A sense of hopelessness prevails among depressive patients despite seeing a lot of improvements in their symptoms confirms a study. The study, led by James E. Aikens, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Michigan Health System, suggests that people with depression might still feel a sense of hopelessness even while their condition is improving, which could lead them to stop taking the medication.
“The finding suggests that some patients may become unduly pessimistic and stop adhering to an already-helpful therapy,” Aikens said.He added that the finding is troubling because hopelessness is a strong risk factor for suicide.
In the study, the researchers reviewed 573 patients with depression from 37 practices. They were given an antidepressant, fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil) or sertraline (Zoloft). They were assessed one, three, six and nine months after the treatment began.
Source-ANI
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