Instead, they may lose interest in their usual activities, or have vague physical symptoms like tiredness or pain that doesn't respond to the usual medical treatments. Another common difference is that older adults may notice significant problems with their memory when depressed, and think that they are developing Alzheimer's disease. There are three main forms of treatment for depression. Psychotherapy , or talk therapy, may be the only treatment necessary for some patients with mild to moderate depression. In most cases of depression, however, antidepressant medication is needed.
Modern antidepressants have fewer side effects than older antidepressants.
Often, a combination of antidepressant medication plus psychotherapy is the quickest and most effective form of treatment. Lastly, electroconvulsive therapy , or ECT , is often effective when other treatments have failed. It usually takes 2-4 weeks to see improvement with antidepressant medications. Psychotherapy may take somewhat longer to demonstrate results. Psychiatrists usually recommend continuing an antidepressant medication for one year after a depressed patient is feeling better, if the depression is the first one a patient has experienced.