Early detection, intervention, and appropriate treatment can promote remission, prevent relapse, and reduce the emotional and financial burden of the disease. Publication types Review
Why do we treat clinical depression?
To put it shortly, we treat clinical depression because there is a point. The point is, to improve your life, and make it worth living - to help YOU see it is worth living. Because it really, really is. When depression becomes clinical, its often due to a chemical imbalance in the brain.
When is the best time to start treatment for depression?
Any bout of depression that lasts more than two weeks can benefit from treatment, and the earlier it is begun, the better. Early treatment has the highest likelihood of bringing about full remission of symptoms and preventing relapse or recurrence.
What is the first-line treatment for depression?
One of the first-line treatments for clinical depression is medication. There are several different types of antidepressants, however, those belonging to a class called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most frequently prescribed.
What should I do if I have severe depression?
The symptoms of a depression can be so severe that you are able / willing to commit suïcide. Go and see a professional asap to discuss the possibilities to improve your health. By medication and/or by therapy. What are the different stages of lung cancer?
Why is it important to treat clinical depression?
NOT treating depression may lead to dire consequences. “Untreated depression increases the chance of risky behaviors such as drug or alcohol addiction,” according to an article on WebMD. “It also can ruin relationships, cause problems at work, and make it difficult to overcome serious illnesses.”
Why is it important that depression should be identified as early as possible?
It's important to seek support as early as possible, as the sooner a person gets treatment, the sooner they can recover. Untreated depression can have many negative effects on a person's life, including serious relationship and family problems, difficulty finding and holding down a job, and drug and alcohol problems.
When should a person seek treatment for depression?
Here's a good rule of thumb: If your depressed mood lasts for more than two weeks, or is seriously interfering with your ability to function at work, with your family, and in your social life, or is causing you to contemplate or plan to commit suicide, it would be a very good idea for you to consult with a mental ...
What is the goal of treatment during the first phase of depression?
The goal of acute phase treatment is to induce remission. For patients with severe major depression, evidence supports either pharmacotherapy alone, or the combination of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. There is insufficient evidence that psychotherapy alone is effective for severe depression.
Why is it important to address depression?
Untreated Depression Can Lead to Suicide Depressed people will sometimes be unable to withstand the emotional and mental anguish of their problem and decide to end their life. Suicidal thoughts or acts may become commonplace, until a person is eventually successful at taking their own life.
What does it mean to clinically depressed?
What does the term "clinical depression" mean? Answer From Daniel K. Hall-Flavin, M.D. Depression ranges in seriousness from mild, temporary episodes of sadness to severe, persistent depression. Clinical depression is the more-severe form of depression, also known as major depression or major depressive disorder.
Why is it important to take care of your mental health?
When it comes to your mental health, self-care can help you manage stress, lower your risk of illness, and increase your energy. Even small acts of self-care in your daily life can have a big impact.
When should you seek treatment for mental illness?
In general, however, professional help might be needed if you experience: Marked changes in personality, eating or sleeping patterns. An inability to cope with problems or daily activities. Feeling of disconnection or withdrawal from normal activities.
Why is seeking mental health important?
Good mental health can also positively physical health by improving sleeping habits, the immune system and lower pain levels. Having your mental health treated can also improve your productivity, allowing you to focus on daily tasks and give you the motivation to get things done in a timely manner.
What is clinical management of depression?
Treatment for depression usually involves a combination of self-help, talking therapies and medicines. The treatment recommended will be based on the type of depression you have.
What are the priority nursing interventions when caring for a patient with depression?
Nursing care plan goals for patients with major depression includes determining a degree of impairment, assessing the client's coping abilities, assisting the client to deal with the current situation, providing for meeting psychological needs, and promote health and wellness.
What is the first step to overcoming depression?
If you begin to feel depressed, your first step should be to focus your time and energy on yourself. Taking care of yourself emotionally, creatively, physically, and spiritually, can help turn negative thoughts and feelings into more positive ones.
Why is it important to identify and treat clinical depression
It has been stressed a lot for the requirement of identification and treatment of clinical depression, but why is it important? Here are the reasons why it is important to identify and treat clinical depression.
Possible methods to identify and treat clinical depression
Clinical depression is a serious illness that requires proper medical treatment but is treatable, especially if professional help is provided early. Depending on the symptoms and their severity, the treatment plan is laid out and decided.
FAQs: Why is it important to identify and treat clinical depression
Clinical depression is considered to be the most severe form of depression that is present. It is also referred to as a major depression. It refers to periods of prolonged sadness, anger, and irritation. It is not the same as depression that is caused by the loss of a loved one or any medical reason.
What we recommend for depression
If you are suffering from depression then ongoing professional counselling may be your ideal first point of call. Counselling will utilize theories such as Cognitive behavioural therapy which will help you live a more fulfilling life.
What is the first line of medication for depression?
First-line medications typically used in the treatment of depression include the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which have reasonable efficacy and a relatively low rate of adverse events. There are a number of agents in this class available as generics.
How does depression affect health?
Depression has a profound impact on patient health, individual and family quality of life, activities of daily living, and daily functioning, as well as on healthcare providers, payers, and employers. Persons with depression tend to have multiple comorbidities that compound the negative effects and increase costs.
How to achieve remission?
Effective strategies to achieve remission include an increase in dose, augmentation of medication, combination of psychotherapy and antidepressant treatments, or using medications with more than 1 mechanism of action. These strategies may be most easily applied through the use of a treatment algorithm.
Why is there an inadequate response to antidepressants?
This inadequate response often results because of insufficient dosing for an inadequate duration and/or drug intolerance. The positive dose-response relationship observed with antidepressant therapy dictates that the dose should be pushed to the highest tolerable levels to achieve remission and prevent relapse.
What is the goal of relapse treatment?
At this point in the treatment process, the main goal is to prevent relapse, defined as a regression of the patient's condition to less than optimal physical and psychological status, or, more simply, a return of depressive symptoms.
What is the likelihood of recurrence after a second episode of depression?
After a second episode of depression, the likelihood of recurrence increases to roughly 70%. The risk of recurrence is greater than 90% after a patient has a third episode of depression. 22-24 Unfortunately, less than one third of adults with depression obtain appropriate professional treatment, 12 and a majority are not treated sufficiently ...
What is the burden of depression?
Burden of Depression. Usual care for depression typically consists of a prescribed antidepressant, psychotherapy, or both. However, mental health specialists encourage earlier and more aggressive therapy to help increase the likelihood of achieving remission and therefore lead to a lower overall cost of care.
What does it mean to be diagnosed with clinical depression?
Clinical depression: Depressed mood that meets the DSM-IV criteria for a depressive disorder. The term clinical depression is commonly used to describe depression that is a type of mental illness’not a normal, temporary mood caused by life events or grieving.
What are the two most common treatments for clinical depression?
There are many types of therapy available. Three of the more common methods used in depression treatment include cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy, and psychodynamic therapy. Often, a blended approach is used.
Is clinical depression considered a disability?
Depression is considered a psychiatric disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). It’s a significant mood disorder that’s known to interfere with daily activities, which may include your ability to work. Depression sometimes becomes so severe that you can no longer go to work.
What is considered major depression?
Major depression is more than just a passing blue mood, a “bad day” or temporary sadness. The symptoms of major depression are defined as lasting at least two weeks but usually they go on much longer — months or even years.
What is prescribed for clinical depression?
Doctors often start by prescribing an SSRI. These drugs are considered safer and generally cause fewer bothersome side effects than other types of antidepressants. SSRIs include citalopram (Celexa), escitalopram (Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil, Pexeva), sertraline (Zoloft) and vilazodone (Viibryd).
Is anxiety and depression a disability?
Because having severe depression or anxiety can make it impossible for an individual to work or to earn a living, people with both severe depression and severe anxiety (a common combination) may be able to collect disability through the Social Security Administration’s disability insurance program (SSDI) or the
What happens to brain during depression?
There’s growing evidence that several parts of the brain shrink in people with depression. Specifically, these areas lose gray matter volume (GMV). That’s tissue with a lot of brain cells. GMV loss seems to be higher in people who have regular or ongoing depression with serious symptoms.
What is the best treatment for depression?
There are four main approaches to treatment— psychotherapy, antidepressant medications, neuromodulation, and lifestyle measures —and all address different facets of the disorder. Chronic and severe depression responds best to a combination of medication and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
How does depression affect your life?
The so-called burden of depression is great, as the disorder is a major cause of missed work and poor productivity, and it has a devastating effect on relationships, family life, physical health, and general quality of life. There are four main approaches to treatment— psychotherapy, antidepressant medications, neuromodulation, ...
What is the purpose of psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy is aimed at the roots of depression, the ways people process their thoughts and feelings. Psychotherapy helps people understand the beliefs, feelings, and thoughts that contribute to their depression. It helps people identify the problems that trigger their depression or contribute to its continuation.
Why is behavioral activation important?
Because depression can be thought of as behavioral shutdown, behavioral activation is important, even though the disorder destroys motivation.
Why is it important to have a regular sleep routine?
Chief among healthy habits to foster is addressing disturbed sleep, because sleep is so essential for feeling good and affects every system of body and brain. Establishing a regular sleep routine is considered essential, although sleep disturbance may be among the last symptoms of depression to completely resolve.
Why are brain scans helpful?
Brain scans have been very helpful in research to identify brain regions that are key to processing emotional stimuli and circuits of neural communication altered in depression. This information has guided the development and use of various kinds of neuromodulation devices as treatment.
How do you know if you are depressed?
Signs that depression is responding include less irritability, increased energy, feeling less overwhelmed, normalization of appetite, improved ability to concentrate, return of libido, and improved sense of self.
What is the treatment for emotional issues?
There are a variety of treatments available including antidepressants which can correct imbalances of neurotransmitters, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) which can correct destructive thought patterns, and psychotherapy, care and support will address emotional issues. For more severe or treatment-resistant depression ECT is used and more recently Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation.
What does it mean when you're depressed?
‘I’m depressed’ might mean that a relationship isn’t going terribly well, it could mean that you feel worthless, or it could describe a series of unpredictable emotional highs and lows.
What are the different types of depression?
Some of the illnesses which we describe as depression include: 1 Mild and moderate depression 2 Severe depression 3 Post-natal depression 4 Treatment-resistant depression 5 Bi-polar affective disorder (manic depression) 6 Cyclothymia (a mild form of bipolar disorder) 7 Psychotic depression 8 Seasonal affective disorder
How to help a child with depression?
You can help by putting together a network of mental health professionals, doctors, teams at school, as well as friends and people in the community, who can support your family as you learn about managing your child’s depression. What Parents Need to Know About Childhood Depression.
When do people get depression?
Some people experience bouts of depression at certain times of the year, most often in the dark winter months (though it can occur at any time of year). It's referred to as seasonal affective disorder.
What are the factors that cause depression?
The other major component is environmental triggers which may make a person who is genetically predisposed to depression more likely to develop it. Certain factors that make it more likely a person will experience clinical depression include: 1 A family history of depression (especially a parent or sibling) 2 Experiencing a traumatic event or major life change (such as loss of a job, death or serious illness of a spouse, divorce) 3 Financial troubles (such as debt and worries about paying for big expenses) 4 Being very ill or injured (such as from cancer or a car accident), needing to have surgery or undergo medical treatment, or having to manage a chronic and/or progressive health condition (such as multiple sclerosis) 5 Caring for a loved one (spouse, child, parent) who has a major illness, injury, or disability 6 Taking certain medications that can cause symptoms associated with depression (including medications used to treat depression) 7 Using illegal drugs and/or misusing alcohol
What are the symptoms of depression in school?
Symptoms of depression in school-aged children and teens may interfere with school work, social activities, or friendships. For example, a child who is depressed may begin to make poor grades in school, lose interest in after school activities like sports, or no longer want to hang out with friends.
Why is it important to work with your mental health team?
It’s important to work with your mental health care team to identify which depression symptoms you experience and determine the best approach to treating them. For each type of clinical depression, as well as the various subtypes, there are some symptoms or features that are common in those who experience it.
What is the continuum of depression?
Coping. Depression exists on a continuum of severity, ranging from relatively mild, transient states of low mood to severe, long term symptoms that have a major impact on a person’s quality of life.
How does depression affect you?
Depression can make it very hard to take care of yourself physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. If you are struggling with self-care such as showering or cleaning your home, buying groceries, working, or other day-to-day pursuits, you may feel guilty and ashamed.
Reasons Why Depression and Early Recovery Go Hand-In-Hand
There are many reasons why depression and early recovery go hand-in-hand, including:
Overcoming Depression in Early Sobriety
While your first instinct might be to reach for a bottle of pills or a very stiff drink, you can overcome depression in early recovery and quickly go on to lead the happy and fulfilling life you deserve. To overcome symptoms of depression as efficiently and effectively as possible, try sticking to the following guidelines.
Agape Treatment Center – Comprehensive Addiction Treatment
At Agape Treatment Center we understand just how difficult early recovery can be, and we are available to help every single step of the way. For more information on depression and early recovery, reach out to us at any point in time.
