Get help for depression with appropriate treatment and management without medication.

Occasional sadness is a normal part of life. For example, you might feel depressed when someone leaves that you love, when you lose your job, or when you are not taking care of your own body.

However, depressive disorders involve more than a temporary lack of interest in activity or depressed mood due to negative circumstances.

For a person with a depressive disorder, the depression usually lasts consistently at least two weeks or more and returns without warning. This cycle repeats over and over again until the person suffering seeks out some type of intervention to control it.

Depression can become chronic or recurrent and can lead to substantial impairments in daily living.

Depressive Episodes

There are several different types and severity levels of depressive disorders. First, I am going to talk about major depressive episodes.

Symptoms include:

• depressed mood,
• loss of interest or pleasure,
• feelings of guilt or low self-worth,
• disturbed sleep,
• changed appetite,
• fatigue, and
• poor concentration.

At its worst, depression can lead to suicide, which averages 850,000 lives each year, just in the united states.

Dysthymia or Persistent Depressive Disorder

Next, I am going to talk about the persistent depressive disorder, which used to be called dysthymia.

This is a problematic disorder purely because it’s relatively mild and people tend to think it’s simply part of their personality, rather than suspecting they may be suffering from a disorder.

The main criteria that distinguishes this disorder from other forms of depression is the fact that the diagnosis requires at least two years of persistent symptoms without a break of more than two months.

Post-partum Depression

The last disorder I will be discussing is post-partum depression that occurs only in women. Symptoms usually range from 24 hours to a few months after the baby is born. Common symptoms that differ from basic depressive symptoms are decreased interest in sex, feeling rejected, frequent crying, and weight loss.

Treatment Options

For treatment, psychotherapy can be done both in groups and one-on-one with a therapist.

The type of therapy that will be most effective for you or your loved one will depend on the different type of depression and the underlying causes. In some cases, interaction with others suffering with the same problems can be useful, however in severe cases it can be overwhelming and counter-productive.

One approach to defeating depression is known as cognitive-behavioral therapy. Depression is maintained by constant negative thoughts that are automatic without a conscious effort.

For example, a depressed person might have automatic thoughts like “I always fail at everything” or “I am doomed to be unhappy.” Every automatic thought gets distorted or exaggerated in comparison to the reality of the situation, which fuels the depression.

If you try cognitive-behavioral therapy, you will learn how to recognize and correct negative automatic thoughts.

Over time, you will be able to discover and correct false beliefs that contribute to the depression. To sum it up, it’s not the power of positive thinking, it’s actually the power of realistic thinking.

Acceptance and commitment therapy is another type of therapy for depression.

Essentially, ACT looks at your character traits and behaviors to assist you in reducing avoidant coping styles. ACT also addresses your commitment to making changes, and what to do about it when you can’t stick to your goals.

Defusion is another aspect of ACT that teaches how to cognitively defuse heightened experiences.

Defusion involves realizing thoughts and feelings for what they really are, like passing sensations or irrational things that we tell ourselves. The goal is not to help you avoid the experience, but to make it more manageable for you.

Another approach is called Interpersonal therapy, which is a short-term treatment addressing interpersonal issues with various relationships, including family and peers. Therapists work collaboratively with you, either individually or in a group, to identify one or two significant problems within the interaction process.

The overall goal is for you to become more aware of your ability to deal with interpersonal problems that have kept you from being able to actively manage your symptoms of depression.

You can also incorporate adjunctive self-help treatments into your daily life. Pay attention to the amount of exercise you accumulate per week, your diet regime, and your relaxation or spiritual time.

By initiating healthy life-style changes, you will notice drastic improvements in your thoughts, mood, and daily functioning while also enhancing the benefits of therapy.

If you feel working with a qualified therapist to help with you or a loved one’s depression, contact me for an initial consult to find out how I can help.