The question immediately arises, which method of treating depression is considered preferable with the leading influence of one factor or another?
The answer can only be given by comprehensive diagnostics . Preliminarily, it can be assumed that with rigid attitudes formed by improper upbringing, false self-esteem, the presence of stress in childhood, a slight severity of depression, various methods of psychotherapy can play a leading role.
Special hopes are pinned on cognitive- behavioral therapy (cognitive – behavioral), in the framework of which a person learns to control his thinking, behavior, emotions. At the same time, if psychological reasons and social factors can trigger depression, then its subsequent exacerbations arise less and less depending on external circumstances, the disease is started and develops under the influence of its own, in many respects biological, mechanisms. Therefore, treatment of depression with psychotherapy alone is often futile.
If stresses, a severe depressive state have already led to serious disturbances in the biological activity of the brain and hormonal system, in the biochemistry of nerve tissues, then one can not do without active drug intervention .
“Medicinal strategy” can be recognized as the main one in those, rather rare cases, when depression manifests itself for the first time without the obvious influence of traumatic factors. When it happens, it develops even against the background of favorable events and a calm, seemingly quite happy life. In these cases, the leading role is probably played by the biological, deep factor. Most likely, the treatment will require drugs that affect the physiological processes in the nervous tissue.
However, I emphasize once again that the choice of therapeutic methods will be primarily determined by the characteristics of the pathophysiological mechanisms of the development of the disease. These mechanisms are called in medicine by the term PATHOGENESIS .