Managing my depression is challenging. Recently, I began to treat it holistically. For me, exercising, medication, sleeping well, and speaking with confidants before issues become seemingly unmanageable are key to my recovery.

While I struggled with depression all my life, it wasn’t until I was 42 that a psychiatrist explored my childhood, family’s history with depression, and how I have coped with it throughout the years. In retrospect, the psychiatrist employed the Biopsychosocial (BPS) model to my situation. (Melchert, 2011)

More than One Contributing Factor

I also experience comorbidity as I have sleep apnea, which is thought to contribute to my depression. In looking back, I experienced Melchert’s (2011) assertion in Chapter 3 that even though depression is of high prevalence, consistency in treatment is lacking. Most General Practitioners did not use the BPS approach with me and this, I believe, contributed to the lack of treatment options presented.

Currently, I use medication, exercise and a CPAP machine to contribute to managing my depression. In addition, I see a counsellor on a regular basis to explore childhood maltreatment (Melchert, 2011) and evaluate differing coping skills. Finally, I include my family in my recovery from depression and attend a gym regularly.

See the Whole Picture

If you are experiencing depression, then take a full inventory including biological, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects into consideration before developing your treatment plan. By not doing so may lead to an inaccurate treatment, which may not have the desired effects. For example, not all depression is related to childhood maltreatment. By employing the BPS model, I discovered that my undiagnosed sleep apnea as a contributing factor to my depression symptoms.

Melchert, T. P. (2011). Elsevier insights. Foundations of professional psychology: The end of theoretical orientations and the emergence of the biopsychosocial approach. Elsevier.