Do you feel insomniac or drained of energy, lately? Is it difficult for you to keep your anger in-check or manage your frustrations? Does feeling sad and empty frequently lead you to thoughts of death? If these symptoms persist for long in your case, chances are you are suffering from clinical depression along with 16 million other Americans and need professional help in order to manage it.
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If you find yourself suffering from clinical depression, you’d know that dealing with it is not a bed of roses. Managing depression requires constant effort, persistence and a lot of long term attention and care. The first step towards the tiresome journey to manage depression is identifying which type of depression you are hit with and the next involves finding the right treatment.
[BUTTONS2]Types of Depression:
- Major Depression:
Often but not always, caused by traumatic life experiences, this form of depression leaves you feeling unbearably sad and frustrated at all times. Taking part in activities which you once favoured, isn’t so pleasurable anymore and you tend to avoid them entirely. It often leads to thoughts of suicides, which is why diagnosing it at the right time followed by a prompt treatment is absolutely necessary.
- Manic Depression:
It involves days of highs and lows followed by drastic mood swings and characterized by extreme fatigue and lethargy. People suffering from manic depression also suffer from insomnia often along with hallucinations and paranoid rage. Suicide.org reports that up to 50% of people suffering from manic depression attempt suicide especially because panic attacks tend to be more devastating and difficult to treat.
- Seasonal-Affective-Disorder
It is normally triggered by cold or diminished sunlight, and is especially common during winters. Opposite cases with people developing depression during summer or spring season, do exist but less commonly so. Seasonal Affective Disorder starts off with mild symptoms and gradually become more severe as the season progresses. It is generally characterized by low energy and feelings of worthlessness with frequent thoughts about death.
- Post-partum depression:
It is found in around 10% of the women who go through childbirth, according to a research by Postpartum.org and is more likely to hit those with a history of depression. This type of depression causes loss of pleasure, feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness along with sharp loss of weight and frequent thoughts of death or suicide.
- Psychotic depression:
Similar, yet slightly more severe, to major depression, people suffering from psychotic depression tend to hallucinate and go through paranoia, frequently. They tend to be out of touch with reality and often say things that make no sense. Their hallucinations and delusions are normally consistent with thoughts about worthlessness and often find it difficult to sleep at night.
Treatment options:
- Psychotherapy:
Talking about your depression to a licensed professional or a group of people with similar problem can help you achieve a better understanding of the causes of depression and its coping mechanisms.
- Medications:
SSRI’s are popular medicines which help boost your mood, however they can cause side effects such as sexual and sleeping problems. Patients suffering from chronic pain are often treated with SNRI’s.
- Herbal treatments:
Alternative methods often involve use of herbs such as St.John’s wort and gingko biloba.
Depression can make you waste precious years of your life and the only way to stop it from doing just that is by fighting the disease with a strong will power. It won’t be easy but once you rid yourself of it, you’d know the effort was worth the trouble you went through! Therefore, don’t waste any more time thinking about how worthless you are; you know you are much more than that, so stand upright and get it treated properly.