What Is Depression?

Depression, also known as major depressive disorder or clinical depression, is a mood disorder often characterized by intense feelings of sadness, anxiety, or hopelessness. While everyone experiences these feelings at times, depression is a serious disorder that negatively affects the day-to-day lives of those who suffer from it.

Depression can manifest itself in different ways in different people, so it’s important to know what to look out for when deciding whether you or someone you know may be suffering from the disorder.

Common depression symptoms include:

  • Intense and persistent sadness or hopelessness
  • Anxiety
  • Sleeplessness or fatigue
  • Inability to accomplish everyday tasks
  • Irritability or anger
  • Weight changes
  • Lack of appetite
  • Suicidal thoughts
  • Feelings of guilt or worthlessness
  • Loss of interest in activities that once brought enjoyment
  • Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
  • Physical ailments without a clear cause or that don’t go away
  • Isolation from friends and family

Not everyone who suffers from depression will experience all of these symptoms, and depression will look different from person to person, and even day to day for an individual. But if you or someone you know is experiencing these symptoms on a consistent basis, depression could easily be the culprit. Often depression is diagnosed when someone is experiencing several of these symptoms over a sustained period of time.

Common Causes

Depression can happen to anyone at any time, but it can be triggered or worsened by life events. For instance, post-partum depression is common among new mothers, and incidences of trauma can bring about or worsen depression. Mood disorders like depression are usually caused by a combination of genetic, biological, psychological, and environmental factors, so depression is not necessarily “caused” by one thing, but certain risk factors exist.

Common risk factors for depression include:

  • Family history of depression, other mood disorders, or mental illness
  • Major life changes or stressors
  • Trauma
  • Certain medications that may cause depression
  • Substance abuse
Isolation

If left untreated, depression can negatively affect every aspect of your life, from health and work to relationships and decision-making.

In fact, depression often co-occurs with alcohol misuse or drug addiction or other underlying issues, which is why at Serenity View we seek to treat the whole person, not just one aspect of their mental health. Our comprehensive treatment aims to get to the root cause or causes of mental health and addiction issues, such as depression, in order to fully heal all that needs healing.

If left untreated, depression can negatively affect every aspect of your life, from health and work to relationships and decision-making. Fortunately, depression is easily manageable with proper treatment and medication, especially when the root causes are found and dealt with by a trained professional.

If you think you or a loved one is suffering from depression, know that you don’t have to keep feeling the way you are feeling. Whether it’s medication, counseling, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), neurofeedback in our cutting-edge Brain Center or a wide range of other treatment methods, depression can be managed and conquered.

Our individual-focused, whole-person process seeks to find the best course of treatment for each one of our clients, so no two treatment plans will look exactly the same. We offer a range of treatments for a wide variety of mental health and addiction issues. There is hope for healing from depression with the proper treatment and care, and that’s always our primary goal at Serenity View.

 

Get answers to your questions

If you or a loved one would like to know more about treatment at Serenity View Recovery Center, please give us a call to speak to one of our trained intake coordinators for assistance. 

Call 833-757-5697