Depression - When Is It Time to Seek Help?

A depressed woman whose taken to her bed

If you think you have depression or know somebody that struggles with depression, how do you know it’s time to seek help? Perhaps your day is controllable, but your emotions have become unmanageable. It is probably time you get an expert’s opinion.

If you are treating the people that care for you the most with a grunt to their welcoming embrace, or if your self-medicating with drugs or alcohol to feel your emotions it’s a clear sign that you require some professional help.

Some Signs and Symptoms Are Stronger Than Others

Some symptoms of depression are stronger than others and far more noticeable. If a person is lashing out emotionally, like an out of control beast with no muzzle, it is a clear indication that there are underlying emotions that need to be dealt with.

Some symptoms can even go unnoticed by the people closest to you. Isolating oneself is a common symptom of depression, where one tends to escape the reality of a situation by closing and isolating away from the world.

Kids may tend to be glued to their screens, or jacked into an iPod for the duration of the day. This is avoidance and these symptoms should be treated with caution.

Major Symptoms of Depression

Depressives are all unique individuals with one commonality, which is a sense of loss and hopelessness.

Some of the major symptoms of depression include the following:

• Mood: anxiety, apathy, general discontent, guilt, hopelessness, loss of interest, loss of interest or pleasure in activities such as the online pokies that have always been so much fun, mood swings, or sadness

• Sleep: early awakening, excess sleepiness, insomnia, or restless sleep

• Whole body: excessive hunger, fatigue, loss of appetite, or restlessness

• Behavioural: agitation, excessive crying, irritability, or social isolation

• Cognitive: lack of concentration, slowness in activity, or thoughts of suicide

• Weight: weight gain or weight loss

• Also, common: poor appetite or repeatedly going over thoughts

Depression Is A Treatable Mental Illness

Unfortunately, the medical realm is light years behind when it comes to mental illnesses such as depression. If a person is experiencing some or all the above symptoms, a medical practitioner may prescribe antidepressants. The process is far more complex than most people think.

It is like going to the doctor with a cough. The doctor asks you a few questions and then provides you with a script for general antibiotics to cure the cough.

Depression and the treatment thereof are much the same. If the cough continues the doctor would need to dig deeper into the condition and prescribe stronger antibiotics.

So, with depression a general antidepressant may be prescribed at first, however, once the some of the symptoms have been alleviated then the psychiatrist would need to add or take away medication. It is very much touch and feel and then go when it comes to mental illnesses like depression.

Psychiatrists and Institutions

If you or anyone you know is suffering from mental illness, there are various forms of help available, and some people even say that exercise such as yoga or meditation can help somewhat, when paired with professional treatment programs.

Depression clinics and psychiatrist can assess a person’s needs and get them the help they require. Sometimes a person may be affected by a dual type of diagnosis and should then be referred to a DDU clinic or Dual Diagnosis centre. These centres will treat people that are struggling with both depression and addiction at the same time.