The good news is that depression and anxiety can be
treated, and the majority of sufferers
recover completely. The milder forms of depression
often respond very well to counselling or psychotherapy.
Many people with dysthymia (long-term depression)
will do very well with psychological treatment
alone. However, for moderate or severe depression,
antidepressant medication is usually necessary
in addition to psychological treatment.
The very severe forms of depression which can
carry a high risk of suicide, can respond very
well to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).
Because depression is often chronic or recurrent,
treatment is usually continued for some time after
recovery to help prevent relapse.
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