Mental health professionals and physicians are careful and deliberate when evaluating their clients for clinical depression. It takes more than just tearfulness or a feeling of sadness on the part of the client to indicate the presence of depression. An overview of common possible symptoms may include a loss of interest or pleasure in almost all activity, significant weight loss or weight gain in a short period of time, problems sleeping or sleeping too much, restlessness or sluggishness, fatigue or energy loss, feelings of worthlessness and or guilt and or having poor self esteem, poor concentration and focus and or an inability to make decisions, and recurrent thoughts of death. A professional should take the time to gather a good deal of information about a person before determining that he or she is clinically depressed.
From my understanding, you may have had a depressive episode and it sounds like it returns now and again. Depression is a condition that has a tendency to plague some individuals for a many years or in some cases a lifetime. The lifetime risk of Major Depressive Disorder in community samples has varied from 10% to 25% of women. At least 60% of individuals with Major Depressive Disorder will have a second depressive episode. Individuals who have had a second episode have a 70% chance of having a third, and individuals who have had a third episode have a 90% of having a fourth episode. This is called Major Depressive Disorder with recurrent episodes.
The first step in treating Major Depressive Disorders is to confirm that indeed that is the correct diagnosis. Many people incorrectly self diagnose and there are misconceptions about what Depression is and what it is not. Once an accurate diagnosis is established, I typically focus on a few areas in my practice. The first area is the biological aspect of Depression. Working closely with a primary care physician and or psychiatrist can determine whether you may be a good candidate for anti-depressant therapy. Many individuals with a Major Depressive Disorder have symptoms “out of the blue” and don’t necessarily have a precursing event that “causes” an episode. It is believed that there is a chemical imbalance with the brain neurochemistry and therefore an anti-depressant medicine helps regulate this imbalance.
If anti-depressant therapy is not consistent with your health care approach, working with licensed professional counselor or mental health professional care be a very effective treatment option. Other strategies include: Increasing self-rewards for positive activity and or other behavioral interventions, reduction of automatic negative thoughts and distortions of perception or other cognitive strategies, implementing wellness activity such as exercise and sleep strategies, and increasing social contact and or reducing interpersonal conflicts. These strategies often have a positive impact for depressed people. Typically it is a combination of all the above strategies that has the greatest impact in treating Depression. Focusing solely just on one intervention may result in limited benefit.
In closure, there are many ways to overcome and treat depression, however there is usually no quick fix and if you believe you may suffer from clinical depression, it is very important that you seek professional attention.
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Mental health professionals and physicians are careful and deliberate when evaluating their clients for clinical depression. It takes more than just tearfulness or a feeling of sadness on the part of the client to indicate the presence of depression. An overview of common possible symptoms may include a loss of interest or pleasure in almost all activity, significant weight loss or weight gain in a short period of time, problems sleeping or sleeping too much, restlessness or sluggishness, fatigue or energy loss, feelings of worthlessness and or guilt and or having poor self esteem, poor concentration and focus and or an inability to make decisions, and recurrent thoughts of death. A professional should take the time to gather a good deal of information about a person before determining that he or she is clinically depressed.
From my understanding, you may have had a depressive episode and it sounds like it returns now and again. Depression is a condition that has a tendency to plague some individuals for a many years or in some cases a lifetime. The lifetime risk of Major Depressive Disorder in community samples has varied from 10% to 25% of women. At least 60% of individuals with Major Depressive Disorder will have a second depressive episode. Individuals who have had a second episode have a 70% chance of having a third, and individuals who have had a third episode have a 90% of having a fourth episode. This is called Major Depressive Disorder with recurrent episodes.
The first step in treating Major Depressive Disorders is to confirm that indeed that is the correct diagnosis. Many people incorrectly self diagnose and there are misconceptions about what Depression is and what it is not. Once an accurate diagnosis is established, I typically focus on a few areas in my practice. The first area is the biological aspect of Depression. Working closely with a primary care physician and or psychiatrist can determine whether you may be a good candidate for anti-depressant therapy. Many individuals with a Major Depressive Disorder have symptoms “out of the blue” and don’t necessarily have a precursing event that “causes” an episode. It is believed that there is a chemical imbalance with the brain neurochemistry and therefore an anti-depressant medicine helps regulate this imbalance.
If anti-depressant therapy is not consistent with your health care approach, working with licensed professional counselor or mental health professional care be a very effective treatment option. Other strategies include: Increasing self-rewards for positive activity and or other behavioral interventions, reduction of automatic negative thoughts and distortions of perception or other cognitive strategies, implementing wellness activity such as exercise and sleep strategies, and increasing social contact and or reducing interpersonal conflicts. These strategies often have a positive impact for depressed people. Typically it is a combination of all the above strategies that has the greatest impact in treating Depression. Focusing solely just on one intervention may result in limited benefit.
In closure, there are many ways to overcome and treat depression, however there is usually no quick fix and if you believe you may suffer from clinical depression, it is very important that you seek professional attention.
Addam Gross, MC, LPC, LLC
July 30, 2008 - 10:17amaddamgross.com
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