Signs Of Clinical Depression And Its Treatment

The first warning signs of depression, may quite soon develop into signs of clinical depression, at what stage your depression is already much more serious, and requires professional treatment, most probably. Being depressed for shorter periods of time after a sad or stressful experience is one thing, however, when the signs of clinical depression start interfering with your normal course of life, there is ample reason for concern. Treatment is surely possible but it is quite a long, difficult and stressful process in itself.

Signs Of Clinical Depression

We could talk about a major depressive episode when you experience some of the following signs of clinical depression at least for two weeks, persistently. You feel emotionally upset, sad, irritable and depressed, see yourself as worthless. Physically, you are lacking energy, have experienced a significant weight gain or loss and have sleeping disorders. You may also have various pains, and perhaps, as a major sign of clinical depression, you may have had suicidal thoughts recently, or have a way planned out to kill yourself. Quite obviously, if these feelings persist, they will interfere with the normal course of your daily life, you will not be able to work and these signs of clinical depression will also have an effect on your social interactions.

Diagnosis And Treatment

Contacting your doctor when experiencing signs of clinical depression is of major importance. As a first step, he/she will perform a complete medical exam, to make sure that your symptoms do not have a medical cause. If no medical cause can be found, a psychological evaluation will take place, that will explore your psychiatric history, any substance abuse and suicidal tendencies. You may also complete a psychiatric survey to assess your situation and explore all the signs of the clinical depression. Drug therapy is one common way of treatment; the patient may be given antidepressants, that should be taken for at least a few months to prevent the reutrn of depression. However, besides antidepressants, it is advisable to attend individual or group psychotherapy sessions to take care of the underlying emotional causes of the depression as well. These psychotherapy sessions may help the patient to develop his/her interpersonal skills or may explore for example underlying behavioral problems. To treat severe signs of clinical depression, electroconvulsive therapy may be used. In this kind of treatment, also called electroshock, seizures are electrically induced in the patients. Electroconvulsive therapy is only used if no other treatment is effective, as it can have some side effects as well, like short-term memory loss or disorientation.