Learn How to Treat Depression without Medicine
Depression is an affective disorder that can make it hard for you to enjoy your day-to-day activities. It often begins when the person is inactive and unable to follow the routines. In most cases, individuals take the medication to cure without counselling or therapy sessions.
The role of Counselling or Therapy is effective in treating depression. The counsellor or therapist helps the client to regain their confidence and enhance their self-esteem. A counsellor or Psychologist helps them to resume their daily chores in the desired manner. Depression is often due to faulty thought processes. The individual learns to alter maladaptive thought patterns and perceptions in therapeutic sessions, A variety of therapies treat such issues. While treating depression in most cases, triangulation of the therapy techniques is applied rather than just implementing one particular method:
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
CBT is a form of talk therapy with two components; the cognitive and the behavioural aspect. The benefits of CBT might last longer. Depression tends to occur due to faulty behaviour patterns and dysfunctional thoughts. Counselling can do wonders to replace dysfunctional thoughts with corrective ones. During the counselling process, the counsellor will probe and help you understand your different perceptions and which one is workable in a particular situation. During the session, you evaluate how your daily routine and activities impact your mood. The Depression Counsellor will help you develop a plan of action by engaging in various activities. The Depression Counsellor will help you find goals and will challenge your misconceptions. The main aim of any Depression Counsellor is to make the client self-reliant and to find practical solutions to problems.
Interpersonal Therapy
Your relationship with others as an individual has a prime indicator of depression. In many cases resolving the interpersonal relationship can help you recover from depressive symptoms. The individual identifies and develops more adaptive methods for dealing with the interpersonal issues associated with the onset or maintenance of their depression during these counselling sessions. Interpersonal Therapy helps us to understand not just the causes of depression but also why it persists.
Psychodynamic Therapy
It is one of the most traditional approaches to counselling. The main aim of the psychodynamic Approach is to help patients understand and explore the full range of their emotions. Numerous times, we are unaware of emotions which might create a problem. The clients comprehend how their behaviour and mood affect by unresolved issues and unconscious feelings during such therapy sessions. The main aim is to resolve the patient’s deep-rooted childhood internal psychological conflict. Psychodynamic Therapy can be very intense and open-ended. As the client can clearly state what the person is feeling. Psychodynamic Therapy is critical when the individual employs a maladaptive coping strategy for a long time.
Medicines have their own set of side effects, as well as can be addictive, and the chances of relapse are at maximum too. So, it is preferable in case of low and moderate levels of depression, should indulge in an active lifestyle to overcome such feelings, like, by getting into a disciplined routine, having SMART GOALS, especially these goals should be short-term, taking care of your physical health by going for a walk or gym, healthy diet, proper sleep, enjoying with friends and family, challenging your negative thoughts and by trying something new or different.
The medicine is put into effect when depression inhibits the person’s holistic growth. During that time, counselling works as a supportive measure. Thus, taking counselling along with medication can help you to increase your motivation level and also help you overcome or at least limit your distorted thinking. Hence, it becomes necessary for the clients to understand that to treat depression effectively, an amalgamation of both medicines and counselling is required. If symptoms constantly exist for 21 days, a person should seek professional help for Depression Counselling.
Dr Nisha Khanna is a Senior Consultant – Counseling Psychologist at Max Multi Speciality Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi. She deals in Depression Counselling. She proffers online, telephonically and face-to-face Counselling Services. If you are in Delhi, India or any other part of the World, you can approach us through any of these mediums. For details, visit Bye Tense, or call us at +91–9818211474
