8 erroneous beliefs about depression and its treatment.

There are many things about depression that are a mystery, but certain ideas can be discarded.

Following a publication in El Mundo (digital version) in 2015 in which several misconceptions about depressive disorder and its treatment were exposed. various misconceptions about depressive disorder.. Sanz and García-Vera (2017), from the Complutense University of Madrid, have conducted an exhaustive review on this topic in order to shed some light on the veracity of the information contained in that text (and many others that today can be found in countless websites or psychology blogs). And the fact is that on many occasions such data do not seem to be based on proven scientific knowledge.

The following is a list of the conclusions supposedly accepted and published by the editorial staff of the DMedicina portal (2015), the same group of specialists that publishes the edition in El Mundo. These ideas refer to to both the nature of depressive psychopathology and the efficacy rates of the psychological interventions applied for its treatment. applied for its treatment.

• You may be interested in, "Are there several types of depression?"

Misconceptions about Depressive Disorder.

Regarding misconceptions about depression itself, we find the following.

1. When everything in life is going well for you, you can get depressed.

Contrary to what was published in the El Mundo article, according to the scientific literature this statement should be considered partially false, since the findings indicate that the relationship between previous life stressors and depression is stronger than expected. In addition, depression is given a disease connotation, which leads to attributing more biological than environmental causality to it. Regarding the latter, science affirms that there is a small number of cases of depression without a previous history of external stressors.

2. Depression is not a chronic disease that never goes away.

The article in El Mundo considers that depression is a condition that never goes away completely, although the arguments that support it are not completely true.

First of all, the wording in question states that the efficacy rate of pharmacological intervention is 90%, when a multitude of meta-analysis studies carried out in the last decade (Magni et al. 2013; Leutch, Huhn and Leutch 2012; Omari et al. 2010; Cipriani, Santilli et al 2009) give a percentage of approximately 50-60% efficacy of psychiatric treatment.depending on the drug used: SSRIs or tricyclic antidepressants.

On the other hand, the authors of the review article add that in the conclusions of a recent meta-analysis (Johnsen and Friborg, 2015) on 43 investigations analyzed, 57% of patients in total remission were achieved after a cognitive-behavioral intervention, so that it can be established a similar efficacy rate can be established between pharmacological and psychotherapeutic prescription empirically validated.

3. There are no people who fake depression in order to get time off work.

The editors of the portal state that it is very difficult to deceive the professional by feigning depression, so there are practically no cases of feigned depression. However, Sanz and García-Vera (2017) expose data obtained in various investigations in which. the percentages of simulated depression can range from 8 to 30%.The latter result is found in cases involving workers' compensation.

Thus, although it can be considered that a greater proportion of the population seen in primary care is not simulating such psychopathology, the statement that there are no cases in which this casuistry does not occur cannot be considered valid.

4. Optimistic and extraverted people are as or more depressed than non-optimistic people

The article in question defends the idea that due to the greater affective intensity of optimistic and extraverted people, they are the most likely to suffer depression. In contrast, the list of studies presented by Sanz and García-Vera (2017) in their text affirm precisely the opposite. These authors cite the meta-analysis of Kotov, Gamez, Schmidt and Watson (2010), which found lower rates of extraversion in patients with unipolar depression and dysthymia..

On the other hand, it has been suggested that optimism is a protective factor against depression, as corroborated by studies such as those of Giltay, Zitman and Kromhout (2006) or Vickers and Vogeltanz (2000).

Misconceptions about the treatment of Depressive Disorder.

These are some of the other mistakes that can be made when thinking about psychotherapeutic treatments applied to depressive disorders.

1. Psychotherapy does not cure depression

According to the article in El Mundo there is no study that shows that psychological intervention allows depression to remit, although it does assume that it can be effective in the presence of some milder depressive symptoms, such as those that occur in the Adaptive Disorder. Thus, he argues that the only effective treatment is pharmacological.

Data obtained in the Cuijpers, Berking et al. (2013) matanálisi indicate the opposite of this conclusion, as they found that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) was significantly superior to wait-list or treatment as usual (consisting of various psychotropic drugs, psychoeducation sessions, etc).

Moreover, the data provided above on the Johnsen and Friborg (2015) study corroborates the falsity of such an initial claim. In the text, the efficacy proven in studies on Behavioral Activation Therapy and Interpersonal Therapy is also exposed.

2. Psychotherapy is less effective than Antidepressant medication.

In line with the above, there are more than 20 investigations collected in the meta-analysis by Cruijpers, Berking et al (2013), which is cited in the article by Sanz and García-Vera (2017) that prove the absence of difference in efficacy between CBT and antidepressant drugs.

Yes, it is partially true the fact that it has not been possible to demonstrate greater efficacy in other types of psychotherapeutic interventions other than CBT, for example in the case of Interpersonal Therapy, but such a conclusion cannot be applied to CBT.. Therefore, this idea must be considered as false.

3. The treatment of depression is long

In El Mundo it is stated that the treatment of major depression should be at least one year due to the frequent relapses associated with the course of this type of disorder. Despite the fact that scientific knowledge shows agreement in establishing a high relapse rate (between 60 and 90% according to Eaton et al., 2008), it is also clear that there is an approach in brief psychological therapy (based on CBT) (based on CBT) that has a significant efficacy rate for depression. These interventions range from 16 to 20 weekly sessions.

The aforementioned meta-analyses indicate a duration of 15 sessions (Johnsen and Friborg) or between 8-16 sessions (Cruijpers et al.). Therefore, this initial hypothesis must be considered false on the basis of the data presented in the reference article.

4. The psychologist is not the professional who treats depression

According to the editorial group of El Mundo, it is the psychiatrist who carries out the intervention of patients with depression; the psychologist can take charge of depressive symptoms, of a milder nature than the depressive disorder per se. Two conclusions can be drawn from this statement, which have already been refuted above.1) depression is a biological illness that can only be treated by a psychiatrist and 2) psychological intervention can only be effective in cases of mild or moderate depression, but not in cases of severe depression.

Some more misconceptions than those exposed in the present text can be found in the original text by Sanz and García-Vera (2017). This becomes a clear example of the increasingly common tendency to publish information that is not sufficiently scientifically contrasted. This can result in a major risk, since nowadays any type of information is available to the general population, leading to biased or insufficiently validated knowledge. This danger is even more worrying when it comes to health-related issues.

Bibliographic references:

• Sanz J. Y García-Vera, M.P. (2017) Misconceptions about Depression and its Treatment (I and II). Papeles del Psicólogo, 2017. Vol 38 (3), pp 169-184.
• CuidatePlus Editor (2016, October 1). Misconceptions about depression. Retrieved from http://www.cuidateplus.com/enfermedades/psiquiatricas/2002/04/02/ideas-equivocadas-depresion-7447.html
• DMedicine Editor (2015, September 8). Misconceptions about depression. Retrieved from http://www.dmedicina.com/enfermedades/psiquiatricas/2002/04/02ideas-equivocadas-depresion-7447.html