure the problem.
Unfortunately, seeing a therapist is pricy, which is why medical insurance doesn’t usually cover therapy. Most insurance plans are out for the quick-fix, thus prescribing you anti-depressants in order to keep your mouth shut. For this reason, I will provide you with some personal advice to help you reduce your level of depression, if in fact, you are depressed. Let me being by saying that depression sprouts up from a long history of irrational beliefs. Keep in mind that a person can have both irrational and rational beliefs. However, those that are clinically depressed tend to have more irrational beliefs than rational ones. Consequently, if you are depressed the reason for your depression may be primarily due to your irrational beliefs, such as the thought that “No body loves me” or “No one ever calls me, so that must mean I’m ugly.” These irrational beliefs lead to negative consequences, such as the feelings of depression or worse.
My advice for you is to try and force yourself to think rationally, for the reason that when you think rationally you are more likely to develop positive feelings about yourself and the world around you. If you continue to think irrationally then the exact opposite will occur. Furthermore, if you find yourself at the brink of an irrational thought, tell yourself how ridiculous the thought maybe. It is important to remember that the world is never against you. To this extent, it is equally important to remember that it is not what happens in life that determines your future, it’s what you THINK happens in life that determines your future. If you believe you’re a horrible person, destined to be alone for all eternity, then you will create feelings to accommodate those beliefs. Similarly, if you think that you’re a good person and you realize that sometimes you may have silly thoughts, you will begin to perceive the world as a much happier and friendlier place.
Depression is a difficult thing to diagnose, yet it seems that it is overly diagnosed. With the increase rate of prescribing anti-depressants, it almost seems like psychiatrists are doing a disservice to their patients. I would not be surprised to see psychologists granted the authority to prescribe medicine in the future, in order to fix the current prescription drug epidemic.
