Life Changing Mindset

How good is my chances at getting my depression successfully treated/cured?

I'm 17, male, and have moderate depression. Sometimes I go into really low moods, where all hope is lost, sometimes I feel ok, where I almost cant feel the depression at all. I normally cycle trough these moods during the day, and its usually worse at the morning and evening. I read A LOT about depression online, and I often read about people suffering from depression year after year, only to suffer more severely. I am trying to get better naturally though, starting exercise soon, currently going to therapy CBT, and taking Omega-3.

Public Comments

1. you just think negatively you gotta look at the bright side. " you have to make the best of the problem your stuck in " and don't pursue happiness cause you'll never find it

2. Running is very good to help release depression. Talk to your doctor about antidepressants.

3. Your mood "cycle" is normal for depression. Depression isn't pure hell all the time, it is possible to be in a state of depression and still have a "good day" (though a good day when your depressed is really almost tolerable.)

Anyway, odds eh, they're decent though your young age of onset complicates things but, it sounds like you're not that severe since you're able to comprehend CBT (the depression hasn't made you entirely unable to accept rationality) and you're able to exercise plus, you want to get better. If you actually asked for help yourself rather than being pushed into therapy by a friend or loved one, even better. Me thinks you'll be fine.


Oh and many people who report being depressed their "whole life" are just so depressed they cannot remember any good times even if they were fine 4 weeks ago. It is part of the whole depression reality schewing thing.

4. Well, currently there are four treatment modalities that a substantive amount of clinical trials have shown to be effective.

In a clinical trial, a group of depressed people is randomized to either receive placebo or some kind of treatment for a period of time, usually 8 weeks. After this time, the effects of placebo and active treatment are compared for both groups by using standardized psychiatric assessment tools. usually that is the Hamilton rating scale for depression or the montgomery-Asberg rating scale for depression. You can find both of them online.

the four effective treatments are antidepressant medication (ssri's SNRI's etc.), psychotherapy (CBT, IPT etc.), excercise and shock therapy.

Excercise, antidepressants and psycho therapy have all been shown to lead to remission of symptoms (i.e. feeling like your old self again) in about 30% of patients, with a further 30% achieving at least 50% reduction in symptoms. Switching therapies when therapy is ineffective or augmenting it when it is partially effective are common strategies. If all else fails shock therapy is an option, achieivng remission in about 70% of patients. (along with some other experimental treatments or meds like stimulants and opioids, which are only perscribed for treatment resistant depression due to the potential of addiction)

However, depression can also reccur after time. Excercise (at leat 30 minutes a day) is the only treatment shown to keep depression at bay in most people (>90%) achieving remission. Psycho therapy is also substantially better than antidepressants. Antidepressants are the worst treatment in terms of recurrence as research has indicated that the chance of recurrence after antidepressants is greater than the chance of recurrence after placebo.