Introduction
When depression is diagnosed, the question naturally arises as to the quickest way to get well again. Since depression is of psychological origin, the psyche must also be treated. Overcoming depression therefore requires comprehensive therapy that focuses on the patient, not the doctor, as treatment requires the patient’s cooperation and motivation. Depending on the patient and the severity of the depression, drugs and psychotherapy are mainly used, but there are many other alternative and supportive measures available.
How long does depression last?
The length of a depression is very difficult to estimate. Usually a depressive episode lasts weeks to months, whereby treatment, the severity of the depression and many individual patient factors have an enormous influence on the duration. Adequate therapy shortens the duration of the illness, especially if medication is used.
A good social network, physical health and other positive influences can also reduce the length of a depression. Negative influences on the duration of the illness are a poor social and health status, a genetic predisposition, traumatic experiences in childhood or other psychological stress. Accompanying diseases such as anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders or the abuse of drugs and alcohol also worsen the prognosis. In particularly severe cases, depression can persist for months or years and become chronic. In most cases, however, the symptoms subside after a few weeks or months, but patients remain with a certain risk of relapse.
What can you do to get over the depression faster?
Depression is a real illness, not a mental disorder. The recovery process is very complex and can only be successful if the patient is given enough time. It is therefore not possible to really speed up the overcoming of depression without risking a relapse.
Nevertheless, everything that is useful for the treatment is sensible in order to at least not delay the recovery and to achieve the fastest possible therapeutic success. First and foremost, this includes good therapy and patient cooperation, which is of fundamental importance in the treatment of mental illness. The psychiatrist merely prescribes medication and instructs the patient, who then carries out the actual treatment, because he or she must take the medication and actively participate in the psychotherapy.
Therefore, it is mainly about the motivation of the patient, which can be increased by various measures. Unfortunately, depression causes a lack of drive and motivation, which makes active participation in the therapy considerably more difficult. This is where many of the antidepressant medications come in, in order to give the patient the necessary impetus.
In addition to medication, physical and creative activities are particularly well suited to support the therapy. Sport trains the body and has a variety of positive influences on the mind, which have been proven to help with depression and can even prevent relapses. Painting, making music and other creative activities achieve similar effects. The range of offers for depressive people is now very large and varied.
