Around 70% of patients benefit from drug treatments. Drug treatment is usually superior to no treatment at all. Relapse is likely when patients stop taking the drugs. It may be possible to reduce the dependency on antidepressants as the cognitive therapy takes effect.Īntidepressants have long been established as a relatively cheap, effective treatment, which quickly reduce symptoms and enable many people to live relatively normal lives. Antidepressants might give some patients the confidence and concentration to take part in CBT. The NHS recommends an "integrated approach" involves combining the two treatments. These findings show that drug therapy is only palliative whereas cognitive therapy offers a better cure. Only 31% of CBT patients suffered a relapse compared to 76% of those treated with drugs and 47% of the patients who carried on taking antidepressants. There were 3 groups: (1) patients who received CBT (2) patients who received drug therapy and (3) patients received drug therapy which continued over the 12 month observation period. (2005) studied patients who received treatment for 16 weeks then were observed for 12 months to see if their symptoms returned ( relapse). Drug therapy for unipolar depression is palliative rather than curative, which is why there are high relapse rates when the drugs are stopped. Treatments can either cure the disorder or suppress the symptoms without changing the underlying problem ( palliative treatments). However, in the long term, CBT might be more beneficial. This means a patient who is very distressed and perhaps suicidal will get much more help in the short term from antidepressants. For some people, popping a pill is preferable to sharing unpleasant thoughts and feelings with a therapist.īoth treatments take time to be effective: drug therapy takes weeks, cognitive therapy takes months. On the other hand, cognitive therapy can be more threatening for some patients, because you have to open up and talk about your problems. The great advantage of CBT over drug therapy is the lack of side-effects. Discontinuation symptoms are less likely with drugs like Prozac that take a long time to clear out of the body. Instead, your body has to adjust to a sudden change in brain chemistry.
These aren't "withdrawal" symptoms, because antidepressants aren't addictive like caffeine or cigarettes. They would prefer to come off the pills in order to feel again, even if the feelings are unhappy ones.Ģ 0% of people who come off antidepressants experience discontinuation symptoms like anxiety, mood swings, flu symptoms or tremors. Even if people don't experience dizziness, drowsiness or weight gain, many report that the antidepressants remove their negative feelings but leave them not caring about anything. People also stop taking their antidepressants because of the side effects. Many people don’t like the idea of taking drugs every day, or forget to take them, or decide they don’t need the drugs any more because they feel well. People with depression often take antidepressants for 6-12 months but, even though their symptoms have gone, if they stop taking the drugs too soon, the symptoms may return.Īt least 30% the people diagnosed with depression don’t take their drugs as recommended. It may take 3 weeks, before antidepressants take effect.
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