There are millions of people suffering from depression, and many of them are suffering from major depression, specifically. This particular depressive disorder is a severe form of depression illness that involves suffering from several symptoms over a few weeks with a severe level of intensity. This form of depression can be crippling for the person suffering from it, causing the sufferer to be unable to go to work, perform regular life duties or participate in personal relationships.
Symptoms of Major Depression
It begins by understanding what major depression is and how to identify it. A person suffering from several of these symptoms over the course of several weeks with a high level of intensity may very well be suffering from major depression and should seek help from his doctor right away.
· Feelings of sadness, hopelessness and despair that never seem to subside
· Feeling unworthy or guilty for successes in your life or feeling that you don’t deserve to be happy
· Feeling tired or achy all the time or that you just don’t have any energy to do anything
· Having trouble sleeping or else sleeping too much
· Gaining or losing weight rapidly
· Having a hard time concentrating or focusing and having trouble making decisions, feeling “wishy-washy”
· Feeling edgy and fidgety and having trouble sitting still or relaxing
· Feeling anxious, hostile, fretful, or fearful for no real reason
· Having intense mood swings or feeling extremely sad or angry
· Thinking about death or suicide
Major Depression Treatment
Once you have a diagnosis of major depression from your doctor, it’s time to talk about treatment options. There are many great antidepressants on the market today along with other great mood stabilizers that your doctor may want to use as part of your treatment. It is also very likely that you will be spending time in psychotherapy sessions with a mental health professional. This is very important because there are two parts to depression – emotional and physiological – and these sessions will help you deal with the emotional part of your depression. It may take a few months or a few years to work through this element of your condition, but you will find that your life is much better for having done so and your treatment will go a lot faster when you take part in these sessions with a willing mind and heart.
Three Stages of Treatment
There are three stages of treatment that you will experience when dealing with major depression. Depending on how severe your condition is, each stage will vary in length and intensity. It also depends on what your doctor has decided for your treatment and how it is structured.
· Acute – this first phase of treatment involves getting you to a functional point to where you were before your symptoms began. This may take between six and ten weeks depending on the type of medication you are on and how your doctor defines what your baseline is.
· Continuation – this second phase of treatment involves getting help for your remaining symptoms. Your drug therapy is modified to level it off for several months and toward the end of this phase, you will taper off until you no longer take any. During this time, you will still be attending psychotherapy sessions. This phase could last six to twelve months.
· Maintenance – this last phase involves continuation of the psychotherapy sessions with your mental health professional to make sure everything is going well and you are feeling good. If you need to restart the drug therapy, that can be done, too. This phase could last one to three years.
Major depression doesn’t have to be a life sentence. There is hope and there is treatment. Your doctor can help, so make the call today and get started on the road to a new life. There is a silver lining to the clouds you’ve been living under. Don’t let depression stop you from being the happy person you could be. Get help today!
