Understanding Clinical Depression And Options For Therapy
People suffering from depression tend to lose interest in daily activities. Their depressed mood also leads to a significant change and inability to keep up with everyday life. Understanding the causes and symptoms can help depressed people decide if help is needed. This is because clinical depression is much more than just feeling down.
Depression doesn't have to interfere with daily life. Doctors offer therapies that improve mood and allow patients to get back to their life before the depression.
What Causes Depression?
Depression is most likely caused by a combination of factors. These include psychological, biological, and social distress sources. These factors can cause changes in a person's brain function. This includes causing altered activity in certain neural brain circuits.
Depression occurs due to a variety of triggers and reasons, so doctors can't pinpoint one main cause. The cause for each person varies and may include more than one trigger.
- Stressful life event
- Money worries
- Abuse
- Illness
- Genetics
Each person is different in how they react and handle situations, so patients' triggers also vary.
What Are Clinical Depression Symptoms?
Depression varies in seriousness. Mild forms of depression are temporary, such as grieving the loss of a loved one. More severe cases of depression are ongoing and lead to symptoms that interfere with everyday life.
Clinical depression is persistent, and sufferers often share some of the same signs and symptoms:
- Change in appetite
- Loss of interest
- Low energy
- Low self-esteem
- Impaired concentration
- Unexplained body aches
- Anxiety
- Sadness
- Sleep disturbances
- Suicidal thoughts or behaviors
Symptoms of clinical depression are severe enough to create noticeable symptoms. The symptoms often interfere with family life, work, and social activities.
Therapy for depression does help, even in severe cases. In some cases, medication and therapy together are recommended.
What Therapies Are Available For Depression?
Depressed patients have options in therapy to help alleviate symptoms and get them back to their normal lives. A psychologist or psychiatrist helps patients by offering different types of therapy.
- Psychotherapy: This is talk therapy that doctors use to help patients work through their issues with dialogue.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: This therapy focuses on changing negative thoughts, emotional responses, and behaviors associated with depression and anxiety.
- Behavior Therapy: This therapy focuses on changing the patient's harmful behaviors because of psychological stress.
Most patients improve with the right therapy. If you or a loved one is suffering from depression, it's important to seek help. Major depression affects daily life and can lead to suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Therapy helps patients work through their feelings of depression and get back to a normal life. Reach out to a depression therapy service near you to learn more.