- Depression is known to be a mood disorder and associated with several health related issues
- It can impact people’s lives by changing their beliefs and how they respond to the information
- Ketamine is a drug that acts as an anesthetic but its use to treat depression is not well determined
Depression is one medical condition which affects hundreds of people in the United States. The bad thing about it is that it is quite difficult to treat.
Although, there are certain medications and therapies to treat depression, it depends how a person reacts to the treatment.
It’s because some people don’t respond well against the treatment. This is the reason why experts have to constantly research for ways to treat this condition.
As per a new study published in the JAMA Psychiatry, it was studied how the use of the drug Ketamine can help people fight with depression.
They came to know that Ketamine actually helped some participants update their negative beliefs. They also found updating their beliefs were associated with a decline in depressive symptoms.
“We observed each patient before and after ketamine and found an early cognitive effect on beliefs about the future. Notably, patients started to show an optimism bias in belief updating 4 hours after [the] first, single infusion. At one week of treatment, the optimist bias in belief updating correlated to the clinical antidepressant effect.”
— Dr. Liane Schmidt, study author
Treatment of Depression Involves Medications & Therapies
Depression is basically a psychological mood disorder which can cause a plethora of symptoms like worthlessness, persistent feelings of emptiness and more.
Dr. Guochuan Emil Tsai who led the team said, “Negative beliefs such as ‘I’m worthless,’ ‘I’m unlovable,’ or ‘I’m a failure’ are common symptoms of depression. When a patient begins to spiral into negative thinking, it can exacerbate depression, increasing a person’s negative beliefs. It becomes a vicious cycle that requires medication, psychotherapy, and strong support to break.” he said.
People who have depression constantly fight with their negative thoughts that can be about their future.
On the other hand people without signs of depression can more likely to update their beliefs after they receive some positive information which is also known as optimization bias.
Due to all the complication, treatment of depression generally involves a number of medications and therapies. In the course of treatment, people behave differently or respond to the treatment given to them.
Also Read: Crippling Depression Signs, Symptoms & the Ways to Manage It
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