Depression symptoms ?
Depression symptoms
Feelings of sadness, irritability, despair, self-doubt, loss of any pleasure and a distorted and negatively impacted sense of self, characterize depression symptoms. In addition, depression may also accompany physical symptoms such as changes in sleep and appetite as well as problems with concentration or extreme fatigue.
If you have depression symptoms and think you need treatment, book an appointment below
What is Depression
Feelings of sadness, irritability, despair, self-doubt, loss of any pleasure and a distorted and negatively impacted sense of self, characterize depression symptoms. In addition, depression may also accompany physical symptoms such as changes in sleep and appetite as well as problems with concentration or extreme fatigue.
If you have depression symptoms and think you need treatment, book an appointment below
Depression Explained
Depression is related to feelings of helplessness or the loss of a person, some valued person’s love, or loss of a sense of bodily integrity due to injury or illness. As humans beings who care and need to negotiate life, we can be vulnerable to these losses and become depressed.
Depression is quite common with a lifetime prevalence of nearly 7%. (It affects over 16 million a year in the US.)
Signs of Depression
Depression symptoms include feeling blue or down; an inability to experience pleasure, hopelessness; helplessness; feeling a sense of emptiness or that life has no meaning, and being wracked by guilty thoughts or suicidal thinking. Furthermore, physical symptoms such as changes in appetite or sleeping too much or too little, extreme fatigue, loss of sex drive or problems concentrating can also occur. Finally, other signs are a losing interest in usual activities, indecision, social withdrawal or self-loathing.
Types of Depression
Types of depression are Major Depression when five or more of the above symptoms last for two or more week, the Persistent depressive disorder occurs when symptoms last for more than two years, but in an attenuated form, Postpartum depression occurs when mothers of newborns when symptoms are more severe than “baby blues”
Other forms of depression include Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), Bipolar depression. Depressive symptoms can be associated with medical illnesses such as endocrine disease, hypothyroidism, irritable bowel syndrome or cardiac illness.
Depression is a serious illness associated with significant comorbidity and lower quality of life. Additionally, depression does not usually resolve on its own, the longer one stays in a depression, the more difficult it may be to move into remission
Other forms of depression include Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), Bipolar depression. Associated depressive symptoms include medical illnesses, such as endocrine disease, hypothyroidism, irritable bowel syndrome or cardiac illness.
Finally, depression is a serious illness and is associated with significant comorbidity and lower quality of life.
How is Depression Treated?
During the consultation, I will review your symptoms and complaints so we may formulate an individualized treatment plan to bring your depressive symptoms into remission. Thus, a combination of Medication and Psychotherapy, is regularly, but not always, used to treat depression. What type of psychotherapy and which medication or other intervention is best for a particular patient requires careful consultation.
As such, we will discuss treatment options, and if medication is required we will have a detailed discussion of side effects. Moreover, I am as much of an advocate of exercise and mindfulness-based practices for patients with significant depressive symptoms as I am of supportive psychotherapy to aid a patient back to their normal functioning.
To this end, effective treatment begins with a thorough consultation and comprehensive psychiatric assessment.
Reaching a correct diagnosis and treatment plan usually takes a few sessions. Furthermore, it requires a detailed history of your problems and complaints, as well as your family and medical history. As a result, we will work together to figure out what has gone wrong.
If you think that you may be in need of therapy, but you aren’t sure where to begin, contact Dr. Jane Algus to schedule an initial consultation.
- Depression
- Generalized Anxiety
- Insomnia
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder
- Social Phobia
- Bipolar Disorder