Depression is a common medical illness affecting your feelings, actions, and how you think; it is also called a mood disorder. Depression has become the leading cause of disability globally, affecting children, adolescents, and adults. Depression might require long-term treatment. A team trained to deal with depression in San Diego provides the most effective treatments to increase your quality of life.
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Causes
The leading cause of depression is not known. With a lot of mental disorders, various factors can be involved, including:
Brain chemistry. There are naturally occurring brain chemicals, known as neurotransmitters, which play a role in depression. Recent research shows that changes in the effect and function of the neurotransmitters and how they interact with neurocircuits that maintain mood stability can play an important role in depression and how it’s treated.
Hormones. Changes in hormone balance in the body can be involved in triggering or causing depression. Hormone changes may result from pregnancy, during the months or weeks after delivery, and from menopause, thyroid problems, or other conditions.
Biological differences. People with depression tend to have physical changes in the brains. The importance of these changes is still unknown but can help highlight causes.
Inherited trait. Depression is common in people whose relatives had the same condition. Research is trying to find genes involved in causing depression.
How Is Depression Treated?
Medication. Antidepressants can be prescribed to help balance one’s brain. These medications are not tranquilizers or sedatives. They can produce improvements within the first two weeks of use, and the final results are not yet visible within three months.
If one doesn’t feel any improvements after several weeks, their psychiatrist might withdraw the dose or add another antidepressant. Psychiatrists advise the patients to take medication for six months or more after the symptoms have improved.
Psychotherapy. Psychotherapy is used for the treatment of mild depression. Psychotherapy is used with antidepressant medications to treat moderate and severe depression. Cognitive-behavioral therapy has proven to be effective in treating depression. CBT helps people recognize negative thinking to change behaviors and thoughts to respond to problems positively.
Psychotherapy can involve only the individual, but at times it can include others. Couples or family therapy may help address problems with their close relatives.
Group therapy brings people together with the same illness in a supportive environment, this might help in learning how others cope. Depending on how severe depression is, treatment can take a long time.
Self-coping. There are many ways people reduce depression symptoms, for example, regular exercise improves their mood and provides positive thinking. Getting enough sleep consecutively, avoiding alcohol, and eating a healthy diet may also help reduce depression symptoms.
Depression is a severe illness, which can lead to suicide, help is available. Having proper treatments and diagnosis can help anyone with depression overcome it. If you have depression symptoms, you should take the first step to see a psychiatrist or a family physician. Consult about your concerns and request an evaluation, this is how you can begin to address your mental needs.