Is depression curable?

[CesiumBullet]

Is it possible to ever be entirely cured? Or does it just keep coming back?

I've been in and out of depression since I was 10. I'm 25 now and it just feels worse than ever. I've done therapy. I've taken meds. I have a great support system. But I always wind up here again. Right when I think my depression is gone, it hits harder than last time. Is the light at the end of the tunnel an illusion? It just seems to get further away right when I think I have it.

 

[clavicle]

i think your life circumstances would have to change drastically, like moving, getting a new job, new friends ect

 

[Daenerys Targaryen]

It depends on what's causing it. If it's due to something chronic and incurable, it's very complicated. And on top of that, we add anxiety, is worse. If the root cause of the damage has no cure or solution, there is no remedy

 

[dewdrop]

For some people, but it's not always just a matter of "trying hard enough" or "self improvement" like the common narrative that's pushed to guilt trip you. You can try exercise, therapy, countless medications, and everything else they say to do, and still be miserable, whereas someone else tries one single SSRI or some talk therapy and they go into remission just like that. I think it really depends on the person, their physiology, and the root cause of their mental illness. A lot of people have depression due to life circumstances, and some people are just genetically predisposed. This isn't to say that one group is necessarily easier to treat than the other, but that depression is a blanket label for a broad group of symptoms, and people with the same diagnosis can have all kinds of different causes, and different reactions to the same standard treatment protocols.

I am in a similar boat as you, having tried all of the recourses at my disposal, and it's so incredibly frustrating. I'm really sorry. I recently took a genetic test through my psychiatrist that will tell me which psychiatric medications I'm more likely to metabolize well based off of genetic markers. It is just a general guide to follow, and I'm still waiting on my results. Maybe this could be an option to consider if you are really struggling with where to go next as far as meds go, or have been experiencing a lot of side effects on them.

 

[CesiumBullet]

I recently took a genetic test through my psychiatrist that will tell me which psychiatric medications I'm more likely to metabolize well. It is just a general guide to follow, and I'm still waiting on my results. Maybe this could be an option to consider if you are really struggling with where to go next as far as meds go, or have been experiencing a lot of side effects on them.

What's the genetic test called? I think it might be worth a shot for me...

 

[dewdrop]

What's the genetic test called? I think it might be worth a shot for me...

I did mine through GeneSight. It's called a pharmacogenomic test. I hope eventually we will both find something that helps! Good luck. :)

 

[Electra]

I sometimes feel like having an innate personality that leans towards melancholism + life experiences could potentially cause depression with no cure, because it is more "endogenic".

 

[AnxiousLlama]

lots of solutions, but they tend to be temporary.

 

[Kimlett]

For some people, but it's not always just a matter of "trying hard enough" or "self improvement" like the common narrative that's pushed to guilt trip you

Well said.

Some people get rid of it forever, some people never do. Pure luck.

 

[broken_stoic]

It really depends on the person and cause as others have said. Some people get on the right meds or get the right therapy and they're golden. For alot of people with long-term chronic depression it's always going to be a struggle, but it can often get better so not every day is a battle. For myself therapists have told me with the level of depression/anxiety/trauma I have it will never go away completely, and making it go away isn't the goal. The goal is to improve symptoms significantly and learn tools to cope when symptoms become problematic. The eventual goal is you get to a good enough place that you are effectively on "maintenance." In other words you are more or less "ok" but still still need boosters to keep you in that state.

 

[calloftheabyss]

That's a two-part answer. Depression usually comes from a mix of environmental factors (like life stress or trauma) and biological factors (like brain chemistry or physical health issues). Whether your specific depression is curable depends on which of those factors are at play—and how much they can be changed.

If it's mostly environmental (such as world events or personal stress are dragging you down) then there's often room for change through therapy (CBT would be perfect for this), mindset shifts, or lifestyle adjustments. It's not easy, but it's possible.

If it's more biological (Such as your brain has trouble regulating things like dopamine or serotonin) it might take more trial and error. Medications can help, and sometimes doctors discover other underlying issues, like gut health problems, that affect mood (Semi-related fun fact: a lot of your "Mood" chemicals are produced in the gut, so gastrointestinal issues can have profound affects on mental health).