Depression is a real issue these days with more people finding that they are eating unhealthy diets, lacking exercise, and having issues sleeping. When struggling with depression, it’s important to first track down if health is a factor of the depression or if there are more underlying issues present.
Depression Solutions
Depression can impact every aspect of a person’s life so it’s important to evaluate symptoms including inability to concentrate, feeling hopeless, sleep disturbances (too much or too little), little interest or pleasure in previously stimulating activities, low sex drive, feelings of sadness lasting for many weeks, thinking of finding relief with maladaptive behaviors or thoughts of ending life, and/or lack of motivation.
People may find that they can have good days and bad days, however depression is a bit different than situations that can periodically bring about sadness. When struggling with depression, most people find some symptoms including lack of motivation, issues with concentration, sleep disturbances, feelings of worthlessness, loss of interest in activities a person used to enjoy, and sadness lasting for 2 or more weeks.
If any of these symptoms seem to be bothering you then don’t hesitate to reach out, and try to discover what you can do to help assist you in your journey of discovery, healing, education, and hard work.
Treatment Process
What Things Can Be Done to Improve Depressive Symptoms?
Depression can be linked to lack of exercise, needing to improve diet and sleep, as well as emotional processing. What information may be helpful is first obtaining major or minor changes in last few weeks or months, determining if depression runs in the family, and patterns of self-care including sleep, diet & exercise.
After first working on patterns of self-care, the therapist works with client to determine next psychoeducation and skills to improve brain’s maladaptive processing and practices skills in and outside of sessions. Therapist monitors scores on depression scale throughout treatment, and tailors the treatment to each individual client based on what works for them. Exploring information, providing psychoeducation, and reprocessing maladaptive information are some of the main steps with depression treatment.
Some clients like to also add in medication management by meeting with psychiatrist to assist in current symptoms and that can aid in treatment process as well.