There are several different types of medications used for depression. Medications for depression are especially helpful in increasing motivation, energy, appetite, concentration, and the ability to gain distance from negative thoughts--especially for the severely depressed. Your physician or a psychiatrist can suggest the medication that would work best for you. One drawback to a medication-only approach to treating depression is that when the medication is stopped, symptoms most often return. For this reason, it is best that if you do take medication for depression, you also get therapy.

Because there are varying degrees of depression, the severely depressed individual may wish to consider a number of treatments in combination. For people who do not respond positively to therapy and medication, and whose depression is severe and unrelenting, electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) is an alternative treatment. Physicians should review the costs and benefits of ECT, which is far more effective than it was 20 years ago. However, many patients who undergo ECT report memory losses that they find distressing.