DEPRESSION is negative mood feeling & negative mood state often caused by a negative stressor trigger (usually a “LOSS” of some kind) or sometimes even nothing apparent that can last for seconds or minutes or hours or days or weeks or months or years. After several hours or days of depressed mood, most people begin to feel sick & ill, with changes in their biological functions & overall health & well-being, with symptoms of:
- Feeling bad or low with despair*
- Feelings of hopelessness & helplessness & guilt
- Low energy
- Low motivation to do things
- Reduced interest in doing things
- Poor quality or reduced or excessive sleep
- Feeling “nervous” & anxious more than usual
- More easily overwhelmed
- Trouble with mental focus & concentration
- Trouble with thinking & memory
- Reduced or excessive appetite
- Thoughts of doom or death*
Feeling bad or low or depressed after a negative stressor or LOSS and for a brief period of time is normal, but what happens when the feeling becomes PROLONGED (after 2 weeks) and/or EXTREME (you cannot function or go to work or enjoy life) and/or WON’T STOP (weeks to months or longer) or RETURNS after a smaller trigger event or for NO REASON at all? This is now a serious & unwanted problem, a DISEASE or DISORDER.
DEPRESSION can grow fast & large like a forest fire, quickly becoming extreme & impairing, maybe debilitating and disabling, maybe even deadly*. Yes, fatal. But it does NOT need to be, if you get quick expert help & comprehensive treatment using the modern:
BIO-PSYCHO-SOCIAL Model
of disorder etiology & disorder treatment. Yep, deal with the biological & psychological & social casual & care factors, get relief. Like ADHD & Anxiety & most neuropsychiatric & general medical conditions, predisposition to Depression & Mood Disorders can run in families & commonly have genetic links, but they CAN be greatly lessened & controlled or stopped with modern care methods. It is NOT your fault. Do NOT blame yourself.
Luckily, DEPRESSION can usually be easily & quickly reduced or eliminated nowadays by great Expert education & discussion & psychotherapy, along with increasing brain calming & uplifting SEROTONIN (5-HT) and/or more activating NOREPINEPHRINE (NE) or DOPAMINE (DA) levels, in addition to avoiding known mood-altering depressants (yep, Alcohol & most strains of MJ & pain pills & heavy sedatives) and being very mindful of common everyday stimulants and activating chemicals (don’t forget the added caffeine & nicotine & ever-growing “Energy drinks”) & negative social triggers (unhealthy people, places & situations), getting great sleep (8 hours please), good nutrition (some protein please) & regular exercise a few times per week (yep, and be sure to add 15 minutes of moderate weights to your 45 minute of cardio with a nice sweat & heart rate of at least 120/min for best results).
Yes, you can get relief. Are you ready?
We are here for you, offering both intensive outpatient, Office-based MD Psychiatry Expert evaluations & ongoing treatment for Adult DEPRESSION & other very common & highly treatable biological brain conditions. Good results can be realized fast, with reduction in many of the DEPRESSION symptoms in days to weeks, and then maintained with good ongoing care for years. Being at peak performance is essential and required to obtain, maintain & succeed in school or most demanding occupations and intense jobs here in very competitive San Diego.
* If you or a friend or family member or loved one suffers from a currently severe & life-threatening medical or mental health condition, go to the nearest Emergency Room or call “911” for immediate medical assistance.
