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Mental Water Torture - Mild to Moderate Depression - Page 2

© John McManamy

And that, perhaps, is the saddest news of all: None of this ever had to happen.

For starters, the same drugs that are used to treat major depression are equally as effective for mild to moderate depression. In addition, the herbal remedy St John's wort has been found especially useful in treating mild to moderate depression, without most of the side effects found in other medications.

Dysthymics also respond well to two types of talking therapy: interpersonal therapy which aims to boost one's battered self-esteem, and cognitive therapy which addresses erroneous thought patterns. Both therapies are of short duration, typically from ten to twenty sessions.

As I sit here writing this, the term mild to moderate depression mocks me. I won't even begin to estimate how many years I've lost to a disorder predicated by the modifiers mild to moderate. The least they could have done was assign the name of a Shakespeare character - Hamlet's disease, Lear's disease, anything, really. Just so long as it doesn't imply I was cut down in the prime of my youth by some invisible stupid nerf bat pounding against the inside of my brain.

For the rest of you: You can end it right now. You don't have to endure the mental water torture any longer.

And for friends and loved ones: Let them know - they can end it right now. The mental water torture can be a thing of the past. Starting today those you care for can win their lives back.

For some excellent articles on dysthymia, see Internet Mental Health.

For three free issues of my depression and bipolar newsletter, mailto:jmcmanamy@snet.net and put "Newsletter" in the subject line and your email in the body.

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