Hope for those familiar with low feelings.
How to start battling a low-level persistent depression.
By Bluestone Psychological Services
Charlie is a 36-year-old man who just assumed he was a chronic pessimist. “I’m a realist”, he would promote. He battled through a steady, persistent bad mood. It would sap some of his energy but not enough to seriously bother him. It wasn’t until he had a significant life stressor that led to a more concerning depressive episode. In the past, he navigated the hazy fog of his low mood with his resilience. Now, he lost his bearings and was starting to feel hopeless, lonely and maybe for the first time; afraid.
Six Approaches to Managing Persistent Depression
- Reduce or Eliminate Refined Sugars – researchers in Cambridge England published a comprehensive study indicating sugars and carbohydrates are linked to depression especially in middle age people (read study abstract)
- Movement – try consistent movement for 30 minutes 4x per week. The benefits range from positive release of endorphins, mindfulness moments, increases in metabolism, and bone density. How can you go wrong?
- Sleep, Sleep, Sleep – build a healthy, age-appropriate sleep hygiene routine. It is shown to decrease episodes of depression.
- Meditation, Prayer, Mindfulness – setting aside time for slowing down, connecting with your higher power, and absorbing the moment allows for additional clarity.
- Patience – there’s no official “cure” for depression but effective cognitive treatments do help. Don’t let your frustration get the best of your thoughts.
- It’s Not You – it’s genetics. Don’t confuse your pre-disposed genetics with a personality flaw. In fact, most often the illness masks your awesome, authentic self.
What about Psychiatric Medication?
According to World Health Organization (WHO), depression is the fourth leading cause of disability worldwide and by 2020, it will be the second most common leading cause of disability. Antidepressant medication may be used as initial treatment modality for patients with mild, moderate, or severe major depressive disorder. The NCBI reports “With antidepressants: About 40 to 60 out of 100 people who took an antidepressant noticed an improvement in their symptoms within six to eight weeks.” In addition, there is evidence that combined treatments may be more effective than each treatment standing alone.
What is Persistent Depression Disorder (Dysthymia)?
Persistent depressive disorder, known as dysthymia or low-grade depression, is less severe than major depression but more chronic. It occurs twice as often in women as in men. It can be serious and disabling. It is characterized by experiencing a depressed or irritable mood most of time over the course of at least two years. Also, most people experience at least several of the following:
- insomnia or excessive sleep
- low energy or fatigue
- low self-esteem
- poor appetite or overeating
- poor concentration or indecisiveness
- feelings of hopelessness.
The more typical, yet severe symptoms of lethargy, an inability to feel pleasure, and thoughts of death and/or suicide are often absent from those with PDD.
Strengthen Your Therapy with Psychiatric Medication
Picture feeling better, longer. Research shows an increasing trend in positive wellness when combining counseling with medicine. Check out our psych med providers today!
Depressed in Seattle?
The city of Seattle and surrounding neighborhood is an amazing place to live, except for one small, yet powerful detail; weather. Edmonds receives some of the fewest sunny days in the country. This seasonal deprecation of rays creates an increase in seasonal affective episodes. Be patient and allow this season to pass.
Back to Charlie . . .
Charlie was almost relieved he felt so bad. At least he could now put his finger on it. “Depression”, he told himself. He had felt irritated, agitated for over two years but didn’t view it as depression. He attributed it to life and himself just not being good enough. Looking back, he realized moments of confusion or even boredom would result in negative self-talk and blame. Now it was time to seek help. Fortunately, his therapist shared several proven methods to work on his thoughts, feelings and actions.
Cognitive restructuring to improve your negative self-talk can be very effective. A slow, steady persistent depression is often coupled with thoughts that tap into negative intermediate and core beliefs. Adjusting your perception and thoughts are within your grasp through cognitive therapy. Our therapists at Bluestone are experts in teaching you these thought skills. Our psychiatric medicine providers can combine these skills with medication that allows you to utilize them more effectively.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3918025/#b13
Thanks for additional contributions by David A. Morris, LCSW and Fran Kush, Ph.D.
More information regarding lower mood
Sometimes a feeling of depression hits suddenly and hard, making it easier to identify it as being out of character or making no sense. But when depression starts with a feeling of sadness that then grows and grows, it can be more difficult to know if you’re dealing with deep sadness or Major Depression. Distinguishing between the two and finding an appropriate approach to taking care of yourself is important to prevent an episode of depression from getting worse.
Indicators of major depression include:
- Throughout nearly every day for the last two weeks or more, difficulty engaging in your normal daily activities with your typical amount of energy.
- A blocked ability to experience the enjoyment you used to find in your hobbies, work and/or relationships.
- A low or irritable mood as your primary mood throughout nearly every day for a period of weeks and you find it difficult to identify why you are feeling so low.
- Healthy habits, such as exercising and eating well, can be replaced by other behaviors, such as drinking more than usual.
- Sleeping less or sleeping more
- Unintentionally gaining or losing weight.
In cases of sadness, on the other hand, one will often find:
- A more transient low mood; it tends to come and go rather come and stay.
- A clearly identified reason for your sadness, such as the loss of a loved one.
- The sadness is often triggered by certain memories or things in your day that cause you to remember that reason (e.g., seeing your deceased dog’s leash).
- You can still enjoy your relationships and other pleasurable things in your life and can experience feelings other than sadness during your day.
While time often helps heal what’s causing a person’s sadness, sadness can turn into depression. For this reason, it is important to keep an eye on your sadness or the sadness someone close to you is experiencing. Watch for the signs listed above and get help if depression appears to be replacing sadness. Left unattended to, depression can often get worse and/or cause significant disruption is a person’s life and relationships.
Major depression is not a sign of weakness or laziness; it is a mood disorder that can respond very well to psychotherapy. If, over a period of time, therapy alone is not bringing the improvement expected, there are many medications that can be added to your treatment. If you’d like to talk to someone about possibly having depressionfill out our quick and easy form.
Have hope; you are not alone and help is available.