How Do I Know If I Have Depression

Bakersfield Behavioral Healthcare Hospital Helps Those Living With Depression

At Bakersfield Behavioral Healthcare Hospital, we specialize in treating depression and other mood disorders. We offer inpatient treatment programs and intensive outpatient treatment programs, too. To get started at our facility, please call us at 755-4907 to speak with one of our intake specialists.

How Is Depression Syndrome Diagnosed

Everyone may feel sad or down from time to time. However, clinical depression has more intense symptoms that last two weeks or longer.

To determine whether you have clinical depression, your healthcare provider will ask questions. You may complete a questionnaire and provide a family history. Your healthcare provider may also perform an exam or order lab tests to see if you have another medical condition.

What Are The Different Antidepressants And How Do They Work

The most commonly prescribed cause changes in brain chemistry that affect how neurons communicate. Exactly how this improves mood remains somewhat of a mystery, but the fact that they do often work is well-established.

• SSRIs This category of drug includes Prozac , Celexa , and Zoloft and targets , a neurotransmitter that helps control mood, appetite, and sleep.
• SNRIs SNRIs include drugs like Cymbalta , Pristiq , and Effexor XR , which block the reabsorption of both serotonin and another neurotransmitter, .
• NDRIs This class of medications includes bupropion.
• TCAs include such drugs as Tofranil and Pamelor . These drugs were among the earliest antidepressants to come on the market. These days, doctors generally only turn to them when treatment with SSRIs, SNRIs, and NDRIs has failed.
• MAOIs MAOIs, including Nardil and , were the first antidepressants developed. Theyre rarely used today, in part because people who take them require careful monitoring to prevent negative interactions with certain foods and other medications.

All antidepressants can have side effects, but some may be more problematic than others. You may need to try several different medications, or a combination, guided by your doctor, before you find what works best for you.

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Are There Other Therapies To Treat Symptoms Of Depression

There are other treatments your doctor may consider. Electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT, is a treatment option for people whose symptoms don’t get better with medicine or who have severe depression and need treatment right away.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, involves using a noninvasive device that is held above the head to induce the magnetic field. It targets a specific part of the brain that can trigger depression.

With vagus nerve stimulation, or VMS, a pacemaker-like device is surgically implanted under the collarbone to deliver regular impulses to the brain.

Mild And Moderate Depression

These are the most common types. More than simply feeling blue, the symptoms of mild depression can interfere with your daily life, robbing you of joy and motivation. Those symptoms become amplified in moderate depression and can lead to a decline in confidence and self-esteem.

Recurrent, mild depression

Dysthymia is a type of chronic low-grade depression. More days than not, you feel mildly or moderately depressed, although you may have brief periods of normal mood.

• The symptoms of dysthymia are not as strong as the symptoms of major depression, but they last a long time .
• Some people also experience major depressive episodes on top of dysthymia, a condition known as double depression.
• If you suffer from dysthymia, you may feel like youve always been depressed. Or you may think that your continuous low mood is just the way you are.

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What If My Symptoms Dont Improve

If youre not responding to treatment, you may live with treatment resistant depression. This is when your symptoms have not improved after at least 2 standard treatments. This can also be known as treatment-refractory depression.

There is currently no official criteria used to diagnose treatment resistant depression.

What treatment is available for treatment-resistant depression?There are treatment options for treatment resistant depression. Even if antidepressants have not worked already for you, your doctor may suggest a different antidepressant from a different class.

The new antidepressant you are offered will depend on the first antidepressant you were given.

Sometimes your doctor can prescribe a second type of medication to go with your antidepressant. This can sometimes help the antidepressant work better than it does by itself.

Where antidepressants have not worked, your doctor may suggest talking therapies, ECT or brain stimulation treatments. See the previous section for more information on these.

What is an implanted vagus nerve stimulator, and how is it used in treatment resistant depression?If you live with treatment resistant depression, and youve not responded to other treatments, you may be able ask for an implanted vagus nerve stimulator.

Please speak to your doctor if youre interested in this treatment and for more information. You may be able to get this treatment funded through an Individual Funding Request.

• NHS – Your Rights by clicking here.

Alcohol Tobacco And Other Drugs

Misusing alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs can have both immediate and long-term health effects.

The misuse and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs, and prescription medications affect the health and well-being of millions of Americans. SAMHSAs 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health reports that approximately 19.3 million people aged 18 or older had a substance use disorder in the past year.

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Depression And Anxiety Are Common

Depression and anxiety are very common conditions. But did you know that people in some places are more likely to experience it than others?

Communities that are battling often have higher rates of mental health disorders and Melbourne is no exception. Mental health conditions are prevalent across the outer suburbs and particularly in places like Brimbank, Hume and Maribyrnong.

Where people are doing it tough, a mental health condition can often be made worse by financial stress, like worrying about food, rent or the mortgage drug and alcohol abuse family violence and even the presence of gambling machines.

If youre concerned about depression and want to reach out to a friend, family member or counsellor, then this is a good place to start.

So, what is depression exactly?

What Is Treatment Resistant Depression And Is There Any Help For It

If youve tried at least two different antidepressants and your depression hasnt improved, you may be diagnosed with treatment resistant depression . TRD is a serious condition that has been highly associated with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Nearly 33 percent of people with TRD attempt suicide in their lifetime, more than double the rate of their treatment-responsive peers, according to a recent report in Psychiatry Advisor. It is not, however, a hopeless condition. A number of alternative treatment approaches are available, including:

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Can Depression Be Prevented

You can help prevent depression by getting enough sleep, eating a healthy diet and practicing regular self-care activities such as exercise, meditation and yoga.

If youve had depression before, you may be more likely to experience it again. If you have depression symptoms, get help. Care can help you feel better sooner.

How To Know When Your Depression Is Getting Better

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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Feeling Depressed Or Suffering From Depression

We often get mixed up between low mood and unhappiness and depression. The two things are very different. Depression isnt about feeling unhappy, its feeling youll never be happy again, explains Colin Grange, Psychologist and Clinical Director of Lifeworks.

If youre feeling low, is it starting to interfere with your day to day life? Are you not doing things that you used to do? Are you losing motivation in and enjoyment of life? Are you starting to not enjoy your hobbies? Is everything becoming an effort?

People suffering from clinical depression often experience a range of symptoms both physical and emotional which can interfere with day to day life. Discovering whether you are suffering from one or more of these symptoms could be an important step towards getting the help you need.

Quiz: Am I depressed?

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Where Can I Find Clinical Trials For Depression

Clinical trials are research studies that look at new ways to prevent, detect, or treat diseases and conditions. Although individuals may benefit from being part of a clinical trial, participants should be aware that the primary purpose of a clinical trial is to gain new scientific knowledge so others may receive better help in the future.

Researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health and around the country conduct many studies with patients and healthy volunteers. Talk to your health care provider about clinical trials, their benefits and risks, and whether one is right for you. For more information, visit NIMH’s clinical trials information.

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Whats The Difference Between Sadness And Depression

Depression is about being sad, surebut its more than that. Depression is a mental illness that involves a lot of symptoms, like feeling exhausted all the time, losing interest in activities you normally enjoy, or thoughts of death and suicide. Episodes of depression last at least 2 weeks at a time. They can be triggered by a sad event or they can seemingly come of out of nowhere.

Are There Warning Signs Of Suicide With Depression

Depression carries a high risk of suicide. Suicidal thoughts or intentions are serious. Warning signs include:

• A sudden switch from sadness to extreme calmness, or appearing to be happy
• Always talking or thinking about death
• Clinical depression that gets worse
• Taking risks that could lead to death, such as driving through red lights
• Making comments about being hopeless, helpless, or worthless
• Putting affairs in order, like tying up loose ends or changing a will
• Saying things like “It would be better if I weren’t here” or “I want out”
• Talking about suicide
• Visiting or calling close friends and loved ones

If you or someone you know shows any of the above warning signs, call your local suicide hotline, contact a mental health professional right away, or go to the emergency room.

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Treatment: Psychotherapy For Depression Symptoms

In essence, psychotherapy helps you get to the bottom of the depression symptoms, understand how depression affects your life, and cultivate healthy habits that will keep your depression at bay.

In general, experts believe therapy is an excellent treatment option for mild forms of depression, and most professionals specialize in depression or have experience working with people who are experiencing depression. When it comes to severe clinical depression, healthcare professionals recommend a psychiatric consultation followed by antidepressant medication to tackle the depression. This balance of treatment medications and therapy can help with the pain of depression while understanding the thoughts and feelings.

Aside from individual therapy, patients with depression can benefit greatly from family and couples therapy. Theres also group therapy for depression which brings together people who suffer from the same condition, creating a community that tests and provides mutual support for depression.

Is It Depression Or Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, involves serious shifts in moods, energy, thinking, and behavior. Because it looks so similar to depression when in the low phase, it is often overlooked and misdiagnosed. This can be a serious problem as taking antidepressants for bipolar disorder can actually make the condition worse.

If youve ever gone through phases where you experienced excessive feelings of euphoria, a decreased need for sleep, racing thoughts, and impulsive behavior, consider getting evaluated for bipolar disorder.

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Identifying Changes In Behavior

How Is Depression Syndrome Treated

Depression can be serious, but its also treatable. Treatment for depression includes:

• Self-help: Regular exercise, getting enough sleep, and spending time with people you care about can improve depression symptoms.
• Counseling: Counseling or psychotherapy is talking with a mental health professional. Your counselor helps you address your problems and develop coping skills. Sometimes brief therapy is all you need. Other people continue therapy longer.
• Alternative medicine: People with mild depression or ongoing symptoms can improve their well-being with complementary therapy. Therapy may include massage, acupuncture, hypnosis and biofeedback.
• Medication: Prescription medicine called antidepressants can help change brain chemistry that causes depression. Antidepressants can take a few weeks to have an effect. Some antidepressants have side effects, which often improve with time. If they dont, talk to your provider. A different medications may work better for you.
• Brain stimulation therapy: Brain stimulation therapy can help people who have severe depression or depression with psychosis. Types of brain stimulation therapy include electroconvulsive therapy , transcranial magnetic stimulation and vagus nerve stimulation .

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When Should I Seek Help

If your symptoms of depression are causing problems with relationships, work, or your family — and there isn’t a clear solution — you should see a professional.

Talking with a mental health counselor or doctor can help prevent things from getting worse, especially if your symptoms stay for any length of time.

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts or feelings, get help right away.

It’s important to understand that feeling depressed doesn’t mean you have depression. That condition involves not only changes in mood, but also changes in sleep, energy, appetite, concentration, and motivation.

If you have physical symptoms like these and find yourself feeling depressed much of the time for days or weeks, see your doctor.

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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
• 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.

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What Is Depression And How Do I Know If I Have It

Everyone has bad days when things just arent going well and we just feel off. This can be in response to some bad news like getting a grade that is less than stellar or your friends are too busy to hang out. Sometimes when we find our bad day seems to last day after day, then that may mean something else is going on.

Depression is a term that covers a great deal of meanings and references. In economics, depression refers to a sustained, long-term, downturn in economic activity in one or more economies. In kinesiology, depression is an anatomical term of motion that refers to downward movement, the opposite of elevation. In weather, depression refers to an area of low atmospheric pressure characterized by rain and unstable weather. In terms of mood, depression refers to a sustained mood that is low, sad, down, blue. When the mood continues for two weeks or more and occurs for most of the day that may indicate an illness called major depression.

When the mood is low it can color lots of perceptions, including feelings about ourselves, making us feels less than or even worthless. Sometimes depressed people find their thoughts focused on past mistakes or bad experiences that they usually dont think about or havent thought about for a long time which may create lots of guilt and shame. Its not too difficult to follow that thought path down to the point where the person thinks about dying, wishing s/he were dead or thinking about ending his/her life.