Depression is one of the most common mental health conditions and many people are reasonably familiar with it. Nonetheless, it is important to know what symptoms to be on the watch for as depression can manifest differently for a lot of people.
What are the Symptoms of Depression?
The chief symptom of depression is a persistent sadness and feeling down or depressed that is lasting for a month or more. Some people notice a lack of motivation, ambition, or drive. Many people experience a loss of appetite, low energy, poor concentration and a change in sleep; often manifesting as insomnia. Symptoms can look differently for men and women. Where more women tend to be weepy and sad, many men with depression tend to be more irritable, edgy, and grumpy. As depression worsens many people begin to feel helpless, hopeless, or worthless. Others lose interest in their leisure activities and when depression gets real bad people can begin to feel suicidal.
What Causes Depression?
There is no single cause of depression but there are a few common contributors to depression. Genetics can be a big factor in developing depression. Having first degree relatives with depression increases your likelihood of getting depression. Often depression can be passed on through genes from family members. Chemical imbalances are another variable at play with depression. Those with depression often have imbalances in neurotransmitters like serotonin and norepinephrine, which are not surprisingly the chemical that antidepressants target to help correct imbalances. Stress is another factor that puts many people at risk for a great variety of issues, including depression. Prolonged and persisting stressors often cause people to succumb to depression. Alcohol is another common culprit. Alcohol is classified as a depressant and regular abuse of alcohol can induce a depressive episode. These are some of the more common causes of depression.
How Do You Treat Depression?
The two most common treatment methods for depression are psychotherapy and medication. Counseling and therapy are proven to be effective interventions for depression. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is particularly good and helps clients identify distortion in thinking such as negative self-concepts and beliefs that may be generating and self-perpetuating depression. Making adjustments in thinking and perception are good at mitigating depression. Antidepressant medications such as SSRI’s and SNRI’s are also proven to produce positive outcomes with depression often in 5-10 weeks. There are new and developing treatment methods for those more treatment resistant forms of depression that are not responding to medication and counseling. These include electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and ketamine treatments. Fortunately, depression is very treatable with 80-90% of people seeing positive results. The earlier the intervention, the better. There is no need to suffer. Depression feeds on itself and what starts out mild can quickly progress to moderate or severe. Take action now.
If you are interested in interested in treating your depression, feel free to contact IPC so you can schedule an appointment with one of our psychologists or psychiatrists. Please call us now at 763-416-4167, or request an appointment on our website: WWW.IPC-MN.COM so we can sit down with you and complete a thorough assessment and help you develop a plan of action that will work for you. Life is too short to be unhappy. Find the peace of mind you deserve.
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