Medicine to relieve depression

There is currently no "miracle drug" that can cover all depressive states. For moderate and above depressive episodes, taking standardized antidepressant prescription drugs as directed by your doctor is the most effective intervention method. For mild to moderate depression and emotional distress that does not meet clinical diagnosis standards, many small actions adapted to personal living habits can also become effective "relief drugs" - there is no distinction between the two, it just depends on whether they suit your current state.

The 27-year-old Internet operator Xiao Zhou I came into contact with was diagnosed with moderate depression last year. The doctor prescribed sertraline for him. He read online rumors for two days that "taking medicine will make you stupid" and secretly stopped taking the medicine. As a result, he lay in bed for three consecutive days and had to do half an hour of mental training to even reach for the mineral water on the bedside table. Later, a friend took me to a follow-up consultation and he followed the doctor's advice to take it for four weeks. He said that the most obvious change was not that he "suddenly became happy", but that his limbs that had been filled with lead before were finally able to lift up, and he could cook himself a soft-boiled egg when he got home from get off work.

As for the role of drugs, the views of practitioners in different fields are actually quite different. Most psychiatrists will emphasize the irreplaceability of the biological level - the levels of serotonin and dopamine in the brain actually change during a depressive episode, just like diabetes requires insulin supplementation or a fracture requires a plaster. It cannot be restored by "thinking a little bit". However, many humanistic counselors who do long-term counseling will feel that drugs only pull you from the bottom of your emotions to the pass line, giving you the strength to face real problems: such as being PUAed at work for several years, intimate relationships that are constantly internally consumed, and childhood knots that have been suppressed for more than ten years. If these root problems are not solved, it is easy to relapse after stopping the drug.

These controversies are all valid, and there is no need to avoid the limitations of the drug: it is true that nearly 40% of patients will experience nausea, drowsiness, and slight hand shaking in the early stages of taking the drug. A few people will experience weight gain and temporary memory loss. About 30% of patients with refractory depression do not respond well to conventional SSRI drugs. These are currently clinical problems that are still being overcome. But don’t refuse treatment completely because you are afraid of side effects. Most adverse reactions will gradually subside after taking the medicine for 4-6 weeks. You must communicate with the attending doctor whether you want to adjust, reduce or stop the medicine. Cutting down secretly on your own will more likely cause symptoms to rebound. I have seen too many cases of people who stopped taking the medicine for half a month and felt it was “useless”, and finally delayed the follow-up consultation until they showed a tendency to self-harm. It is a pity.

To be honest, I used to think that the only way to relieve depression was through prescription drugs or long-term consultation. It wasn’t until I met Xiao Zhou that I discovered that many times the methods that can help you are not high-end methods at all.

After Xiao Zhou took the medicine for three months, all his indicators were much more stable, but he still felt empty inside. The doctor asked him to exercise more, but he was too lazy to move. Later, after get off work, he happened to feed the Sanhua stray cat downstairs. Later, he deliberately took a 10-minute detour to feed the cat every day. These 10 minutes, without having to think about KPIs or reply to messages, became the most effective "mood stabilizer" for him during that period. There was also a visitor who was a teacher in a college. When she was suffering from depression, she didn’t even have the energy to prepare lessons. She sat at home and put together a 1,000-piece landscape puzzle. After finishing one piece, she posted it on the wall of the rental house. When she was on the fourth piece, she said to me, “Yesterday, I was able to stand on the balcony and bask in the sun for 15 minutes. I used to feel tired after standing for two minutes.” Oh, by the way, there is also a young man who works in design. After being mildly depressed, he changed the time he spent watching short videos before going to bed to kneading clay. He kneaded a bunch of strange little monsters, and now he has opened a small online store to sell his works. He said that when kneading clay, all the self-denying voices in his head were crushed to pieces with the clay at his fingertips.

Of course, this kind of "life remedy" is not a panacea. I had a meal with the deputy director of the psychiatry department of a tertiary hospital before, and he said that he was most afraid of seeing content on the Internet advocating "relying on cats, traveling, and meditating to cure depression." Every year, we meet several patients who are diagnosed with severe depression and refuse to take medicine. They insist on relying on these methods to "heal" themselves, and finally come to see a doctor until they can no longer live a normal life. I completely agree with this. I always tell clients who come to me that if you have been unable to sleep or eat for more than a week in a row, and it takes all your strength to even wash your face and brush your teeth, don’t hold on, go to the hospital first. These small methods will help you take two more steps forward when you have the strength to lift your feet.

In fact, I sometimes feel that the process of finding "drugs to relieve depression" is especially like finding the best eraser for you when you were a child. Some people are not used to hard erasers, and some find scented ones difficult to wipe clean. There is no standard answer, only whether it is suitable for you. If you feel comfortable after taking medicine, then follow the doctor's advice and eat it. Don't care about what others say, "taking medicine is hypocritical." If taking 10 minutes a day to feed cats and knead clay can make you relax for half an hour, then these 10 minutes are special medicine just for you.

The only thing you have to remember is, don’t bear it hard, and don’t think that “getting through it on your own” is something to be proud of. There is never any shame in seeking help when you are sick.