Choices Counseling
Connect with us
  • Home
    • Addiction
    • Recovery
    • DBT
    • EMDR Therapy >
      • Videos
  • Contact Info
    • Forms >
      • Disclosure Form
      • Consent for Treatment
      • Intake
      • Permission to Release Information
  • Fees
  • About Me
  • Clinical Supervisor
  • Blog
  • Resources
    • Handouts
  • Meditations

Depression.  More than feeling depressed.

5/14/2013

3 Comments

 
It feels like being in a Black Hole.  There is no light and you just keep getting sucked in further and further  There is no way out.
Black HoleLet me out!!


Snap out of it! 
Things are not that bad!


How many times has someone been impatient with you feeling negative and gloomy?  How many times have you given up trying to explain, because it doesn't make any sense?  There's no particular reason you feel so bad, you just do.  Then you don't want to be around your friends and family because you can't explain why you're not happy AND being around happy people just makes it worse.  You feel more and more alone.  You start feeling like everyone would be better off if you just weren't around.  So you stay away.  Eventually people stop trying to pull you out of your isolation and depression.  Being around you is a bummer.  "You see the dark cloud in every silver lining."   

You feel better when you're sleeping, so you sleep as much as you can.  Or the opposite happens, when you can't sleep.  You either can't get to sleep, can't stay asleep or wake up way too soon.  Then you're tired all the time.  You have no energy.  Nothing is fun.  Nothing is funny.  You can't concentrate.  Things seem harder and harder.  Food tastes bland.  Sometimes you eat anyway.  Sometimes you have no appetite.  Sometimes you snap at people and hate the world.  Sometimes you cry when you "should" be happy.  You know there's something wrong, so does everyone else.  Everyone's attempt at trying to help pisses you off.  Even your dog looks at you with pity.  You just want to be left alone......but not really.


Depression is like walking around with no skin. 
Everything hurts.  Anything that brushes up against you causes pain.  A hug feels bad.  Regular, normal things that happen to everyone throughout the day are at the least irritating, at most painful.  You spend your time avoiding anything that could hurt.  People say things that you take personally.  You get your feelings hurt easily.  Everything seems huge.  It requires so much effort, it often doesn't seem worth it.  You feel like Eeyore all the time.  You hate it, but nothing helps.  You lose hope that it will ever get better. 

Does anything help?
The short answer is yes.  We know some things that can help someone with depression feel better.

When I drink or get loaded, or have sex I feel normal.
What that tells us is that when your brain chemistry changes the symptoms get better.  That is a very important clue!  It is definitely the right idea, just not the right chemicals.  Addiction has a way of biting us in the rear and causing our lives to be miserable....not to mention hurting the people we care about most.

I'm not taking those pills!  I don't want to be a guinea pig.
Medicine is not right for everyone.  If medicine is necessary, there is no blood test to determine which one will help the most.  Prescribers discuss the symptoms you are having and match you with the medicine that will alleviate the most of them.  Mental health treatment is not an exact science.  Sometimes if one medicine doesn't work, another one will.

This is what we know.  There is a difference between feeling depressed and having a clinical depression.  Feeling depressed is only one symptom of clinical depression.  There are several forms of depression.  Some depression is fatal, resulting in suicide or death from risky behavior.  Treatment for depression must take into consideration which type of depression you have. 

Sadness is not depression.  Grief is not depression.  If you have lost something or someone important to you, you will feel sad.  This is normal and healthy.  There is not a set period of time for people to grieve.  Grieving comes in waves.  Sometimes you feel better, then it hits you again.  It does get better over time. 

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, symptoms of depression may include the following:

  • Difficulty concentrating, remembering details, and making decisions
  • Fatigue and decreased energy
  • Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, and/or helplessness
  • Feelings of hopelessness and/or pessimism
  • Insomnia, early-morning wakefulness, or excessive sleeping
  • Irritability, restlessness
  • Loss of interest in activities or hobbies once pleasurable, including sex
  • Overeating or appetite loss
  • Persistent aches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive problems that do not ease even with treatment
  • Persistent sad, anxious, or "empty" feelings
  • Thoughts of suicide, suicide attempts

Types of depression:

1.  Major depression:  When the bottom drops out, sometimes people are unable to work or parent.
2.  Dysthymia:  Just generally feeling blah, washed out all the time for no particular reason
3.  Bipolar I:  A cycle, extreme mood swings, sometimes the depression takes over followed by times of feeling great, almost too great,
4.  Bipolar II:  Times when the bottom drops out, followed by a time when things feel a little better, but still not good. Sometimes for a while there is a lot of energy, people can't sleep, are very distracted, talk fast and then for a while everything slows down.
5.  Postpartem:  A major depressive episode after having a baby.
6.  Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)  Feeling more depressed in the winter or when the weather is gloomy.

It is extremely important to have a professional determine which type of depression you are experiencing especially if you are considering taking psychiatric medication.  Medication meant for a unipolar depression, major depressive disorder, dysthymia or post-partem depression will probably make Bipolar I & II much worse.  It easy for someone to get a wrong diagnosis with Bipolar because they usually ask for help when they are experiencing the depression symptoms, not the manic or hypomanic symptoms.

Types of treatment:
Nonmedical
    Exercise
    Distraction
    Spending time with people you love
    Getting involved in something important to you
    Vitamins
    Healthy nutrition
    Good sleep
    Being outside
    Working with animals

Clinical
    Talk therapy
    Cognitive/Behavioral Therapy (changing the way we think and behave)
    Skills training (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, stress management, etc)
    Hypnosis
   
Medical
    Various types of medicines, from SSRI's, SSNRI's, mood stabilizers to tricyclics and MAOI's
    Biofeedback
    ECT
    Sleep disorder treatment with medication or CPAP
    Pain management
    Hospitalization either for crisis stabilization, or longer term if symptoms do not respond to treatment

  The most important thing to know is that depression is treatable.  You are not the only one who has experienced it.  You do not have to be alone.





Picture

Jeanne L. Meyer, LMHC, LPC, MAC
Choices Counseling
(360) 949-2524

3 Comments
Deltona Security System link
7/3/2022 10:58:59 pm

Thank you ffor sharing this

Reply
Tex Hooper link
1/23/2023 07:24:38 pm

I appreciate what you said about the appetite loss. Ever since my sister got a divorce, she won't eat. She should probably get some therapy.

Reply
online hypnotherapy link
3/14/2023 09:54:40 pm

In this article from the writers compare and contrast the experiences of feeling down and having a clinical diagnosis of depression. The author describes the signs of melancholy and the difficulties it can cause. There are suggestions for coping with depression and finding support in the article as well. Anyone dealing with depression or knowing someone who is will find this article helpful.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Jeanne L. Meyer, LMHC, LPC, MAC is a private mental health therapist in Vancouver, WA.

    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    September 2019
    August 2017
    February 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    November 2014
    August 2014
    May 2014
    February 2014
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Addiction
    Addictive Behavior
    Addicts
    Appreciation
    Balance
    Bipolar Disorder
    Brain Disease
    Chemical Dependency
    Communication
    Depression
    Depression Symptoms
    Depression Types
    Emdr
    Foster Care
    Kids
    Letter
    Mental Health Treatment
    Ptsd
    Relationship
    Secrets
    Self Care
    Self-Care
    Sexual Assault
    Suicide
    Testimonial
    Trauma
    Wellness Project
    Workshop

Proudly powered by Weebly