Ena Kuzmanovic

Mr. Gardner

Milky Jalapenos

November 1, 2019

Treating Depression

Depression is a severe mental health disorder that significantly impairs peoples daily life.

Sadness, anger, and fear are often experienced throughout humans lives regularly; However,

unlike the normal human emotions, clinical depression remains persistent throughout one's life,

and can severely impact a person's ability to complete simple daily tasks. There are a few

different forms of depression including: major depression, which interferes with the ability to

eat, sleep, and enjoy pleasurable things. Dysthmia is a less severe type of depression that keeps

people from fully feeling well, and bipolar disorder, which is a type of depression where people

go through rapid mood changes, such as severe highs and lows (Leathy). Depression can also

range on a scale from minor to severe. Patients will be diagnosed based on how they scored on

the evaluation the doctor gave them, and their treatment will be given. Doctors normally

prescribe antidepressants to patients, but the dosage differs depending on the severity of

depression. Doctors might also recommend the patient to attend sessions of cognitive behavioral

therapy, which is a newer type of treatment that is frequently being studied. With these being the

most common treatments, it leads to the question: are antidepressants or cognitive behavioral

therapy more effective when treating depression?

During the emergence of medicine in the 1950’s, antidepressants were seen as a risk

considering the side effects that came with them. Most common being weight gain, and

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drowsiness. However, with the new creation of drug in 1988, Prozac “was the first of a class of

drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) that are said to work by boosting

levels of a brain-signaling molecule called serotonin” (Wilson). Prozac became so successful in

boosting people’s moods, that they were eventually given to patients with similar disorders such

as anxiety, panic attacks, and obsessive compulsive disorder. Antidepressants are now often

viewed as harmful. People believe that patients could become addicted to the feeling that they

receive when on the drug, and relapse when they come off of the drug. However, doctors

recommend reducing the dosage slowly, so the symptoms are not triggered. It is also shown that

the patients treatments are often underdone. Patients became discouraged if they had seen no

significant improvement within a month:

The results confirmed growing evidence that people whose depression warranted

medication should receive an adequate drug dose and should not try to quit the drugs

quickly. Treatment is usually underdone. Its too short and its not seen through to its goal.

The key message here is to keep going (Robotham).

Patients often fear addiction of antidepressants which also affects the results of their treatment. If

patients become worried about relying too much on their medication, and attempt to quit, their

chance for relapse is higher because they quit before they have finished their recommended drug

dose. Consistency is a main factor to treatment and can prevent the issue of relapse. As was

previously stated, to gain the most from antidepressants, it is necessary to continue treatment.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is another popular method recommended to treat

depression. This type of therapy focuses on the cognitive behaviors within yourself that create

hurtful emotions, and works on adjusting the way you react to them. As described in a video by

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the Pinnacle Of Man, there are three major types of cognitive behaviors that create hurtful

emotions. One example is emotional reasoning, which demonstrates how humans perceive the

world and make decisions based off of what they feel in that very moment, rather than using

logic. The second behavior focuses on how humans jump to conclusions, causing them to think

negatively. The last example given is catastrophizing. This is when humans think of the worst

possible outcome in a given situation. However, it is reasoned that with the attendance of

cognitive behavioral therapy sessions, humans can build skills to practice, and begin to notice the

harmful habits that most patients are unaware of. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a type of talk

therapy (psychotherapy), which teaches patients certain techniques such as relaxation, stress

management, coping, resilience, etc. This therapy is a short term and can range from 5-20

sessions depending on the severity of the patients symptoms. CBT often includes certain steps

from when you begin to when you finish. Beginning with identifying troubling situations,

becoming aware of your thoughts or emotions, identifying negative thinking, and lastly

reshaping the negative thoughts into something more positive. Cognitive behavioral therapy has

the ability to give the patient power to cope with a negative situation in a healthy way. Although,

cognitive behavioral therapy has proven to better the feelings of depression, it has not shown to

be very effective without the company of antidepressants.

Throughout the wide-ranging research found in a twelve week study done by thirteen

different doctors, it was found that the combination of antidepressants and cognitive behavioral

therapy was actually the most efficient way to treat depression (see fig. 1).

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(Fig.1) Walkup T, John et al. “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Sertraline, or a Combination in

Childhood Anxiety.” ​The New England Journal Of Medicine. ​New England, 25

December 2008. Web. 22 October 2019.

This graph represents the results from the study done. A group of 488 children between the ages

of 7-17 were split into randomized groups. One group received 14 sessions of cognitive

behavioral therapy, the second group was given sertraline (antidepressant), the third group was

given a combination of sertraline and cognitive behavioral therapy, while the last group was

given a placebo pill for 12 weeks. The y-axis of the graph shows the severity of the disorder, and

the x-axis represents the weeks. As shown in the results, combination therapy was most effective

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when treating depression, improving 80.7% on the expected mean score. Sertraline alone and

cognitive behavioral therapy were the next best effective.

Before doing extensive research on this topic, I believed that it was better off for people

to steer clear of medications, and attempt to solve their unhappiness through the use of talk

therapy. I never enjoyed the thought of people needing to rely on medication to make them

content. However, now that I further understand the circumstances of depression, and the

benefits that antidepressants hold, it is clear to me that they are a good option for depressed

patients.

After learning the benefits of cognitive behavioral therapy and antidepressants, it is

evident that they are both very effective in the treatment of depression. While CBT works with

the emotions of the brain and altering the way patients respond to certain situations,

antidepressants work to increase serotonin within the brain. The fusion of these treatments have

shown to be the best solution in the treatment of depression.

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 Works Cited:

Leahy, L. Robert, et al. “Depression.” ​academyofct.org.​ Academy of Cognitive therapy,

17 December 2016. Web. 27 October 2019.

Pinnacle of Man. “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) simply explained.” ​Youtube,​ 11

September 2016.

Robotham, Julie. "More drugs may be key to treatment of depression." ​Gale in Context:

Opposing viewpoints.​ 24 Mar. 2006. Web. 13 Oct. 2019.

Walkup T, John et al. “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Sertraline, or a Combination in

​ ew England, 25
Childhood Anxiety.” ​The New England Journal Of Medicine. N

December 2008. Web. 22 October 2019.

Wilson, Clare. “Nobody can agree about antidepressants. Here’s what you need to know.”

​ ew Scientist, 02 October 2018. Web. 07 October 2019.