Medication

Those suffering from depression may be reluctant to seek help and engage with treatment due to the stigma around mental health conditions. Telling them they are not alone and that they deserve support can really resonate with someone who is feeling at their lowest ebb. 

Being prescribed an antidepressant can feel daunting, and with GPs so busy, it is worth asking patients if they have had the benefits and risks of their treatment explained to them and running through any details they seem unclear about. 

While everyone’s experience of medication is different, counselling patients on likely side effects and how antidepressants can take two to four weeks to start working (more quickly for some patients) can be reassuring at a time when they may be feeling very uncertain. Side effects will emerge before the patient starts to feel benefit from treatment, so it is worth explaining that many of these are transient and likely to improve with time.

Research has shown that patients feel reassured when they are provided with information about side effects and told that they can try a different type of antidepressant if the one they are on turns out to be intolerable. If patients are not told that adjusting to an antidepressant takes time, they may not realise that new symptoms are side effects.