Depression

What is depression?

Depression is a common mental health condition affecting your mood. It’s characterized by severe or ongoing sadness that negatively impacts your quality of life. Though common, depression is something you don’t have to live with, as it can become debilitating when left untreated. See the Doran experts at the first sign of depression or other mood disorders. 

What are the symptoms of depression?

Depression can cause the following symptoms:

• Extreme sadness
• Ongoing sad feelings
• Difficulty concentrating
• Problems sleeping
• Weight loss or gain 
• Thoughts of self-harm
• Loss of interest in favorite activities
• Sleeping too much or too little
• Feeling hopeless, helpless, guilty, shameful, or worthless
• Fatigue
• Physical aches and pains
• Irritability 
• Mood swings

About 1 in 6 people experience depression during their lifetime. Even children (almost 5%) develop signs of depression.

What are the risk factors for depression?

While anyone can become depressed, common risk factors include:

• Family history of depression
• Anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or other mental health conditions
• Personal history of depression
• Loss of a loved one
• Job loss
• Past trauma
• Financial challenges
• Divorce
• Medical problems
• Chronic pain
• Brain changes
• Stress
• Some medications
• Being bullied 

While adopting healthy habits — such as getting regular exercise and eating a healthy diet — may lessen your risk of depression, you can’t always avoid it. Treatment with the Doran team offers lasting symptom relief. 

How is depression diagnosed?

Diagnosing depression with the Doran experts requires an in-person or telehealth evaluation using DSM-5-TR criteria. Your provider asks about your symptoms, medical history, mood, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors to determine if you’re facing depression or another mental health challenge. 

How is depression treated?

The Doran team offers the following depression treatments:

• Medication management
• Lifestyle change counseling
• Nutrition counseling
• Psychotherapy 
• Individual therapy
• Family therapy 
• Couples therapy
• Group therapy
• Mindfulness-based therapy
• Narrative therapy
• Internal family systems therapy (IFS)
• Eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy
• Rational emotive behavioral therapy (REBT)
• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
• Psychedelic integration therapy
• Ketamine therapy 

It’s also helpful to stay active, consume nutritious foods, minimize stress, maintain a strong social support network, and adopt additional healthy habits. Attend in-person or telehealth therapy sessions as needed to optimize your mental health outcome.

Schedule an in-person or telehealth depression evaluation today at Doran by calling the office or booking a visit online.