Depression Treatment San Diego: What You Need To Know About Depression, Treatment Options & How To Win The Battle Against It

You may be experiencing major depression or major depressive disorder (MDD) if the feeling is recurring for two weeks or more. MDD is a common type of depression that causes:

• Profound sadness
• Sleeping and eating problems
• Loss of energy and inability to concentrate
• Mood changes
• Anxiety
• Loss of self-worth and feeling of hopelessness

With MDD, which is also known as chronic depression and severe depression, comes a major depressive episode or MDE. It is during this episode that the symptoms strongly manifest. Often, it is not triggered by external factors. It occurs even without any clear reason and can last up to several months.

A depression that lasts for two years or more is called a persistent depressive disorder. Clinically known as dysthymia, it is not as intense as MDD, but can still be detrimental to your mental health and physical well-being. A person with dysthymia would feel:

The following are the common non-stimulant medicines:

• Sad and withdrawn
• Low in self-esteem
• Unable to feel joy
• Unable to concentrate
• Disinterested in activities that were previously pleasurable

Changes in sleep patterns and appetite also occur, and normal functioning is affected. Although long-term, dysthymia can mellow after several months and intensify again.

Manic depression causes alternating feelings of joy and depression. The person experiences episodes of mania or hypomania. Mania occurs when you have so much energy. Hypomania is less severe. For bipolar patients, the mania usually lasts for at least seven days. Depression may occur before or after the manic episodes. Sometimes, both mania and depression occur at the same time.

The symptoms include:

• Profound sadness
• Difficulty sleeping
• Inability to concentrate
• Fatigue or lethargy
• Having suicidal thoughts

If the condition is severe, the individual may also experience hallucinations (seeing things and hearing voices that are not real).

In severe cases of major depression, the patient sometimes hallucinates or becomes delusional. It may also affect their mobility and physical health. They are less reactive, move slowly, or could not sit still. Psychiatrists also call the condition psychotic depression.

Some people call it the “baby blues” but perinatal depression is more serious than this. Also called postpartum depression, it can be due to hormonal changes and occurs during or after pregnancy, and lasts up to one year. The patient or family and friends of the patient should not let the condition go untreated, as this can lead to bigger mental health issues. Contacting a psychiatric care provider immediately for treatment for postpartum depression medications is highly recommended.

Although seasonal depression can be related to a specific season, it usually occurs during late fall and early winter. Come spring and summertime, it goes away. Specialists also refer to this condition as a major depressive disorder with seasonal patterns.

People with this type of depression have the following symptoms:

• Feelings of sadness and hopelessness
• Weight gain
• Increased sleep time
• Social withdrawal
• In severe cases, the patient may have suicidal thoughts as well.

Some women experience PMS or premenstrual syndrome, which can be physical or psychological. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder or PDD is a severe form of PMS and is primarily psychological. During these episodes, the person becomes highly emotional. Their level of sadness affects their mental and physical functioning.

The signs and symptoms include:

• Muscle cramps
• Muscle and joint pains
• Breast tenderness
• Bloating
• Headaches
• Sadness and irritability
• Mood changes
• Binge eating
• Anxiety
• Fatigue
• Inability to concentrate
• Sleep problems

Hormonal change is one of the factors that cause PDD. As the menstrual cycle ends, the symptoms improve. This type of depression is generally bearable, but certainly not something you should completely ignore. A severe case of PDD causes suicidal thoughts, too.

People with depression are often stereotyped as gloomy, dark, and poorly performing. But contrary to popular belief, people with a mild form of depression can be high-functioning and blend with society. They can still get things done efficiently at work, school, or at home. However, the absence of joy or happiness is evident.

Despite their normal functioning, the feeling of joy is absent and they are less reactive emotionally. In a way, they have accepted the feeling of indifference as a baseline, not knowing they have depression. The changes in their brain functioning happen in the background while still being able to meet life’s ordinary demands.

People with mild or functional depression may display the following symptoms:

• Mood changes
• Persistent sadness
• Loss of interest in social activities
• Occasional isolation

The trigger can be anything that matters to you the most. You can downplay the negative effects on your mental and physical well-being, but the impact on your life is something you could not ignore. Mostly, the factors causing it are environmental, so mild depression tends to go away when the issues that cause it gets resolved. The condition may recur or not.

Depression treatment for high-functioning depression is just as important and critical as treatment for normal depression. Learn more about high-functioning depression treatment in San Diego here.