How well is your prescribed depression treatment working? Does it help you out a little bit, but you still do not feel as if the darkness has lifted? You might even you like the treatment is not working at all. If so, you could have treatment resistant depression. This is also referred to as refractory depression in the medical field.
Unfortunately, depression treatments and anxiety treatments do not always work. As many as two thirds of people who have undergone treatment for depression are not actually helped by the first antidepressant they try. As many as a third of people who are undergoing treatment do not respond to several attempts at treatment. In all of this, you must remember that you are not alone. You doctor is trying to help you, and even if things like TMS therapy, or transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy, are not working for you, there is always hope. Even if you can not see the light at the end of the tunnel just yet.
Treatment resistant depression can leave you feeling hopeless and discouraged. Unfortunately, months or sometimes even years can go by without any relief in sight. After the working hard and expending all of the effort it has taken you to get help, it can be extremely demoralizing when you are just not feeling any better. If your depression treatment is not working, you must not give up. Many people can get their treatment resistant depression under control eventually. You and your doctor just need to find the right approach and this can take some time. This might include different drugs, therapy, and other treatments.
Although a primary care doctor can treat depression, in fact recently conducted research has suggested that between 60 and 65 percent of antidepressants are prescribed by primary care physicians, it may be best for you to see a specialist. You might find that visiting a psychiatrist to be incredibly helpful if you think you may have treatment resistant depression. It is also a good idea to work with a therapist, like a psychologist or social worker, because the best treatment for treatment resistant depression is often a combination of medicine and therapy.