As ftd83 says..not a good idea to stop the medication. It takes time to build up and while some feel results in a matter of days, its generally about a month before the medication really kicks in. If you stop half way through a course, the drug loses its effectiveness with levels dropping away fairly rapidly. Not a good idea to terminate the medication suddenly.
If you are taking the medication, don't combine it with natural remedies. Some of these compounds are very effective on their own and you could risk double dosing. It's a good idea to stick with just one doctor for your treatment, that way the medication can be monitored and dose altered as need be.
As others have said there are many cause of depression. Some very natural responses to a loss or major crises, often not of clinical significance but upsetting just the same, much of that can be self managed and is temporary in nature. Other types of depression can be very serious and sometimes not recognised or managed very well.
There is research somewhere that states that depression treated by medication alone and depression treated by rational emotive therapy alone has good outcomes. The best results are obtained by a combination of both.
Psychological treatment often looks at attitudes and belief systems and their role in prolonging or initiating the bout of depression. The idea being that "faulty thinking" can initiate and prolong feelings of depression and anxiety. Just one of the many treatments available. Heaps of help out there. You've just got to find what works for you.
Best of luck with it all
cheers
Hawk
Last edited by Hawk; 1st March 2005 at 07:45.