If psychiatrists treat the depressed as they would an ill member of their own family, they may have started their recovery. The psychiatrist should assume that the depressed person needs to have the nature of depression fully explained. The patient needs to hear that depression is a chemical imbalance in the brain. It is a disease that simply happens to someone. The length of a depression may last months or years, if it is a severe episode.
Depression is a major cause of suicide.
The psychiatrist should then suggest that the best form of treatment for depression is the use of antidepressants. The psychiatrist next should counter a whole range of misapprehensions that the depressed person may have. It is highly likely that this person has shared his or her condition with others and has received much advice. This person may also have read a large number of books dealing with depression. The following aspects should be described.