Depression, better known as major depressive disorder, is a common but serious medical illness. It affects the way you act, think and feel. Major depressive disorder alone affects more than 17 million people in the U.S., but there are various types of depression, including:
- Major depression
- Bipolar disorder
- Atypical depression
- Situational depression
- Premenstrual dysphoric disorder
- Psychotic depression
- Peripartum depression
- Seasonal affective disorder
- Persistent depressive disorder
If you have a persistent feeling of sadness or feeling down that impacts your daily life, you may have clinical depression. Because there are many types of depression, the first step is to talk to your doctor to get an appropriate diagnosis.
Are the Varied Types of Depression Treated Differently?
Every 40 seconds, a person is lost to suicide. This is a scary statistic but shows why finding the right diagnosis to help with depression symptoms is so important. The different kinds of depression may be treated in alternative ways. The first step is to get the correct diagnosis so that a medical team or doctor has the information needed to set up a treatment plan.
Counseling
Counseling, also known as talk therapy, can help with all types of depression. In counseling sessions, you’ll work with a counselor, psychiatrist or psychologist. You may learn new coping strategies, talk through issues you’re dealing with or work through behavior therapies, like dialectical behavior therapy or cognitive behavioral therapy.
Medical Integration
Before starting on any kind of medication, it’s important to have a full medical workup and to look for any underlying causes of the symptoms of depression. For example, lethargy or exhaustion could be linked to low levels of nutrients in the body from a vitamin deficiency or a lack of oxygen reaching the parts of the body due to anemia.
Depression is caused by many different factors that need to be considered, such as:
- Certain medications: Drugs such as corticosteroids and isotretinoin, a medication used to treat acne, have been linked to a risk of depression.
- Genetic: A family history of depression may increase your risk of depression.
- Trauma: Past abuse, whether physical, sexual or psychological, can lead to clinical depression later in life.
- Chronic pain: Chronic pain depletes a person’s energy over time and can lead to depression.
- Grief: Grief, like from losing a loved one, can lead to depression.
- Conflict: Vulnerable people dealing with personal conflicts between friends and family members may suffer from depression or a higher risk of developing depression.
- Substance abuse: Approximately 30% of people (WebMD) with addictions and substance abuse problems also suffer from clinical depression or major depression.
These are all different factors that can play a role in the risk of developing and the development of depression. If you suffered from abuse, have dealt with substance abuse or have any of these factors in your life, you may have a predisposition to depression that needs to be addressed.
If the cause of depression in your case is linked to the use of a medication or to a chronic illness, getting your depression under control may rely on controlling the illness or switching medications. Once the reason for the symptoms is discovered, the staff at FHE Health can talk to you more about your options for integrating medications and medical treatments into your treatment plan.
In some cases, treating an underlying condition is all that is needed to relieve the symptoms of depression and to get you back to feeling like yourself again.