Depression Treatment Goals

Written by Natasha Tracy

Remission from depression is the goal of depression treatment, and perhaps more importantly, people who find a depression treatment that completely relieves their depression symptoms are less likely to have a depression relapse in the future.

A Doctor's View of Remission From Depression

Depression is a self-reported illness, meaning most depression symptoms are judged by the effected person. Based on the patient's responses to a series of questions, the doctor is able to assign the illness a score. They may or may not share this information with the patient. The patient is considered to be in remission from the illness when the score drops below a certain level.

A Patient's View of Remission From Depression

In practice though, remission is different for each person. It is generally considered to be a return to your "usual, normal self" - as you were before the illness. Patients note a variety of factors in this assessment, but of most importance is often:

• Optimism
• Self-confidence
• Return to a normal level of functioning
• A general sense of well-being
• Absence of symptoms of depression

next: Possible Causes of Hard to Treat Depression
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