Depression

Depression is an illness that extracts all the joy and hope from life, leaving you feeling worthless and despairing. If you experience depression symptoms, talk the team at Revive Holistic Psychiatry. At their offices in Weymouth, Massachusetts, they provide antidepressant medications tailored to your specific needs. Depression can be tough to manage without some extra medication support, but Revive Holistic Psychiatry will find the right fit for you. Find relief from the bleakness of life with depression by calling the office today or booking an in-person or telehealth appointment online.

What is depression?

Depression (major depressive disorder) affects your thoughts and emotions, taking you to a place where you feel unbearably sad, hopeless, and worthless. These feelings aren’t ones you can shake off and rarely improve with time. If you don’t get help, depression can steadily worsen until it becomes disabling.

Common depression symptoms include:

• Constant low mood
• Appetite changes
• Lack of energy
• Chronic fatigue
• Slowed movements
• Feeling guilt or shame
• Changes in sleep patterns
• Difficulty thinking clearly
• Muscular aches and pains
• Headaches
• Problems concentrating 

Depression affects your ability to work, your home life, and your relationships. You lose interest in activities you usually enjoy, and every day seems like a mountain to climb. For some people, depression becomes so severe that they feel the only solution is taking their own life.

Fortunately, no matter how advanced your depression becomes, Revive Holistic Psychiatry can help you overcome your condition and start enjoying life again.

Are there different kinds of depression?

Depression is a mood disorder. Other conditions in this classification include:

• Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
• Bipolar disorder
• Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)
• Persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia)

Depression is the primary symptom of all these mood disorders.

What causes depression?

Depression doesn’t have a single cause — it’s usually a combination of genetic, environmental, and other factors that trigger depression. Experiences you go through can trigger depression, but there’s no way to predict how life’s events will affect you.

Most patients with depression have identifiable differences in their brain function. These differences usually relate to the activity of chemicals called neurotransmitters that make connections in your brain. Low levels of these neurotransmitters can slow down some brain functions, including mood regulation.

It’s not clear whether the low neurotransmitter levels cause depression, result from it, or involve some combination of the two.

How is depression treated?

There are two primary treatments for depression — medication and talk therapy. Antidepressant medications help by increasing the neurotransmitter levels in your brain. This first stabilizes and then gradually improves your mood.

Psychotherapy helps you identify and process unresolved experiences or traumas in your past. Some approaches, like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), allow you to correct flawed thoughts and alter your behavior, making everyday life more manageable.

Revive Holistic Psychiatry also offers Spravato® intranasal esketamine spray for treatment-resistant depression.

To find the right treatment combination to relieve your depression, call Revive Holistic Psychiatry today or book an appointment online.