Depression

Depression overshadows every moment you’re awake and disturbs your sleep. If you’re exhausted from struggling with depression, the team at TimeToday Healthcare in Glendale, AZ can help. They specialize in treating depression and can help even when your symptoms aren’t improving with current treatments. Call TimeToday Healthcare or schedule an in-person or telehealth consultation online today to find effective answers to depression symptoms.

What is depression?

Depression (major depressive disorder) is a distressing psychiatric condition. It’s one of the most common mental health problems, affecting people of all ages and walks of life.

When you have depression, life is unendingly bleak. You can’t get rid of the feelings of hopelessness and despair. Guilt, shame, and self-loathing are also common with depression.

Depression affects your thoughts and how you behave. You’re unable to see anything in a positive light and may feel that you’re a burden to your loved ones. You’re likely to have unhealthy sleep patterns — either sleeping too much or waking often and suffering insomnia. You might lose your appetite or overeat to comfort yourself.

Without treatment, depression can worsen to the point where you start considering suicide. Close to 46,000 people die in the United States each year by their own hands.

Why do I have depression?

Depression doesn’t have a single cause. It’s often a combination of factors that brings depression on.

Your genes can be influential, so if other close family members have mental health issues, your risk is higher. Your environment, work life, excessive stress, and problems like poverty and abuse also raise your chances of experiencing depression.

Many people find significant life events trigger depression, for example:

• A loved one dying
• Relationship breakdown
• Job loss
• Chronic illness
• Relocating
• Serious injuries
• Bullying
• Abuse
• Trauma

People with depression typically have under-activity in their brains’ mood centers. Chemicals called neurotransmitters enable the brain’s nerve cells (neurons) to communicate and create connections – when you have depression, neurotransmitter levels are often low, which adversely affects mood.

How is depression treated? 

TimeToday Healthcare offers several effective depression treatments. These include:

Medication

Antidepressant medications can address brain chemical imbalances, which improves mood. However, finding the most beneficial medicine can take time. There are many different antidepressants, and you may have to try several before you find one that suits you.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy helps you understand your condition and work through issues fueling your low mood. These could be current problems you’re struggling with or traumas from your past. Some talk therapies, like CBT (cognitive-behavioral therapy), help you adjust flawed thinking.

Your provider selects the treatment that’s most likely to work for you after a comprehensive psychiatric consultation.

Call TimeToday Healthcare or book an appointment using the online scheduling feature for expert help overcoming depression.