Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A Way Out of Depression

For a depression patient, the choice for treatment may commonly be rounded up to antidepressants or psychotherapy. Most antidepressants may be beneficial for most patients but medical researchers say that psychotherapy poses lesser risks. However, the efficacies of both treatments depend upon the patient and his or her personal circumstances.

Psychotherapy, otherwise known as "talk therapy", is an option which helps depression patients understand the disorder and help them cope with their illness. It is an approach which equips the patient with useful knowledge and strategies on how to manage, if not overcome, stress, unhealthy thoughts and behaviors.

The goal of psychotherapy is to help the patients function well in society and be at a manageable behavior to live their lives in the most normal way possible. The National Institute of Mental Health says that sometimes psychotherapy alone may be the best treatment for a person, depending on the illness and its severity, and oftentimes combined with other medications.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of treatment that has repeatedly been shown to be among the most effective in reducing or eliminating anxiety disorders, the University of Houston, Department of Psychology states. CBT is a combination of cognitive therapy and behavioral therapy. Cognitive therapy focuses on a person's thoughts and beliefs and their influence on a person's mood and actions.

It aligns the person's thinking to be more adaptive and healthy. Behavioral therapy concentrates on the patient's actions and aims to change unhealthy behavioral patterns. According to the National Alliance on Mental Health, CBT has been found useful in the treatment of mood disorders, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, eating disorders, substance abuse disorders, and psychotic disorders.

It also says that CBT has been shown to be as effective as antidepressants for and is superior in preventing relapse. To undergo with this kind of treatment, the patient must be willing to expose his or her fears, worries and open up his problems. Some depression patients find it hard to articulate their emotions and are often closed up in their own shell, which is why most of them opt to have antidepressant prescriptions to be issued on their behalf.

Antidepressants like Paxil, Zoloft and Prozac have been placed in the center of controversy lately because of the side effects that they may potentially produce. Paxil side effects, for example, include birth defects, suicidal behavior, autism and breast cancer. Both options, antidepressants and psychotherapy, may be prescribed with an additional program of exercise or music therapy. These options are intended to be of maximum help to the patient involved.

Paroxetine drug Paxil was released by its manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline in 1992. This serves as treatment for depression and antidepressants may be beneficial. However, the US FDA issued a "black box" warning on Paxil against birth defects and suicidal behavior. Get information and updates on the Paxil side effects.