Every year, an estimated 6. In fact, the lifetime risk for depression is Depression shouldn't be left untreated because it can intensify and last indefinitely.
Depression can also cause persistent physical symptoms like headaches, fatigue, nausea, and chronic pain. So how should you treat it? First-line treatments for depression typically involve antidepressants and talk therapy. While these can be effective treatments for many people, they don't work well—or at all—for some individuals. Antidepressants, for instance, do not provide symptom relief for about one-third 33 percent of people who use them.
If you've tried two or more antidepressants with little to no effect, you may have treatment-resistant depression. If this is the case, or if you can't tolerate the side effects of antidepressants, you may want to consider TMS therapy.
It uses gentle magnetic pulses to stimulate nerves in specific areas of the brain responsible for regulating mood and emotion, helping the brain perform these functions. TMS therapy is completely non-invasive, and a typical course of treatment lasts 6 to 9 weeks. With guidance from your health care provider, you can explore different options for treating depression until you find the right one for you.
If you're interested in learning more about TMS, you can browse more articles and resources on it. Remember, you are not alone. Depression is common, and many people find effective treatment for it. Everyone's path to finding treatment for depression is different, but if you continue searching, you will likely find a treatment that works for you. Take our 6 question quiz to see if TMS therapy could be right for you.
Most people with depression need treatment to feel better. The truth is that most people who experience depression need treatment to get better. If you are a friend or family member of a woman with depression, you can offer emotional support, understanding, patience, and encouragement. But never dismiss her feelings.
Encourage her to talk to her health care provider, and remind her that, with time and treatment, she can feel better. If you think you may have depression, start by making an appointment to see your health care provider. This could be your primary doctor or a health provider who specializes in diagnosing and treating mental health conditions for example, a psychologist or psychiatrist.
Certain medications, and some medical conditions, such as viruses or a thyroid disorder, can cause the same symptoms as depression. A health care provider can rule out these possibilities by doing a physical exam, interview, and lab tests. Your health care provider will examine you and talk to you about treatment options and next steps. Communicating well with your health care provider can improve your care and help you both make good choices about your health.
Read about tips to help prepare and get the most out of your visit. For additional resources, including questions to ask your health care provider, visit the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Sadness is only a small part of depression. Some people with depression do not feel sadness at all. A person with depression also may experience many physical symptoms, such as aches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive problems.
Someone with depression also may have trouble with sleeping, waking up in the morning, and feeling tired. If you have been experiencing any of the following signs and symptoms for at least two weeks, you may be suffering from depression:. Talk to your health care provider about these symptoms. Be honest, clear, and concise—your provider needs to know how you feel. Your health care provider may ask when your symptoms started, what time of day they happen, how long they last, how often they occur, if they seem to be getting worse or better, and if they keep you from going out or doing your usual activities.
It may help to take the time to make some notes about your symptoms before you visit your provider. Pregnancy, the postpartum period, perimenopause, and the menstrual cycle are all associated with dramatic physical and hormonal changes. Premenstrual syndrome, or PMS, refers to moodiness and irritability in the weeks before menstruation.
It is quite common, and the symptoms are usually mild. PMDD is a serious condition with disabling symptoms such as irritability, anger, depressed mood, sadness, suicidal thoughts, appetite changes, bloating, breast tenderness, and joint or muscle pain.
Pregnant women commonly deal with morning sickness, weight gain, and mood swings. Caring for a newborn is challenging, too. These feelings usually last a week or two and then go away as a new mom adjusts to having a newborn. Perinatal depression includes depression that begins during pregnancy called prenatal depression and depression that begins after the baby is born called postpartum depression.
Mothers with perinatal depression experience feelings of extreme sadness, anxiety, and fatigue that may make it difficult for them to carry out daily tasks, including caring for themselves, their new child, or others.
If you think you have perinatal depression, you should talk to your health care provider or trained mental health care professional. If you see any signs of depression in a loved one during her pregnancy or after the child is born, encourage her to see a health care provider or visit a clinic.
If you are going through perimenopause, you might be experiencing abnormal periods, problems sleeping, mood swings, and hot flashes. Although these symptoms are common, feeling depressed is not. If you are struggling with irritability, anxiety, sadness, or loss of enjoyment at the time of the menopause transition, you may be experiencing perimenopausal depression.
Not every woman who is depressed experiences every symptom. Some women experience only a few symptoms. Major depression otherwise known as major depressive disorder is much less common than mild or moderate and is characterized by severe, relentless symptoms.
Atypical depression is a common subtype of major depressive disorder with a specific symptom pattern. It responds better to some therapies and medications than others, so identifying it can be helpful. For some people, the reduced daylight hours of winter lead to a form of depression known as seasonal affective disorder SAD.
SAD can make you feel like a completely different person to who you are in the summer: hopeless, sad, tense, or stressed, with no interest in friends or activities you normally love. SAD usually begins in fall or winter when the days become shorter and remains until the brighter days of spring. While some illnesses have a specific medical cause, making treatment straightforward, depression is far more complicated. Certain medications, such as barbiturates, corticosteroids, benzodiazepines, opioid painkillers, and specific blood pressure medicine can trigger symptoms in some people—as can hypothyroidism an underactive thyroid gland.
But most commonly, depression is caused by a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors that can vary wildly from one person to another. Despite what you may have seen in TV ads, read in newspaper articles, or maybe even heard from a doctor, depression is not just the result of a chemical imbalance in the brain, having too much or too little of any brain chemical that can be simply cured with medication.
Biological factors can certainly play a role in depression, including inflammation, hormonal changes, immune system suppression, abnormal activity in certain parts of the brain, nutritional deficiencies, and shrinking brain cells. But psychological and social factors—such as past trauma, substance abuse, loneliness, low self-esteem, and lifestyle choices—can also play an enormous part.
Depression most often results from a combination of factors, rather than one single cause. For example, if you went through a divorce, were diagnosed with a serious medical condition, or lost your job, the stress could prompt you to start drinking more, which in turn could cause you to withdraw from family and friends. Those factors combined could then trigger depression. Loneliness and isolation. Not only can lack of social support heighten your risk, but having depression can cause you to withdraw from others, exacerbating feelings of isolation.
Having close friends or family to talk to can help you maintain perspective on your issues and avoid having to deal with problems alone. Marital or relationship problems. While a network of strong and supportive relationships can be crucial to good mental health, troubled, unhappy, or abusive relationships can have the opposite effect and increase your risk for depression. Recent stressful life experiences. Major life changes, such as a bereavement, divorce, unemployment , or financial problems can often bring overwhelming levels of stress and increase your risk of developing depression.
Chronic illness or pain. Unmanaged pain or being diagnosed with a serious illness , such as cancer, heart disease, or diabetes, can trigger feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. Family history of depression. Your lifestyle choices, relationships, and coping skills matter just as much as genetics. Whether your personality traits are inherited from your parents or the result of life experiences, they can impact your risk of depression.
For example, you may be at a greater risk if you tend to worry excessively , have a negative outlook on life, are highly self-critical, or suffer from low self-esteem. Early childhood trauma or abuse. Early life stresses such as childhood trauma, abuse, or bullying can make you more susceptible to a number of future health conditions, including depression. Alcohol or drug abuse. Substance abuse can often co-occur with depression.
Many people use alcohol or drugs as a means of self-medicating their moods or cope with stress or difficult emotions. If you are already at risk, abusing alcohol or drugs may push you over the edge. There is also evidence that those who abuse opioid painkillers are at greater risk for depression. Understanding the underlying cause of your depression may help you overcome the problem.
For example, if you are feeling depressed because of a dead-end job, the best treatment might be finding a more satisfying career rather than simply taking an antidepressant.
If you are new to an area and feeling lonely and sad, finding new friends will probably give you more of a mood boost than going to therapy. In such cases, the depression is remedied by changing the situation.
But there are many things you can do to lift and stabilize your mood. The key is to start with a few small goals and slowly build from there, trying to do a little more each day. Feeling better takes time, but you can get there by making positive choices for yourself.
Reach out to other people. The simple act of talking to someone face-to-face about how you feel can be an enormous help. Get moving. But regular exercise can be as effective as antidepressant medication in countering the symptoms of depression.
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