As tough as the battle against depression is, it is even tougher for those who have chronic, treatment-resistant depression. Recent studies are suggesting that a new way to look at and treat depression may be helpful for these cases. Approaching it as a chronic illness has been suggested as a new way to cope with and possibly improve resistant, long-term depression. This would mean that the focus of treatment would not be merely on symptom elimination. Usually, doctors treat resistant depression by prescribing one medication after another, or numerous different therapies. This new suggested approach involves education about depression, teaching patients how to cope and live with depression, and showing them how to function while having depression. This doesn't leave patients hopeless and desperate when their symptoms don't go away. Clinicians can also try blame-free approaches that are used to help patients with other chronic illnesses such as diabetes. Research on this method hasn't proven anything conclusive, but it has shown significant improvement in depression scales compared to a control group who continued their therapy as normal. These findings provide a new, hopeful treatment possibility for those suffering from extremely resistant depression.
Source: Adult Psychiatry, Sherry Boschert
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