How To Deal With Depression And Get Help

Frequently Asked Questions

What are general methods used to treat depression?

Depression is a mental illness that can be helped by a variety of treatments. If you have depression symptoms, talk to a mental health professional to discuss what to do next. Often, doctors recommend a combination of treatment methods, such as medication combined with psychotherapy. Some of the treatment options include:

• Antidepressant medications
• Mood stabilizer medications
• Psychotherapy
• Electroconvulsive therapy
• Transcranial magnetic stimulation
• Vagus nerve stimulation
• Herbal remedies
• Group therapy
• Substance abuse programs

How do you stop depression?

First, learn to recognize the warning signs of depression, so you can seek help for this mental illness as soon as possible. But how do you find a mental health provider? Start right away to begin your search. Search for health care options in your local community, Search for online therapy platforms, such as BetterHelp. Read reviews and check each therapist’s credentials. Then, choose the therapist that seems right for you. If you start therapy and discover that a therapist isn’t a good fit for you, try again. There is a therapist out there who can help you deal with this mental illness.

During therapy, you’ll work on changing self-defeating negative thoughts and self-destructive behaviors. You’ll learn about managing your depression symptoms and dealing with depression until your mental wellbeing improves. Your therapist will also work with you to improve your resilience so that you can avoid mental illness even after you overcome depression.

Also, you may need to talk to a psychiatrist about starting an antidepressant. Sometimes, people with certainmood disorders need to take mood stabilizers rather than antidepressants. For instance, an antidepressant may cause a manic episode for some people with bipolar disorder. Rely on your psychiatrist for recommendations of evidence-based treatments.

There are also things you can do for yourself to relieve your depression symptoms.

• Avoid drug abuse or deal with substance abuse issues.
• Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline immediately if you’re in the United States and considering harming yourself.
• Spend time relaxing with friends and family members.
• Get depression support from people close to you.
• Join a peer support group, where you can share your thoughts and feelings with other people who have or have had depression.
• Read health information about your mental illness to better equip yourself to recognize warning signs and deal withdepression.
• Take steps to reduce stress without avoiding the things you want and need to do.
• Live a healthy lifestyle that includes healthy eating, enough sleep, and regular exercise.
• Develop positive habits and routines.
• Challenge negative beliefs.
• Expect the best from therapy.
• Commit to getting the most out of psychotherapy.
• Take your medications as your doctor tells you to take them.
• Report your progress to your therapist and psychiatrist.
• Keep up with your physical health care appointments.
• Get help if you’re dealing with traumatic stress.

Get help immediately, especially if you’re concerned about suicide prevention. No matter what your mental condition, suicide prevention is always a top priority. That’s because nothing else you do for your mental wellbeing will help you if you don’t take care of suicide prevention whenever those thoughts come up.

How can I lift my mood?

Dealing with depression isn’t easy, but there are some ways to lift a depressed mood. Here are some ideas that might help you with this mental illness when you’re depressed.

• Go outside and take a walk in the sunshine. That natural environment, vitamin D from the sunshine, and exercise from the walk are evidence-based remedies for a low mood.
• Listen to music or create something artistic to express your feelings and reduce negative thoughts.
• Look for peer support from someone who knows what depression is like. Find them in local or online support groups if none of your family members or others you know have ever had symptoms of this mental illness.
• Be prepared for suicide prevention by having the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline website address or its United States number handy.
• See your health care provider to find out if there is any physical basis for your mental illness.
• Avoid drug abuse. It may feel good for a moment, but substance abuse will likely make your mood worse in the long run.
• Take vitamin supplements that have proven effective for treating depression, such as folic acid and B12.

What can reduce pain and depression?

While depression is a mental illness, it can also make physical ailments feel worse. And medical problems like pain can increase your symptoms of depression as well. Because the same neurotransmitters and nerves are affected by both depression and pain, what makes one worse often does the same for the other. Fortunately, it also means what helps one helps the other, too.

Antidepressants, for example, can help both depression and pain at the same time. Although tricyclic antidepressants have been proven helpful, they aren’t prescribed much anymore due to side effects. However, serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) can help both chronic pain and the mental illness of depression with very few side effects.

Exercise can also be extremely helpful in reducing depression and chronic pain. You might be hesitant to go to the gym or take a walk because you fear increased pain. But what actually happens for many people is the brain chemicals that are released during exercise make them feel better, both physically and mentally.

Talking to a counselor is another way to manage pain, depression, and any other mental illness you might have. During therapy, you can change negative thoughts about the pain. When your thoughts are more positive and realistic, you might find that the pain isn’t so distressing. And at the same time, you can reduce your depression to improve your mental health and feel better all the way around.

Can painkillers help with depression?

Not necessarily. Sometimes, painkillers can make mental illness worse.

If you’re depressed and in pain, dealing with your mental illness is as important as relieving your physical symptoms. And it might seem natural to assume that a pain reliever would help you if you’re depressed. In some cases, they can. Painkillers can make you feel more comfortable and less focused on your pain. Then, you can put more effort into avoiding negative thinking and managing symptoms of depression.

But there are two problems that can come up when you’re depressed and take painkillers. The two issues are substance abuse and the interaction of painkillers with antidepressants.

People who take opioids and certain other types of painkillers can develop substance abuse problems. Even though these medications are prescribed, taking them too often is a form of substance abuse called prescription drug abuse. And substance abuse nearly always makes depression worse. In addition, the strongest pain medications can depress your central nervous system, so they can cause depression even if you don’t abuse them.

Also, for many people, the combined mental and physical pain of comorbid depression and chronic pain becomes unbearable. For those people, having opioids or other strong painkillers on hand may be especially dangerous. Many doctors consider suicide prevention a good reason to avoid giving patients with depression the strongest pain medications.

So, you might be thinking you’ll be fine if you stick to over-the-counter pain meds. However, if you are taking antidepressants for mental illness, that might not be the best idea. Taking an OTC NSAID might help you if you don’t have depression. But if you’re taking an SSRI antidepressant, research has shown that certain NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen, as well as aspirin, can prevent the SSRI from providing its full benefit.

Can depression make you gain weight?

Yes. This mental illness can make you gain weight, and it can also cause you to lose weight, depending on the symptoms you have. Suppose one of your symptoms is having a bigger than usual appetite and eating more than you usually do. This combination could cause you to put on weight very rapidly.

You might also stop going out and exercising because you feel too little energy to get out of bed. You’re burning fewer calories, so you’ll naturally tend to add pounds. If you’re too depressed to care what others think of you or too self-critical to believe you can ever look fit and trim, that can also decrease your motivation to stick to healthy eating and exercise. Finally, people who don’t sleep the right number of hours every night tend to gain weight.

Anyone with eating disorders should be especially mindful of their eating habits during depression. But even if the only mental illness you have is depression, it’s a good idea to discuss your eating and sleeping habits with your therapist. If you’re not sure what healthy eating and exercise look like, ask your physician for health information on these topics. Support groups are also helpful for dealing with the weight gain of depression.

Is overeating a symptom of depression?

Yes, it can be. Overeating is one symptom of depression. Some related symptoms are increased appetite and significant weight gain.

But don’t assume that you don’t have depression if you aren’t overeating. Depression can also cause loss of appetite, eating too little, and weight loss.

What is a stressed belly?

Stress belly is a common term that refers to an increase in belly size due to stress. It’s another way a mental illness affects your physical wellbeing. A combination of the effects of the fight-or-flight response and increased cortisol causes you to put on fat around your middle. This happens when you’re under a lot of stress for a long time. And if you have depression, your stress belly might get bigger because of the other effects of that mental illness.

Does depression give you memory loss?

It can, in some cases. One study found that the hippocampus reduced in size after people had major depression. Because the hippocampus is a brain structure that is important in both mood and memory, they both can be affected. They found that this is more likely to happen in people with late-onset depression. But it also happens to a lesser degree for people with early-onset depression.And it happens most often when people are chronically depressed for a long time. Long-term traumatic stress can be especially harmful. Also, people who have been clinically depressed are more likely to develop dementia later in their lives.

Another factor is substance abuse. Many people respond to depression by getting involved in drug abuse. Rather than seek treatment, they self-medicate with alcohol or drugs. Since drugs and alcohol can impair memory, substance abuse is an indirect effect of depression on memory.

What happens to the brain during depression?

Here are several things that happen:

• The hippocampus, a brain structure that manages cortisol to deal with physical and mental stress, decreases in size and produces fewer new brain cells. This causes memory loss.
• The prefrontal cortex, which is involved in making decisions, emotional regulation, and the formation of memories, also begins to shrink.
• The amygdala, which produces emotional responses, becomes larger and hyperactive, causing changes in sleep, activities, and emotions.
• The neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine get out of balance or can’t carry their messages where they’re needed, which causes mood problems.

Fortunately, getting the right treatment as early as possible can reverse or minimize these changes. To get more health information about the effects of depression on your brain, talk to your psychiatrist or therapist.

How can I improve my memory?

First, avoid the damage that can happen if you’re depressed too long. Get help from a therapist or psychiatrist and ask about treatments like antidepressants and psychotherapy. Take some time to gather health information on depression and its effects on memory. Also, get depression support from your family members, who know you and share some of your memories.

If traumatic stress has affected your memory of certain events that you want to remember, therapy is a good way to get those memories back.

If substance abuse has been an issue for you, get help right away. Substance abuse will impair your memory but stopping now will end its damage sooner. And after your substance abuse problem is over, your brain will have the chance to repair itself as much as possible.

Sometimes the best approach to memory problems is to acknowledge them and be ready when they happen.For example, if you’re concerned that you won’t remember the number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, write it on a card and keep it in your wallet. Suicide prevention is something you just can’t afford to leave to chance.

How can I exercise my brain?

Harvard Health offers some interesting suggestions for exercising your brain and improving your memory. Here are some things they suggest.

• Practice remembering the names of everyone you meet by associating their name with an image.
• When you put something in a different place than usual, say the place you’re putting out loud.
• When you want to remember what someone tells you, ask them to talk slowly, then repeat it and think about it.
• Get some physical exercise to boost your brainpower.
• Use cognitive training games to speed up your responses.
• Try meditation or tai chi.

Other things you can do include:

• Try games where you count squares, including squares within squares.
• Do crossword puzzles or other word games.
• Get a book of brain teasers and do one every day.
• Play a complex card game or chess.
• Expand your vocabulary with a word of the day list.
• Practice mindfulness, noticing all the sense information in your environment.
• Learn something new. For instance, you can take up a new hobby, enroll in a college course, or practice a new skill at work.
• Teach something to someone else. As you explain the subject, your brain will have to work in different ways to get the message across.
• Go to work or the store by an unfamiliar route.
• Take a language class or learn it with a language learning app.

How can I make my brain think faster?

Computer and video games designed to improve memory and brain function are a great way to speed up your brain. You have to think and react quickly to make progress in the games. When you succeed, the sights and sounds light up the reward system in your brain, which encourages you to keep going.

Should you always speak your mind?

No, not always. While it is good to speak out about your thoughts and feelings when you can, there are other times when doing so will make matters worse for you or someone else.

Consider what would happen if someone you knew was considering suicide. Maybe you feel impatient with them. You want to tell them to grow up and quit complaining. That could make them feel so much worse that they even make a plan to commit suicide. When it comes to suicide prevention, you need to think very carefully about what to say before you say the first thing that pops into your mind.

Or think about what would happen if you shouted at someone who is dealing with the traumatic stressof spousal abuse. Maybe you only want them to get out of a bad situation. But your angry words might cause them to fear coming to you with problems they desperately need to solve.

Here’s another example of how the wrong words can have a bad effect. If someone is struggling with substance abuse, telling them they’ll never quit using might cause them to give up trying. Your negative thinking may derail their efforts to get clean and sober.

Speaking your mind can be freeing. It can allow you to express your feelings in a healthy way. But you need to be mindful of how your words will affect others you don’t want to hurt. And you need to remember that saying what you think can sometimes make your life harder, too. You might say things you’ll regret later – things that could damage your relationships or ruin your reputation.

So, whether you’re worried about suicide prevention, trying to protect your reputation, or just attempting to get along with someone better, think before you speak. Choose the most appropriate times to vent. The rest of the time, be more thoughtful about your words.