Depression Recovery: How to Know You're Making Progress

As you begin treatment for depression, it may take a bit of time for you to feel like you're back to your normal self. If your progress is slow, it's natural to question whether you're really improving. Your doctor can help you set some goals to use as benchmarks and assess your progress.

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Signs of Recovery From Depression

You can look for several indicators to understand if you are recovering.

Improving Symptoms

Have you noticed that you're feeling less sad or having fewer moments of anger? Perhaps you're thinking more clearly, your appetite has come back, or you feel less tired. These improvements in your symptoms are positive signs of recovery.

If you have trouble recognizing changes in your symptoms, ask your doctor, counselor, or therapist. They may notice that you seem less irritable or have more energy during your visits. Sometimes, it's hard to see these things ourselves.

Improved Daily Function

If you're having an easier time functioning in your daily activities, this is another good indicator that you're progressing. You might notice it's less challenging to:

• Get up for work
• Keep up with personal hygiene
• Do housework
• Prepare meals
• Socialize with loved ones

Limited Relapses

An important goal of depression treatment is to lower the risk of future episodes.1 If your symptoms stay under control over time, that's a key sign of improvement.

Adopting healthy lifestyle changes can support this goal. While depression is biologically based, your lifestyle can increase stress and trigger a relapse.2

How to Track Your Progress

Besides working closely with your doctor, you can take several steps to monitor your progress.

Keep a Journal

Journaling is an easy and effective way to track your symptoms over time, explore your emotions, and manage your feelings.3 Try using a journal to record your symptoms, your experience with medication, and self-help strategies.

For example, you can use your journal to record what type of activity you tried, such as exercise, meditation, or listening to your favorite music. Also, write down how you felt before and after, noting what you liked or didn’t like.

You may want to consider sharing your journal entries with your mental health care professional. They may be able to help you identify whether your medication should be adjusted or if you should try a different treatment approach.

Take Symptom Questionnaires

Another way to track your progress is to periodically take a test like the Wakefield Questionnaire. This questionnaire asks a series of questions about your depression symptoms and then provides you with a numerical score.4 The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI) are similar options.

By comparing your scores over time, you can objectively see whether your symptoms are improving. Maybe they are appearing less often or feeling less intense. These can both be signs that your treatment is working and your depression is getting better.

Monitor Changes in Medication

How long you need to take antidepressants depends on how well they work and whether you're at risk of a relapse.5 As you begin to feel better, your doctor may decide to reduce your medication dosage or take you off it completely. This is a positive sign that you're making progress.

Another medication-related sign to look for is if you're having fewer side effects with your antidepressant or less severe side effects. Or maybe you've found a way to work them into your life so the effects aren't so bothersome, such as taking them at morning versus night or vice versa. All of these changes are steps in the right direction.

It may take time, but with the right combination of treatment, support, and lifestyle habits, you can feel like your old self again.

Depression Symptoms to Look For

If you have feelings of depression that don't seem to be getting better or are getting worse, talk to your doctor. Your treatment plan may need to be changed. Here are a few common symptoms of depression to watch for:

• Crying for no apparent reason
• Difficulty concentrating or staying focused
• Eating too much or too little
• Feeling sad, worthless, and/or having guilt
• Feelings of hopelessness
• Having difficulty doing normal daily activities
• Irritability
• Losing joy in your daily activities or passions
• Overwhelming feelings of anxiety
• Physical symptoms such as stomachaches or headaches
• Restlessness
• Sleeping too much or too little
• Thinking about or trying to commit suicide
• Waking during the night or early in the morning

Undiagnosed and untreated depression can get worse and stop you from living a fulfilling life. So, if you have these symptoms for two weeks or more, or if you are being treated for depression and these symptoms are not getting any better, be sure to consult a mental health professional for help.6

Depression can impact every area of your life, so it's helpful to know whether the treatment you are using is working for your type of depression and its level of severity. If you ever feel like your depression is not getting better, talk to your doctor. Many potential remedies exist. It's just a matter of finding the right one for you.