What Are The Types Of Major Depression
There are several types of depressive disorders:
Your Antidepressants Stopped Working
In some cases, medication for depression can stop working or decrease in effectiveness.
Stopping your prescription drug without a health professionals supervision can lead to severe health complications. A doctor may be able to adjust your dose, change brands, or switch to another type of medication.
Remind Yourself Of Good Times And Big Achievements
When youre in the throes of severe depression its easy to forget that you ever felt any other way. The way you feel, its as if youve always felt this low.
If your depression is also tied into feelings of low self-worth and low self-esteem, its tempting to believe the lie that youve never done anything good or worthwhile in your life either.
You may think that, but look:
Just because you have that thought doesnt mean youre under any obligation to believe it.
Remind yourself of times when you were happier. When you did enjoy life, no matter how long ago that may have been.
Remind yourself of past accomplishments. Even simple things like landing a job or passing an exam can be a pretty big deal when you have low self-esteem.
Go through photographs, scrapbooks or simply your memories and remind yourself of better times. It may not be a magic cure, but it does prove powerful in flicking a switch in your brain, turning your thoughts from I can never be happy to I have been happy before and if I can be that way once, I can be that way again.
You May Like: What Is A Depressive Episode Like
Looking After Someone With Depression
It’s not just the person with depression who’s affected by their illness. The people close to them are also affected.
If you’re caring for someone with depression, your relationship with them and family life in general can become strained. You may feel at a loss as to what to do. Finding a support group and talking to others in a similar situation might help.
If you’re having relationship or marriage difficulties, it might help to contact a relationship counsellor who can talk things through with you and your partner.
Men are less likely to ask for help than women and are also more likely to turn to alcohol or drugs when depressed.
You Can Overcome This
No matter how low down you feel right now, no matter how much it feels like your depression just wont go away, know that there are still plenty of things you can do to turn things around for the better.
Yes, things may seem hopeless right now.
Yes, even simple things like getting out of bed in a morning may require a Herculean effort that youre not always able to muster.
But no, that doesnt mean you have to give up.
Here, well look at some practical advice on how to help depression when nothing else works, complete with simple, actionable steps, you can take right now, no matter how severe your depression may be.
Read Also: Forcing Myself To Sleep Depression
Can You Get Rid Of Depression Forever
If you find yourself struggling with depression off and on over the years, like I did all through my 20s, rest assured that depression is not a mysterious, invisible condition that is always inside you, just waiting to rear its head.
Instead, depression is a condition that is regularly coming and going, depending on how youre thinking and living.
Just like you can blow up a balloon with air, and then squeeze all the air out of it, you can improve your thinking and lifestyle and feel better and happier, and then revert back to thinking and living in ways that make you feel depressed again.
So to get rid of depression for good and never deal with it again, its just a matter of not doing that anymore. Indeed, its just a matter of learning how to regularly think and live in ways that make you feel happier and depression-free, so that you never feel depressed again.
And that is exactly what you are learning how to do in this course step by step, by making the 6 Depression-Free Changes a regular part of your lifestyle, and by making changes in thought like the one youve just learned.
Create The Right Environment For Recovery
When we go through depression, its easy to let even basic things like housework fall by the wayside. The result is that our environment becomes messy, dirty, chaotic and that only makes our state of mind even worse.
So we continue to ignore the housework and thus the vicious cycle continues.
But look:
You can break that cycle, and doing so will help create the ideal environment for recovering from depression.
You dont even have to do it all in one go.
Focus on one thing at a time, even if its only one corner of one room. Do what you feel you have the energy for and before you know it, youll have a clean, tidy, clutter-free space thats far more conducive to overcoming your depression.
Whats more, the sense of accomplishment you get from tidying up can do wonders for your self-esteem and provide a powerful boost to your mood.
Recommended Reading: Can Hormone Imbalance Cause Depression
Depression Typically Lasts For Several Months But It Can Also Develop Into A Chronic Condition That Lasts For Years In Some Cases Fortunately Treatment Can Help
Depression is a serious mood disorder characterized by a low mood . Those affected by depression may wonder, how long depression lasts. Every case is different, but on average, a depressive episode can last several months. For some people, an episode may be shorter or much longer. If left untreated, depression can become long-lasting or chronic. It is important for individuals with depression to seek treatment as soon as possible.
Life After Depression: How To Thrive What Helps What Gets In The Way
Depression keeps itself alive with an intense, overwhelming sense of hopelessness. This hopelessness kills the motivation to reach into the world for support, something that is already fragile because of the stigma that is so often attached to mental illness.
New research, published in the journal Psychiatry Research, offers a reason for hope. There is life after depression a strong, healthy, happy life and the research has found the factors that will help to make this possible and those that will get in the way.
In a study involving more than 2,500 people who had experienced a major depressive disorder at some time in their lives, researchers found that about two in five people were able to fully recover and experience full mental health. The researchers defined full mental health as:
- experiencing happiness or life satisfaction almost every day for the last month
- a full year without depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts or substance abuse and
- positive social and psychological well-being.
The research revealed important findings about what helped, what hindered and what had no bearing at all on the likelihood of thriving after depression.
Read Also: How To Know If You Are Diagnosed With Depression
Symptoms And Causes Of Depression
Symptoms of depression can be very different from person to person. However, as a general rule, if you are depressed you feel hopeless, sad and lacking interest in things that used to make you feel happy.
Depression symptoms are bad enough to interfere with work, social life and family life, and can persist for weeks or months.
Doctors describe depression in one of three ways, depending on how serious it is:
- mild depression it has some impact on daily life
- moderate depression it has a significant impact on your daily life
- severe depression this makes it nearly impossible to get through your life day to day
A few people with severe depression may have symptoms of psychotic depression.
Below is a list of depression symptoms it’s unlikely that one person would have all of them.
Different Types Of Depression
There are different types of depression, and there are some conditions where depression is a symptom. These conditions include:
- Bipolar disorder people with bipolar disorder, which is also known as “manic depression”, experience times of depression, where the symptoms are similar to clinical depression. They also go through phases when they have excessively high moods . Bouts of mania can include harmful behaviour like unsafe sex, spending sprees and gambling.
- Seasonal affective disorder is also called “winter depression”. It’s depression that is related to weather, usually winter, so it happens seasonally.
- Postnatal depression happens to some women after they’ve had a baby. It’s treated similarly to other types of depression, with antidepressant medication and talking therapy.
Learn more about how depression is diagnosed here.
You May Like: Different Kinds Of Depression Test
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.
Consider Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a non-invasive procedure that stimulates nerve cells in the brain with short magnetic pulses. A large electromagnetic coil is placed against the scalp which generates focused pulses that pass through the skull and stimulate the cerebral cortex of the brain, a region that regulates mood. The procedure was approved by the FDA in 2008. In September, I featured a story about Stephanie, a woman in Project Beyond Blue, who underwent 30 sessions of TMS and was transformed into a new person. She now moderates a group on Project Beyond Blue called Exploring TMS. Several other people I know have had success as well.
Don’t Miss: What Is A Good Medicine For Depression
Keep Up Your Usual Routine
When all you want to do is hide under the covers and never come out again, even the simple things that make up our routine can seem impossible.
Its tempting -and much easier- to ignore them but in my experience, doing so has a tendency to make things worse.
Yes, theres a lot to be said for taking a few days off to practice self-care and implement strategies for overcoming your depression, but where possible, keep up with day-to-day tasks like paying the bills, doing the grocery shopping, stopping by for that weekly catch up with family or friends.
When we let those things pile up, those few bills we could have dealt with turn into a literal mountain of debt and bad news, which is not what we need when were trying to overcome depression.
Friends and family worry about us and offer us all kinds of unsolicited advice which only causes us more resentments.
Things that should have been easy get harder and harder to deal with the more we ignore them, so keeping up these day-to-day parts of our routine, no matter how much of a struggle it may feel at times, can actually prove incredibly effective.
Tips For Living Well With Major Depressive Disorder
Living with major depression can feel lonely. People may be fearful or ashamed of being labeled with a serious mental illness, causing them to suffer in silence, rather than get help. In fact, most people with major depression never seek the right treatment. But those struggling with this illness are not alone. Its one of the most common and most treatable mental health disorders. With early, continuous treatment, people can gain control of their symptoms, feel better, and get back to enjoying their lives.
Also Check: Medication For Stress Anxiety And Depression
What Are The Main Symptoms Of Depression
Depression is a mental illness that can cause intense suffering to a person. It brings a negative view to the world and themselves. Making them feel sad, empty, and without hope. Along with that, depression can make the person lose energy and their ability to focus.
It causes people to cry more often, feel more irritable, isolated, and tired. It changes your sleeping and eating patterns, makes you feel more pain, and can make you think about self-harm, and even about suicidal thoughts.
Not Taking Care Of Yourself
When you live with depression, even the simplest tasks can feel overwhelming. Neglecting some personal needs, such as nutrition and hygiene, is common when you have the condition.
But even if it feels challenging, taking care of some of your needs and spending time on yourself can improve your healing journey.
Consider your self-care if you feel depression symptoms arent improving with traditional treatment. Try to focus on these:
Don’t Miss: How To Cure Clinical Depression
Treatment Can Take A While To Work
Understand that depression is not a condition that gets better from one day to the other. If you are on medication, know that it might take some time for it to kick in, and it can also take some time to adjust the dosage of it.
This can make you feel hopeless as if the treatment wouldnt work with you. But know that this is what almost everyone goes through, and it is at this point that people often abandon treatment. If you keep in mind that with time you will feel better, that can be a great start.
What Is Severe And Persistent Depression
Severe depression, also known as major depression, is a type of depression in which the person experiences its symptoms intensely and frequently. When a person has severe depression they can also experience other symptoms that are not present in other forms of depression, such as hallucination, psychotic episodes, and delusion.
In severe depression, even the smallest activities, such as getting out of bed, can be hard to do. As for persistent depression, it is a long-term form of depression that can go on for around 2 years.
During this time the person can go through periods of severe depression, and in between those, the depression symptoms can be mild.
Persistent depression can often cause people to think their depression will never go away, since they experience, frequently, some improvements followed by the worsening of their condition.
You May Like: How Can I Find Out If I Have Depression
What It’s Like To Have Depression That Never Goes Away
By D’Vaughn McCrae Written on Mar 20, 2021
Before we start, let me clarify: when I say depression, I mean clinical depression. This is the kind that never goes away and is often triggered by nothing at all.
Also, there are different levels of depression. Its a spectrum that varies from person to person, so I can only explain my experience.
Now that thats out of the way, here we go.
Imagine youre having a blue day. That sadness that comes without warning and isnt caused by anything, and thus cannot be resolved by anything. Now imagine that lasting for multiple days, weeks, or even months. Its exhausting to even think about, right?
Clinical depression is draining.
I can try to do something, but I end up just sitting and staring, and trying to come up with motivators.
Things like: this is your job, youve done this a million times, itll only take x amount of time, the sooner you start the sooner you can finish, lets just get this over with.
But even when I do attempt to make progress, my heart isnt in it, and it all just seems wrong.
Then I end up in a cycle of thoughts like, What am I even doing? What am I doing here? I shouldnt be here, I shouldnt be doing this, Im doing everything wrong, Im pathetic, whats the point of doing this, none of this matters, I should just vanish, nothing I do is worth anything, Im worthless, etc., etc..”
Sleeping becomes more appealing than being awake or getting out of bed.
Then comes guilt. I have a pretty great life.
What If My Depression Never Goes Away
What if my depression never gets better? What if its permanent? What if it never goes away? Will I always feel like this?
Its normal to ask questions like these, to have fears like that, when you suffer from depression. When depression weighs heavy on your mind and body, it might seem like a weight that youll always carry with you.
For most people, depression is a recurrent phenomenon. So its not so much that depression can be cured as much as it can be treated and managed. Depression can always be treated, even the most severe kinds.
You May Like: Can You Relapse Into Depression
What Are The Symptoms Of Dysthymia
Dysthymia is milder, yet more long lasting than major depression. Each person may experience symptoms differently. Symptoms may include:
- Lasting sad, anxious, or empty mood
- Less ability to concentrate, think, and/or make decisions
- Feeling hopeless
- Weight and/or appetite changes due to over- or under-eating
- Changes in sleep patterns, such as fitful sleep, inability to sleep, early morning awakening, or sleeping too much
- Low self-esteem
To diagnose this condition, an adult must have a depressed mood for at least 2 years , along with at least 2 of the above symptoms. The symptoms of this illness may look like other mental health conditions. Always talk with a healthcare provider for a diagnosis.