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7 Signs of Clinical Depression

7 Signs of Clinical Depression

According to studies, roughly 8% of adults will experience clinical depression at some point in their lives. The illness doesn’t discriminate depending on someone’s age, gender, income level, or race. It’s a severe mood disorder that, if left untreated, can turn wreak havoc on person’s life.

Fortunately, there are treatment options available to help individuals suffering from this mental illness. Do you believe that you’re experiencing clinical depression? 

Read on to learn about the common symptoms, and available treatment options.

What Is Clinical Depression?

There are different level of depression. It can range from the mild and short term, to the severe and persistent. Clinical depression is the most severe, is may also be called major depression, or major depressive disorder.

Major depression is not to be confused with sadness caused by life events such a divorce or the death of a loved one. Individuals who go through these experiences only have moments of pain, or experience depression temporarily.

Clinical depression lingers, and may be felt daily for weeks, to months, without end. It can severely affect all aspects of your life. From your mental and physical health, to personal relationship, and even job.

Symptoms of depression can be caused by many other things, but if you experience one or more of them, daily, for a couple weeks, it may be worth speaking to your doctor.

Signs of depression can include, but aren’t limited to:

1. Poor Mood

A low mood is a typical sign in both major depression and persistent depressive disorder. In clinical depression, a person feels down most of the day, nearly every day. An individual who is depressed might also cry often.

Having a low mood is one of the two primary symptoms that physicians look for to diagnose clinical depression. Also, people who consistently experience a bad mood are considered to have persistent depression when their feelings of sadness last more than two years.

2. Fatigue

Another common side effect of clinical depression is fatigue. A person that has low energy or feels tired often may be suffering from symptoms of depressive disorder, especially when it interferes with their ability to function normally. Some people may sleep more often, or for longer periods of time. For those with depression, sometimes just getting out of bed is a challenge.

3. Trouble Concentrating

Individuals with major depressive disorder and persistent depression have difficulty focusing and making decisions. A person with depression may struggle to think clearly, or staying focused on tasks. Those with depression also tend to have poorer memory than before.

4. Feelings of Guilt or Worthlessness

Guilt is a normal feeling that most people experience. However, when these feelings are excessive, it could be due to clinical depression. If the guilt is extreme, a person could become delusional as a result of it.

5. Changes in Appetite

When a person is severely depressed, they often lose their appetite. As a result, weight loss is inevitable. On the other hand, some people use food as a coping mechanism for their issues, and may actually begin eating more often than usual.

6. Lack of Interest

Another core symptom of major depression is decreased interest in the things that they once found enjoyable. For example, if a person no longer shows an interest in their hobbies or passions, or becomes more socially isolated from their friends and family, it could be a sign of clinical depression.

7. Thoughts of Suicide

Everyone thinks about death once in a while. If, however, an individual has reoccurring thoughts of death or suicide, it’s a symptom of clinical depression.

A person who is severely depressed not only has thoughts of suicide, but may attempt suicide or  may fantasize about going through with it.

Clinical Depression and Physical Diseases

Clinical depression doesn’t always happen because of a mental disorder. Actually, it’s not uncommon for a person with a chronic illness to become severely depressed. The constant pain leads to feelings of sadness that are difficult to shake.

On the contrary, someone suffering from major depressive disorder may develop a serious physical illness. The two usually go hand-in-hand causing the individual to endure emotional and physical pain.

However, when the source of the physical ailment is caused by a mental disorder, it usually goes away if the person gets help for their depression.

Clinical Depression Treatment

Fortunately, depression is one of the most treatable forms of mental illness. If a person seeks a diagnosis and get the help they need, they can notice major improvements with their illness, and daily life.

Common treatment methods include:

Antidepressants

A therapist usually makes a clinical depression diagnosis based on certain symptoms. If the physician determines that a person has depressive disorder, they’ll likely prescribe antidepressants.

A well-known medication for depression is Wellbutrin. It helps to boost a person’s mood and stabilize the neurotransmitters within the brain. Antidepressants work well, but they are most effective when combined with other forms of treatment like therapy.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy helps to treat depression by allowing patients to talk about their condition with a mental health expert.

This kind of treatment is effective for depression because it helps individuals identify negative thoughts and behaviors and replace them with positive ones. Patients learn how to adapt to the difficulty of life and find new ways to cope. Therapy is often paired with antidepressants for increasing the chances of improvement.

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

This technique uses mild electrical currents to impact brain function of consenting adults. It stimulates the neurotransmitters in your brain to minimize depression. This method is used on individuals with severe cases of depression, usually after other treatment options have failed.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

TMS is another option for people who don’t respond well to meds. During TMS, coils are placed against the patient’s scalp. The coils transfer magnetic pulses to trigger the nerve cells in the brain that control mood and depression.

Get Your Life Back on Track

You don’t have to fight depression alone. There is medication available to help you feel normal again. If you’re looking for Canadian prescriptions for your clinical depression, our pharmacy has you covered.

We supply antidepressants like Wellbutrin and even Wellbutrin generic medication. If you have any questions, call us toll-free at 1-877-536-8162 or contact us online for more assistance.

We’ll get back to you within 24 hours.

Information provided on this website is for general purposes only. It is not intended to take the place of advice from your practitioner