Clinical Depression Treatment

Behavioral Health Services in Northern California

Clincal Depression Treatment in Chico

In the world, more than 264 million people of all ages are affected by depression. It causes someone to lose interest and pleasure from day to day activities or things that they used to enjoy doing. It affects how people feel, think, and behave as well as causing physical problems.

One of the more severe cases of depression is known as clinical depression. Clinical depression, also known as major depressive disorder, is not caused by situations like the death of a loved one or caused by a medical condition. Continue reading to learn you or your loved one can benefit from clinical depression treatment.

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Are There Any Known Causes of Depression?

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has stated that clinical forms of depression are among the most common mental health conditions across the United States. It typically equates to reportedly affecting more than 16 million American adults each year.

Major depression is a mental illness that causes many people to lose interest and pleasure from many life aspects that may previously have been enjoyed a great deal. People with depression are also frequently seen, causing further complications to other pre-existing medical conditions. The efforts in treating depression are critical because of the severity of the potential side-effects, many of which can be very dangerous and sometimes severe enough to lead to suicide.

There are numerous aspects that are known to be contributing factors to the development of clinical depression. It is entirely possible for some people to have one single factor be the cause of the conditions being produced, while others are considered having multiple factors being the cause. Unfortunately, there are even some individuals who begin struggling with symptoms of depression for no apparent reason at all.

A few of the more commonly seen reasons that have been seen is the source of depression includes:

Biological

It is known that many individuals struggling with depression have either too many or not enough neurotransmitters and other chemicals flowing through the brain. The alterations that are done with these brain chemicals can be the primary cause or the contributing factor of depression developing.

Gender

MedLine Plus reports that, on average, there are more women who experience depressive symptoms than men do. Although the exact reasons for this as to why they are still unknown, a standard theory includes the presence of all the hormonal changes that women go through.

Situations such as pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, or menstruation all show significant changes in the female body’s hormone levels. Another popular theory medical professionals have expressed depression being more frequent in women is the amount of stress caused by the vast number of duties that women are typically responsible for looking after.

Situational

One of the more popular causes of clinical depression has been because of one of the more challenging or otherwise tricky events that are encountered throughout someone’s life. These often include the experience of financial problems, the death of a close friend or family member, or a divorce.

Cognitive

Those who seem to express low to minimal self-esteem or self-confidence in themselves, along with continually exhibiting negative thinking patterns, are usually more likely to develop clinical depression. This condition is treatable by certified cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) but is also considered for many to be the cause of their depressive state.

Genetic

Increased risks of someone developing clinical depression occur when someone else within the immediate family has been previously diagnosed with this mental illness. Various reports and research have shown that it is common for different environmental variables combined with someone’s genes to work together to make the risks of depressive symptoms greater.

Co-Occurring Disorders

Other Medications

Depending on the individual’s condition, many different medications, even certain types of antidepressants, can cause or worsen depressive symptoms that they may be experiencing.

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What Symptoms Are Caused By Clinical Depression?

For a doctor to diagnose someone with clinical depression properly, it has become the industry standard to refer to the symptom criteria for major depressive disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). This criteria was created by the experts at the American Psychiatric Association and interpret what treatment for depression would be most appropriate. No matter the person’s age, race, or background, depression is a disorder that can occur to anyone. Some of the signs and symptoms that arise from clinical depression include:

Loss of interest in most hobbies and activities such as sports, sex, or other family responsibilities or activities.
Frequent trouble concentrating, remembering things, making tough decisions, or just critically thinking in general.
Insomnia or other complications that make sleeping more difficult.
Thoughts of death and suicide, as well as attempts of suicide.
A much greater sense of frustration or irritability, even over small matters that often lead to outbursts of anger.
Persistent feelings of loneliness and feeling worthless. Also, large amounts of guilt and often thinking back on past failures and self-blame.
Frequent physical health issues that appear suddenly without warning like migraines or severe back pain.
Commonly always feeling tired, even making the smallest of tasks challenging to complete.
They have heightened anxiety symptoms, including the increased risks of feeling restlessness or becoming more easily agitated.

In most cases, the symptoms that someone would experience because of their depression diagnosis are typically severe enough to cause many visible issues. Many of these symptoms cause turmoil in the relationships with close friends and family or in ordinary everyday activities that are usually part of the daily routine. These include activities such as school, social gatherings, and work.

Clinical depression can affect people of any age, including children. However, clinical depression symptoms, even if severe, usually improve with psychological counseling, antidepressant medications, or a combination of the two.

While the bulk of those struggling with these symptoms can achieve a full recovery from the disorder, only about a third of them actually do research and seek out a proper treatment from a qualified mental health recovery center.

Unfortunately, too many people are found resisting treatment because they believe depression is not as severe of a condition as it really is. It is often perceived that clinical depression can be treated by themselves or consider it just to be a weakness that they need to “grow up” and get over rather than see it for what it is, which is not just a seasonal affective disorder, but a serious medical, mental health condition.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, is a treatment method that relies on different brain stimulation techniques in an effort to mitigate the cause of the depressive thoughts and feelings. TMS treatment sessions begin with a certified doctor placing an electromagnetic coil on the side of the patient’s head which creates an electric current meant to stimulate the nerve cells in the brain.

TMS treatment does not require the patient to spend any time in a hospital, but industry-professionals do recommend that the procedure is repeated 4-5 times each week for about 6 weeks. The length and duration of this treatment process would vary depending on the severity of the symptoms, and how the patient responds to the treatment.

Electroconvulsive Therapy

This treatment has provided many patients with a sense of relief and comfort that they have needed during their battle with clinical depression. During an electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT treatment session, the patient is given a sleep aid after which the doctor begins to send little and painless electric currents through the scalp and into the brain.

This type of electroshock therapy is a proven treatment method that is completely safe and free from any dangers that patients may face.

Psychotherapy

There are plenty of specialized psychotherapy types that are used to treat depression with each working in specific ways to help improve the symptoms created from depression. A couple of the most common forms of therapy used when treating depression include:

Interpersonal Psychotherapy

Where therapists work with their patients to focus on strengthening relationships and improving the ways that you interact with other people.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

Learning how to identify the different ways that your thought patterns and behaviors are examined during these sessions in efforts to reshape or correct them so they no longer contribute to depression.

Group Therapy

Typically, group therapy sessions involve 3-15 people and offer each person the perfect opportunity of receiving support from the other members who are also addressing their addiction or mental health issues. Group therapy is growing in popularity because of its effectiveness, and maybe also because it is a proven treatment option that is generally less expensive than therapy in a 1:1 setting.