Enlist Trusted And Educated Allies
You are the expert on your own feelings. No one, not even your therapist, knows more about your experience with depression than you do. But if the job of explaining your symptoms and answering questions feels like a burden, you can ask for help. Health professionals are trained and experienced in educating family members.
The person with depression is not usually the best person to have to explain it, Dr. Rosmarin says. Its hard enough to explain depression when youre firing on all cylinders. If youre not, you might prefer to offer your relatives a chance to speak to someone on your clinical team.
In fact, there is good
What Causes Climatic Depression
A low pressure system, also known as a depression, occurs when the weather is dominated by unstable conditions. Under a depression, the air rises, forming an area of low pressure on the surface. This rising air cools and condenses and helps encourage cloud formation, so the weather is often cloudy and humid.
What are the three parts of a depression?
Is Valley a depression?
These geological formations are created by the runoff of rivers and the movement of glaciers. Valleys are depressed areas of land, eroded and washed away by the conspiring forces of gravity, water and ice. Some hang others are hollow.
Are anticyclones dangerous?
Indeed, summer anticyclones can result in heat wave conditions with temperatures well above average. Such an event occurred in the summer of 2003 affecting continental Europe and the UK, it proved particularly dangerous for humans.
Is Depression Linked To Chronic Pain
When pain lingers for weeks to months, it’s called “chronic.” Not only does chronic pain hurt, it disturbs your sleep, your ability to exercise and be active, your relationships, and your productivity at work. Can you see how chronic pain may also leave you feeling sad, isolated, and depressed?
There is help for chronic pain and depression. A multifaceted program of medicine, psychotherapy, support groups, and more can help you manage your pain, ease your depression, and get your life back on track.
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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.
Major Depressive Disorder With Seasonal Pattern
Previously known as seasonal affective disorder , this type of depression occurs during the winter and fall months, when there is less daylight. Less commonly, it may follow other seasonal patterns.
It lifts during the rest of the year and in response to light therapy.
This condition seems to particularly affect people who live in countries with long or severe winters.
The medical community does not fully understand the causes of depression. There are many possible causes, and sometimes, various factors combine to trigger symptoms.
Factors that are likely to play a role
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General Signs And Symptoms
Not everyone with depression will experience the same symptoms. Symptoms can vary in severity, how often they happen, and how long they last.
If you experience some of the following signs and of depression nearly every day for at least 2 weeks, you may be living with depression:
- feeling sad, anxious, or empty
- feeling hopeless, worthless, and pessimistic
- crying a lot
The symptoms of depression can be experienced differently among males, females, teens, and children.
Males may experience symptoms related to their:
- mood, such as anger, aggressiveness, irritability, anxiousness, or restlessness
- emotional well-being, such as feeling empty, sad, or hopeless
- behavior, such as loss of interest, no longer finding pleasure in favorite activities, feeling tired easily, thoughts of suicide, drinking excessively, using drugs, or engaging in high-risk activities
- sexual interest, such as reduced sexual desire or lack of sexual performance
- cognitive abilities, such as inability to concentrate, difficulty completing tasks, or delayed responses during conversations
- sleep patterns, such as insomnia, restless sleep, excessive sleepiness, or not sleeping through the night
- physical well-being, such as fatigue, pains, headache, or digestive problems
Females may experience symptoms related to their:
Children may experience
Common causes include:
You may successfully manage symptoms with one form of treatment, or you may find that a combination of treatments works best.
Coping With Depression Tip : Reach Out And Stay Connected
Getting support plays an essential role in overcoming depression. On your own, it can be difficult to maintain a healthy perspective and sustain the effort required to beat depression. At the same time, the very nature of depression makes it difficult to reach out for help. When youre depressed, the tendency is to withdraw and isolate so that connecting to even close family members and friends can be tough.
You may feel too exhausted to talk, ashamed at your situation, or guilty for neglecting certain relationships. But this is just the depression talking. Staying connected to other people and taking part in social activities will make a world of difference in your mood and outlook. Reaching out is not a sign of weakness and it wont mean youre a burden to others. Your loved ones care about you and want to help. And if you dont feel that you have anyone to turn to, its never too late to build new friendships and improve your support network.
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Who Is At Risk For Depression
Depression can affect anyone, no matter their age, gender or circumstances. About 16 million Americans experience depression each year.
Women may experience depression more often than men. And your genetics or other health conditions can increase the likelihood that youll have at least one depressive episode in your lifetime.
Onset Of Depression More Complex Than A Brain Chemical Imbalance
It’s often said that depression results from a chemical imbalance, but that figure of speech doesn’t capture how complex the disease is. Research suggests that depression doesn’t spring from simply having too much or too little of certain brain chemicals. Rather, there are many possible causes of depression, including faulty mood regulation by the brain, genetic vulnerability, and stressful life events. It’s believed that several of these forces interact to bring on depression.
To be sure, chemicals are involved in this process, but it is not a simple matter of one chemical being too low and another too high. Rather, many chemicals are involved, working both inside and outside nerve cells. There are millions, even billions, of chemical reactions that make up the dynamic system that is responsible for your mood, perceptions, and how you experience life.
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- Research health conditions
- Prepare for a doctor’s visit or test
- Find the best treatments and procedures for you
- Explore options for better nutrition and exercise
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Dealing With The Winter Blues
For some people, the reduced daylight hours of winter lead to a form of depression known as seasonal affective disorder . SAD can make you feel like a completely different person to who you are in the summer: hopeless, sad, tense, or stressed, with no interest in friends or activities you normally love. No matter how hopeless you feel, though, there are plenty of things you can do to keep your mood stable throughout the year.
What Can I Do If I Have Depression
If you have symptoms of depression, see your healthcare provider. They can give you an accurate diagnosis, refer you to a specialist or suggest treatment options.
If you or someone you know is thinking of hurting themselves or taking their own life:
- Go to the emergency department of your hospital.
- Contact a healthcare provider.
- Speak to a trusted friend, family member or spiritual leader.
A note from Cleveland Clinic
Depression is a common condition that affects millions of Americans every year. Anyone can experience depression even if there doesnt seem to be a reason for it. Causes of depression include difficulties in life, brain chemistry abnormalities, some medications and physical conditions. The good news is that depression is treatable. If you have symptoms of depression, talk to your healthcare provider. The sooner you get help, the sooner you can feel better
Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 12/31/2020.
References
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Atlantic Depressions And The British Isles
Frontal depressions have a significant impact on weather across the British Isles. They bring the wet and windy conditions we are used to in the UK.
Depressions are one of the most common features on weather maps across the UK and Ireland. The weather map below shows an example of a depression over the British Isles. If you are not familiar with weather charts the BBC have produced a really handy guide to .
A depression over the UK
A depression is an area of low pressure, where the air is rising. As it rises and cools, water vapour condenses to form clouds and perhaps precipitation. Consequently, the weather in a depression is often cloudy, wet and windy . When the black lines on a weather map are close together it means air pressure is changing quickly and therefore windy.
There are usually frontal systems associated with depressions. The red, blue and purple lines represent weather fronts. A red line with semi-circles is a warm front. A warm front has warm air behind it and forms the boundary between a large mass of warm air and cold air. A blue line with triangles shows a cold front. A cold front has cold air behind it and forms the boundary with warmer air. A purple line with semi-circles and triangles is an occluded front. This is an area where the warm front is no longer in contact with the surface of the Earth and sits above cold air.
The video below explores fronts in more detail.
Features of a depression
Insomnia Or Lack Of Sleep
Sleep disturbances are a primary symptom of depression, and research has found that insomnia is an independent risk factor for developing depression.
Sometimes, a person with depression may be unable to sleep well and have trouble falling and staying asleep. They may stay up very late at night or wake up very early in the morning.
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Can Certain Drugs Cause Depression
In certain people, drugs may lead to depression. For example, medications such as barbiturates, benzodiazepines, and the acne drug isotretinoin have sometimes been linked with depression, especially in older people. Likewise, medications such as corticosteroids, opioids , and anticholinergics taken to relieve stomach cramping can sometimes cause changes and fluctuations in mood. Even blood pressure medications called beta-blockers have been linked to depression.
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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.
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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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.
Thoughts Of Death Or Suicide
A person with depression may think more about death and dying. They may also think about suicide and how they could end their life. The term for this is suicidal ideation .
Sometimes, a person may tell others about these thoughts. If someone is talking about death or suicide, this could be their way of asking for help, and it is vital to seek assistance right away.
Depression is a common but serious condition that can be life threatening. Not every person who thinks about suicide will attempt it. However, if someone mentions suicide, it is important either to contact a doctor or to help the person seek urgent medical care.
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What Causes Mood Disorders
Mood disorders have no single cause, but several risk factors interact to produce the clinical symptoms of the various mood disorders. Individuals with depression and bipolar disorder often find a history of these disorders among immediate family members.Footnote 3 ,Footnote 4 Many different genes may act together and in combination with other factors to cause a mood disorder. Research is getting closer to identifying the specific genes that contribute to depression.
How Do I Know Which Type I Have
If you think you might have any type of depression, its important to follow up with a doctor. All depression types discussed in this article are treatable, though it might take some time to find the right treatment for you.
If youve had a previous episode of depression and think it may be happening again, see a therapist or another mental health professional right away.
If youve never had depression before, start with a primary care physician. Some symptoms of depression can be related to an underlying physical condition that should be addressed.
Try to give your doctor as much information about your symptoms as you can. If possible, mention:
- when you first noticed the symptoms
- how theyve affected your daily life
- any other mental health conditions you have
- any information about a history of mental illness in your family
- all prescription and over-the-counter medications you take, including supplements and herbs
It might feel uncomfortable, but try to tell your doctor everything. This will help them give you a more accurate diagnosis and refer you to the right type of mental health professional.
Worried about the cost of mental health services? Here are five ways to access therapy for every budget.
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How To Unlearn Helplessness
Martin Seligman says that depression is the feeling that nothing is worth doing, or that your actions dont matter. Seligman claims that learned helplessness can lead to depression, therefore, learning positive thought patterns is one way you can try to overcome depression without medication.
In psychology, learned helplessnessis the belief that you cant change things and that your efforts wont make a difference. Its called learned helplessness because it comes from experience: You go through important situations in which you cant change the outcome, so you come to believe that you cant affect the outcome of any important situation.
Seligman adds that many people learn helplessness as children, especially from their parents and teachers. Every time an adult dismisses a childs contributions and ignores his or her efforts, it ingrains helplessness into that childs psyche.
Ask For What You Need
Before you enter a conversation with someone about the way depression feels, think about what you want the conversation to accomplish. Is there something concrete you want others to do or not do? Do you need a particular kind of support? Identifying your goals in advance can help you create reasonable expectations.
Rosmarin suggests trying the DEAR MAN strategies developed in dialectical behavior therapy. Each letter of the phrase DEAR MAN represents a communication technique:
- Describe. Describe the situation factually, without emotion or judgment.
- Express. Use self-focused I feel statements to express your feelings about the situation.
- Assert. Ask for what you want or need in a simple, straightforward way.
- Reinforce. Reinforce the importance of the relationship, reminding the other person how valuable they are to you.
- Be mindful. Try to stay in the present moment, without bringing up the past or worrying about the future.
- Appear confident. Use your posture, tone of voice, and facial expressions to communicate self-respect .
- Negotiate. If what you need isnt possible, work with the other person to find an alternative that might work.
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