Sunday, April 14, 2024

Do I Go To A Doctor For Depression

Your Anxiety Is Harming Your Physical Well

What is Psychotic Depression?

Occasional anxious thoughts may cause more mental stress than physical symptoms. However, if you have an anxiety disorder, you will likely experience physical symptoms that sap your energy and interfere with your daily functioning. These signs could include sleeping troubles, unexplained muscle aches and digestive issues.

Read Also: What To Do When Your Anxiety Is High

Seeing A Doctor About Depression

Big changes in your life, like bereavement, losing a job, or even having a baby, can cause symptoms of depression. You’re also more likely to experience depression if you have a family history of depression. However, it’s also possible to become depressed without there being an obvious reason.

You can learn more about depression causes here.

Finding The Right Kind Of Doctor For Your Depression

To make sure you find a doctor or therapist who will place you on the right track for depression management, use this checklist:

1. Choose someone who can provide the desired services.

2. Make sure that a strong relationship is felt.

3. Find out about the approach to therapy for the client.

4. Find a collaborative plan for your goals.

5. Look for someone who is going to challenge you.

6. Seeking someone with a direct approach to treatment.

7. Expect homework.

In this article, we listed out what kind of doctor do you see for depression.

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How To Deal With Employees Who Are Signed Off With Stress

The concern is the detriment of physical or mental health due to excessive pressure in the workplace to finish up work that might be too much. The employer should place the health of the employee in his or her business plan.

This is why some employers have the Employee Assistance Program to take care of employees. If you cant attain this kind of program, you can always refer your employee who is signed off with stress to a professional.

With this referral, you can at least save your employee and find some flaws in your business plans that may have caused the concern in the employee. This can also make sure that the employee is signed off with stress will be able to recover with the time out.

In a referral, you can manage this through support. This kind of referral is needed when the following conditions are met:

  • The managers connection with the employee is complicated and needs a new avenue to solve.
  • The employee is dysfunctional with absenteeism for long periods of time.
  • There are health concerns that need addressing like anxiety or depression.

Another typical concern is that with the fact that work-related stress and pregnancy can have an impact on the female employees and making motherhood difficult. As mentioned before, the employer should give them the time off by being signed off with stress.

You can try to ease your stress in pregnancy by learning some exercise moves by buying this video on this website.

Have a meeting or talk with the employee

Panic Attacks & Panic Disorder

Planning to become a doctor? Get set for burnouts, depression

Panic disorder is a debilitating anxiety disorder that is very different from GAD. Panic disorder is not about panicking. Its not about getting very worried because you might lose your job or a lion is about to attack you in the jungle. That type of panic is normal.

Panic disorder is when you experience severe feelings of doom that cause both mental and physical symptoms that can be so intense that some people call an ambulance, worried that something is dangerously wrong with their health.

Panic disorder is characterized by two things:

  • Fear of getting panic attacks.

Panic attacks are intense physical and mental sensations that can be triggered by stress, anxiety, or by nothing at all. They often involve mental distress, but are most well-known for their physical symptoms, including:

  • Rapid heartbeat .
  • Excessive sweating or hot/cold flashes.
  • Tingling sensations, numbness, or weakness in the body.
  • Depersonalization .
  • Trouble breathing or feeling as though youve had a deep breath.
  • Lightheadedness or dizziness.
  • Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much.
  • Seeing or hearing things that arent there.

If you have noticed any of these changes over the last few weeks or months, you should consider making an appointment with your family doctor.

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How Can I Help A Loved One Who Is Depressed

If someone you know has depression, help them see a health care provider or mental health professional. You also can:

  • Offer support, understanding, patience, and encouragement.
  • Invite them out for walks, outings, and other activities.
  • Help them stick to their treatment plan, such as setting reminders to take prescribed medications.
  • Make sure they have transportation to therapy appointments.
  • Remind them that, with time and treatment, the depression will lift.

Take comments about suicide seriously, and report them to your loved ones health care provider or therapist. If they are in immediate distress or thinking about hurting themselves, call 911 for emergency services or go to the nearest hospital emergency room.

Finding The Right Balance

Because depression stems from a chemical imbalance in the brain resulting in decreased serotonin, Dr. Weitzer explains that medications aim to increase levels of this neurotransmitter to help patients find balance.

However, even when patients reach the right dosewhich can require trial and errormedication will not change their triggers or their reactions to those triggers. For this reason, Dr. Weitzer recommends a type of psychotherapy called cognitive behavioral therapy, which seeks to alter a patients behavioral patterns in response to particular stressors.

In addition to medication and talk therapy, complementary treatment options exist that provide more immediate benefits with few, if any, side effects. Dr. Garbely wholly recommends a mindfulness meditation practice as a proven strategy for combating depressive feelings.

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Depression Versus Sadness: When To Talk With Your Doctor

Most people will have depressive periods or times of sadness throughout their lives. For someone experiencing these feelings, it can be difficult to know when to seek help.

If you find yourself fighting early morning wake-ups or losing your appetite, Joseph Garbely, DO, DFASAM, a psychiatrist and the Chief Medical Officer at Caron Treatment Centers in Reading, PA, recommends scheduling time with your general practitioner. Trouble sleeping and appetite fluctuations are often the first symptoms to take root of Major Depressive Disorder, more commonly known as depression.

These are early signs that you need to seek attention, Dr. Garbely says. While many people think they need a specialist, primary care physicians are well-trained in dealing with depression and anxiety. If they feel a case is more complicated, they may bring in a psychiatrist to manage medication and a psychologist to provide psychotherapy.

Depression is a mental health disorder affecting more than 16 million people in the United States alone.

According to Dr. Garbely, anyone displaying four or more of the following symptoms for more than two weeks should reach out to their physician for guidance.

  • Appetite disturbance

Looking After Someone Who Has Depression

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If you’re close to someone with depression, their condition can affect you too. Your relationship, and family life in general, can be strained, and you might not know what to do or how to help.

Talking about the situation can help. Finding a support group, or talking to other people in a similar situation, can make it easier to cope. If the condition is causing difficulties in your relationship with your partner, you could contact a relationship counsellor who can talk things through with both of you.

When suffering from depression, men are less likely to ask for help than women. They’re also more likely to turn to drugs and alcohol to cope with the symptoms.

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How To Talk To Doctor About Depression And Anxiety

Use clear statements such as I think I may be depressed or I am having trouble with anxiety. This will help guide them and let them know what direction to go in. Be as open and honest with your doctor as possible. He or she cant help you if they dont know everything that is going on.

How Can Depression Symptoms Lead To A Depression Diagnosis

To be diagnosed with major depression, you must have at least five of the symptoms listed above with at least one of the first two nearly daily for at least 2 weeks.

Depression symptoms can last weeks, months, or sometimes years. They can affect personality and interfere with social relationships and work habits, potentially making it difficult for others to have empathy for you. Some symptoms are so disabling that they interfere significantly with your ability to function. In very severe cases, people with depression may be unable to eat, maintain their hygiene, or even get out of bed.

Episodes may happen only once in a lifetime or may be recurrent, chronic, or longstanding. In some cases, they seem to last forever. Symptoms may appear to be precipitated by life crises. At other times, they may seem to happen at random.

Clinical depression commonly goes along with other medical illnesses such as heart disease or cancer and worsens the prognosis for these illnesses.

Read Also: What Should You Do If You Re Depressed

Will The Doctor Sign Me Off Work With Stress

Yes, your doctor can sign you off work with stress if you have been suffering from significant levels of stress that are now affecting your performance at work and your personal life.

However, consider how stress is not considered an illness but it can contribute to developing other health conditions and mental illnesses.

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See Your Primary Care Doctor

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If you suspect you may have depression, your first visit should be to your family doctor or primary care physician for a thorough checkup. While most doctors do screen for depression, it’s best to tell your doctor your concerns about your mood. Your doctor is there to help you, so don’t hold back.

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What Will My Doctor Do For Me

You might not feel comfortable talking to your doctor about any mental or emotional problems you are having. But your doctor can help you. He or she can:

  • Ask you questions about your thoughts and feelings that might help you better understand what you are going through.
  • Give you reassurance that you arent crazy but have a medical problem.
  • Tell you what kinds of support are available, such as counseling.
  • Offer you medicine, if its appropriate.
  • Recommend lifestyle changes that can help improve your mental health, such as exercise.
  • Refer you to a specialist, if they think that would be more helpful.
  • See you at follow-up appointments to monitor how you are doing and how you are responding to treatment.

Maybe At This Very Moment Running Away Seems Like The Best Possible Solution

It was back in 2020, just as the first wave of pandemic started subsiding, my life entered a vortex ofentropy. Family issues, professional shortcomings and personal botch-ups joined forces to deal onedeafening blow after the other. By the time, life was done with its due course of the “Crucio” cursewith me, I would wake up every day feeling suicidal and trying to find at least one r…

Trigger Warning: Suicide & Self Harm

It was back in 2020, just as the first wave of pandemic started subsiding, my life entered a vortex of entropy. Family issues, professional shortcomings and personal botch-ups joined forces to deal one deafening blow after the other. By the time, life was done with its due course of the “Crucio” curse with me, I would wake up every day feeling suicidal and trying to find at least one reason to stay alive.

Things went to a pretty bad extent where I even resorted to self-harm just in the hope that the pain would end. This is exactly when one of my friends suggested that maybe seeking professional help is a better option than just the mindless torment that I was inflicting on myself.

After I sought out professional help, life started taking a turn for the ordinary. I won’t say good because from waking up every morning with a strong death wish at the back of my head to at least willing to live, others would consider it ordinary – but for me it was a momentous shift. Slowly and steadily, things started taking a turn for the good.

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Electroconvulsive Therapy Electric Shock Treatment

If you have severe depression and other treatments, like medication, haven’t worked, ECT might be recommended for you.

When receiving ECT, you will be given an anaesthetic and medication that relaxes your muscles to begin with. Electrodes will be placed on your head that give an electrical “shock” to your brain.

ECT is given over a series of sessions, normally twice a week for three to six weeks.

ECT can cause side effects including nausea, headaches, aches in the muscles and memory problems.

Most people find that ECT is good for relieving severe depression, but the beneficial effects tend to wear off when several months have passed.

Psychological Depression Symptoms Include:

5 Hidden Signs of Depression
  • doing poorly at work
  • difficulties with your family or home life

It’s not always possible to tell that you’re having symptoms of depression right away it can start and progress gradually. A lot of people don’t realise they’re ill and try to carry on and cope with their symptoms. Sometimes it takes a friend or family member to notice that there’s a problem.

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How Do I Ask My Doctor For Anxiety Medication

Is excessive fear, worry, or anxiety affecting your daily life? You are likely suffering from an anxiety disorder.

Help is out there. Many people are relieved to learn that you dont need to see an expensive psychiatrist to receive mental health help.

Primary care doctors are able to treat many common mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. Initiating a conversation about starting anxiety medication can be nerve-wracking, but theres no need to be intimidated. Remember the doctor is there to help you.

In this article well go over how to ask your doctor for anti-anxiety medication so you can feel prepared to get the help you need.

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What Is The Process Of Getting Diagnosed With Depression

What Does the Doctor Look for to Make a Depression Diagnosis? A doctor can rule out other conditions that may cause depression with a physical examination, a personal interview, and lab tests. The doctor will also do a complete diagnostic evaluation, discussing any family history of depression or other mental illness.

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Youre Thinking About Suicide

If youre thinking about hurting yourself, about death or suicide, or youre actively planning to end your life, its important to seek immediate help. You might reach out to a suicide prevention hotline or visit the emergency room for mental health support.

Depression can be treated more aggressively until these urges go away at a psychiatric hospital, explains Lisa Anderson, an LCSW in Nashville, Tennessee who has experience working in psychiatric hospitals.

Sometimes, starting an antidepressant medication or changing your antidepressant prescription can cause suicidal thoughts or make them worse.

Suicidal ideation can be active or passive. Passive ideation means youre having thoughts of suicide or dying, but you dont have an intent or will to act on them, and therefore you dont have a plan to do so. Active ideation means you have a plan.

Speaking with a mental health professional can help with all types of suicidal ideation.

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What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Depression

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Common symptoms of depression include:

  • Persistent sad, anxious, or empty mood
  • Feelings of hopelessness or pessimism
  • Feelings of irritability, frustration or restlessness
  • Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness
  • Loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies or activities
  • Difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions
  • Difficulty sleeping, early morning awakening, or oversleeping
  • Changes in appetite or unplanned weight changes
  • Aches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive problems without a clear physical cause and that do not ease even with treatment
  • Suicide attempts or thoughts of death or suicide

If you or someone you know is in immediate distress or is thinking about hurting themselves, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline toll-free at 1-800-273-TALK . You also can text the Crisis Text Line or use the Lifeline Chat on the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline website.

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I Grew Up Routinely With Feelings Of Emptiness

My recovery journey highlights how the right support can accelerate an individuals ability to build resilience and motivation to recover and lead a fulfilling life.

My recovery journey highlights how the right support can accelerate an individuals ability to build resilience and motivation to recover and lead a fulfilling life.

At the same time, some of the circumstances I endured as a result of struggling with mental illness are profoundly sad. I was unable to really attend school in grades 11 and 12 and was largely home schooled. This is because even though my schools authorities were caring and understanding, trying to help me, most of my peers bullied, excluded and made fun of me. Society would talk about me and my situation in a in a derogatory way, saying, I’m mad.

I attended counselling, took my medications, and started to recover. The most difficult time in my journey with mental illness was facing the stigma I experienced because of my illness. My recovery journey highlights how the right support can accelerate an individuals ability to build resilience and motivation to recover and lead a fulfilling life.

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