Depression is a mental health illness that can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, or social background. It’s also a common condition, and around 21 million adults in the United States have experienced at least one depressive “episode.”
The thing about depression is that doctors are only too happy to prescribe anti-depression medicine without conducting thorough medical investigations on their patients.
Unfortunately for them, such medicine isn’t a cure-all for anyone they care to label as clinically depressed. If you think you might have depression or you’ve been diagnosed with it, you may be wondering why you have it.
The following points illustrate why treatments like anti-depression medicine don’t fix everyone and give some clues to help people determine the root cause of their depression:
Trauma Isn’t The Only Cause
Some people assume that depression only manifests itself due to some psychological trauma, such as the death of a loved one or abuse. The truth is that depression can occur for all kinds of reasons:
- Biological and genetic factors can play a part in someone experiencing depression. For example, there might be a history of depression in the family;
- Substance abuse and addiction might be another reason for depression.
It Could Be Part Of Another Condition
Did you know that some people don’t realize they experience depression because it’s one of the symptoms of another condition?
For example, someone with an eating disorder will typically have depression, but the only way to address their depressive episodes is by dealing with their eating disorder first.
In such cases, and, in fact, with anyone that has depression, a tailored treatment plan is a must as there’s no “one size fits all” solution that can get applied to everyone.
Not Everyone Wants Prescription Medicine
You likely already know that alternatives exist to conventional Western medicine. The same applies to depression treatments; not everyone is willing to take long-term (or even life-long) prescription medicine to manage their depressive episodes.
For instance, one person may use products from somewhere like CBDistillery to help them feel more relaxed alongside an active health and wellness treatment plan.
Others may prefer techniques like yoga, meditation, and other non-medicinal examples to help address what they feel is causing their depression.
Everyone Responds To Treatments Differently
Another reason why it’s not possible to provide people with depression with a universal treatment plan is that everyone responds to treatments differently.
One individual might be okay on a course of prescription medicine like Prozac (fluoxetine), whereas another may experience adverse side effects that significantly impact their daily life.
As mentioned earlier, everyone needs a tailored treatment plan – irrespective of the type of treatment they receive.
Science Is Still Learning About Depression
Last but not least, the medical and scientific communities still don’t know everything about depression (such as what causes it). Therefore, doctors can only attempt to help their patients through trial and error rather than knowing exactly what causes it in each person.
