‘Depression’. A mood disorder. When you come across someone feeling extremely sad, angry that is interfering with the person’s everyday activities, you can say he/she is depressed. People often get confused with disturbance & depression. Whenever you feel sad or lonely, you often say that you are depressed. But it’s not always depression. We all feel sad or lonely at some point in life and we manage to cope up with it eventually. When all the self-coping strategies don’t work & the same feeling goes on for a very long time, we can call it depression.
Depression affects around 350 million people across the globe. Do all of them undergo treatment? No. We live in a society where a mental disorder is mostly considered taboo by most people. People tend to stay away from a person struggling with depression or they easily say, “He/she must have gone mad”. Due to this, the person going through depression doesn’t seek treatment for the fear of ‘What people would say. As you are reading this article, we want you to take a pause, breathe and say to yourself that ‘It’s normal to take a treatment for depression and I must approach a counsellor. We appreciate you for being courageous enough to say this to yourself. Now you must have a question.
Well, it’s not a matter of 1 or 2 weeks. Although we want things to work quickly for us, this is a fight with our thoughts. It has to be given its own time & most importantly ‘a priority’.
The period to treat depression depends on various factors like type of depression, patient’s prior experience with depression, Type of treatment, your response to the treatment. Each type of depression has its period of recovery.
Persistent Depressive Disorder is also known as ‘Dysthymia’ is a very long period of depression. It generally takes 2 years or more to treat PDD. During the onset of dysthymia, patients may feel positive for some days but PDD is relatively constant as compared to other depressive disorders. Comorbid disorders, changes in hormones life events cannot affect PDD. It doesn’t improve without treatment. Cognitive-behavioral therapy and medication are often used to treat PDD along with other effective therapeutic interventions. But, it differs from person to person.
Major depressive disorder is similar to PDD in many ways but it has a huge difference in symptoms. The severity of symptoms in PDD is less over a longer period, whereas the severity of symptoms is more in MDD for a shorter period. MDD is treatable. But, as it’s an episodic depression, patients will feel good in few weeks after a certain episode. But it takes a longer time to escape from this disorder. Medications and therapies help to develop positive coping mechanisms in patients.
Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder characterized by intense behavioral changes which create bipolar depression. Periods of extreme energy called Mania & periods of hopelessness, depression, loss of energy occur in bipolar depression. It’s quite difficult to say how long bipolar depression will last. Episodes may last for weeks r months. How long this depression will cure depends on the person’s response to the treatment. Patients responding to medication and psychotherapy can take a long time to recover but can also expect effective results.
It’s a severe mood disorder that is characterized by cognitive-affective & physical symptoms a week before menses. This type of depression lasts for a week or two but can come back. Psychologists suggest that treatment with medications and therapies can reduce symptoms.
Overall, knowing how long will it take to treat depression depends on how early you approach a counsellor & get cleared about its causes before it gets worsen. If you feel the need for treatment, search for the best rehab in your city and start your treatment. Rehabs like Veda Rehabilitation and Wellness have client-centered programs to treat depression. Remember, depression is not permanent. If you’ve acknowledged this, you’ve already started your journey towards healing.
Kalpesh Kulkarni
Psychologist
Veda Luxury Rehabilitation and wellness
