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Depression

When a person’s feelings of sadness persist beyond a few weeks, he or she may have depression. According to the National Institute for Mental Health, three to four million men at any given in time are affected by depression; it affects twice as many women.

Researchers do not know the exact mechanisms that trigger depression.
Two neurotransmitters-natural substances that allow brain cells to communicate with one another-are implicated in depression: serotonin and nor epinephrine.

Symptoms
There are a number of symptoms of depression.

These may include changes in appetite and sleeping patterns; feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, and inappropriate guilt; loss of interest or pleasure in formerly important activities; fatigue; inability to concentrate; overwhelming sadness and thoughts about harming oneself.

Physical symptoms such as headaches, stomach aches or back pain may also be present during an episode of depression

Formal Diagnosis
The criteria for a formal diagnosis of depression is the presence or four or more of the previous symptoms continually, or most of the time, for more than 2 weeks.
The term clinical depression merely means the episode of depression is serious enough to require treatment. Major depression is marked by far more severe symptoms, such as literally being unable to drag oneself out of bed. Another form of depression, known as seasonal affective disorder, is associated with seasonal changes in the amount of available daylight.

Palmetto Behavioral HealthTreatment
The most effective treatment for depression is now thought to be a combination of counseling or therapy and a properly determined amount of medication..

Various types of cognitive/behavioral therapy (CBT) and interpersonal therapy may be as effective as medications for some people who have depression.

A special bright light helps many people who have seasonal affective disorder(SAD).

Today, there are a number of very effective medications for the treatment of depression. Three major types of medication that are used to treat depression are: tricyclics; the newer selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAO inhibitors).

At Palmetto Behavioral Health we work carefully with each patient and their families to ensure they have access to all appropriate treatment options to help them identify, manage and conquer their depression.