The best way to communicate with someone who has depression is to be a good listener and to use language that is supportive. Experiencing depression can result in: a lack of energy and not being able to sleep. feelings of being overwhelmed.
Medications and psychotherapy are effective for most people with depression. Your primary care doctor or psychiatrist can prescribe medications to relieve symptoms. However, many people with depression also benefit from seeing a psychiatrist, psychologist or other mental health professional.
Three of the more common methods used in depression treatment include cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy, and psychodynamic therapy. Often, a blended approach is used.
TREATMENT FOR MAJOR DEPRESSION — For the initial treatment of major depression, we suggest a combination of antidepressant medication and psychotherapy. Well-designed studies have shown that combination treatment is more effective than either treatment on its own.
It's possible to live with depression and feel happy at the same time. Sadness isn't the only depression symptom. If you're living with depression or know someone who is, you may think that the main symptom is a perpetual state of sadness.
It's caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Some types of depression seem to run in families. Depression causes ongoing, extreme feelings of sadness, helplessness, hopeless, and irritability. These feelings are usually a noticeable change from what's “normal” for you, and they last for more than two weeks.
Feelings of sadness, tearfulness, emptiness or hopelessness. Angry outbursts, irritability or frustration, even over small matters. Loss of interest or pleasure in most or all normal activities, such as sex, hobbies or sports. Sleep disturbances, including insomnia or sleeping too much.
Be there for your friend and let them do the talking. Encourage them to talk about their illness, but don't try to offer any immediate solutions. Your support is the most important thing that you have to offer. If a person is very depressed, it is important that they seek professional advice.
It is diagnosed when an individual has a persistently low or depressed mood, anhedonia or decreased interest in pleasurable activities, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, lack of energy, poor concentration, appetite changes, psychomotor retardation or agitation, sleep disturbances, or suicidal thoughts.
Clinical depression, or major depressive disorder, is often just called “depression.” It's the most severe type of depression. Without treatment, depression can get worse and last longer. In severe cases, it can lead to self-harm or death by suicide.
In other words, being depressed can cause you to pay less attention to your partner, be less involved, be more irritable or have trouble enjoying time together–all of which can cause your relationship to falter.
Bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder are both mood disorders. They are similar in that both include periods of feeling low mood or lack of in everyday activities. Bipolar disorder, formerly called "manic depression" has periods of mania; depression does not.
This difference in overall health, on average, translates to a reduction in future healthy life expectancy of 9.5 years for women and 9.7 years for men.
It is more acceptable to refer to this severe depression by its clinical term, which is major depressive disorder (MDD). Others may refer to it as debilitating depression or use words such as overwhelming or devastating. A person has MDD if they have the following symptoms : constant low or depressed mood.
Both disorders are characterized by shifts in affective states, but MDD tends to be more episodic and fixed while BPD is typically enduring and reactive. Several studies have shown that BPD probands have a higher prevalence of affective disorders in their relatives compared to other personality disorders.
Severity Specifier
The DSM-5 does not state the number of MDD symptoms required for each severity level, so these levels were defined as follows: mild is 5 symptoms (minimum for a diagnosis), moderate is 6 to 7 symptoms, and severe is 8 to 9 symptoms.
Depression episodes can be triggered by factors such as stressful events, loss, illness, lifestyle habits, and substance use.
People with clinical depression are at a high risk of developing anxiety disorders and substance use disorders, which further increase their risk of suicide. Depression can make underlying medical conditions worse or more difficult to manage, such as: Diabetes. Hypertension (high blood pressure).
People who have gone through adverse life events (unemployment, bereavement, traumatic events) are more likely to develop depression.