TMS Health Solution Talks Clinical Depression 101

Major Depressive Disorder, more commonly known as clinical depression, can be an allusive and complex mental disorder. Allusive in the way that it manifests differently in every individual it affects. Complex because it not only affects one’s mood but it can also disrupt sleeping, eating, and behavioral patterns. Such individualized interferences can limit one’s drive to take on major life activities.

On the spectrum of depression, clinical depression is the most severe and requires the attention of mental health professionals, hence the “clinical” descriptor. When clinical depression lasts for 2 years or longer, its known as persistent depressive disorder or PDD. And when clinical depression doesn’t yield to treatment, it is referred to as treatment-resistant depression or TRD. Clinical depression can have life-altering consequences, so combating your depression needs to take priority in your life.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an estimated 16.2 million adults in the United States, roughly 6.7% of the population, had at least one major depressive episode in 2016. To bring about lasting change to the clinical depression epidemic that our nation faces, we must first arm ourselves with some basic information about this disorder. In this vein, TMS Health Solutions would like to help you explore some of the basic facts about clinical depression.

Symptoms of Clinical Depression

As discussed above, clinical depression comes with a variety of symptoms. While one person might have feelings of worthlessness, another person’s depression might cause unexplained physical problems, such as back pain or headaches. Clinical depression is generally marked by a change in mood that lasts more than two weeks. Two principal signs of clinical depression are overwhelming emotions of grief or sadness and loss of interest in activities you usually enjoy. But again, the symptoms of clinical depression are hardly one size fits all.

One of the primary tools of mental health care professionals is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, more simply known as the DSM-5. It’s published by the American Psychiatric Association, and mental health professionals use the DSM-5 to establish symptom criteria for clinical depression. Such symptoms include:

• feelings of sadness, hopelessness, or emptiness
• irritability or frustration, even over small matters
• anhedonia or loss of interest or pleasure in one’s normal activities, such as sports, social outings, or hobbies
• disturbances in sleep, including sleeping too much or too little
• tiredness or having a general lack of energy, draining one’s ability to manage small tasks
• loss of appetite and weight loss, or increased cravings for food and weight gain
• anxiety, restlessness, or being easily agitated
• slowed thinking, speaking, or body movements
• trouble thinking, making decisions, concentrating, and remembering
• frequent or recurrent thoughts of death, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts, or suicide

Diagnosing Clinical Depression

Another tool mental health clinicians use to screen, diagnose, and monitor clinical depression is the PHQ-9 questionnaire. By answering a series of questions ranging from “Have you had trouble concentrating on things, such as reading or watching television?" to "Are you moving so slowly that other people could have noticed?," patients help professionals gauge the severity of their depression.

Causes of Clinical Depression

No one is entirely sure what causes clinical depression. But such factors as a person’s brain chemistry, genetics, head injuries, and hormones can all contribute. Environmental factors can also play a role, possibly by triggering the disorder in people who are already genetically predisposed. Finding the cause or causes of clinical depression can be an important step when determining a course of treatment or manner of prevention.

Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder, or manic depression, is like clinical depression in that they share many symptoms. But while clinical depression looms over its victims relentlessly, sufferers of bipolar disorder have their depressive symptoms interrupted by periods of great highs. Of course, there are good days and bad days for those dealing with clinical depression but for those living with manic depression, their bad days are interrupted by symptoms of:

• increased energy
• rapid speech
• hypersexual behavior
• racing thoughts
• grandiose ideas
• sleeplessness
• irritability
• greatly increased activity
• impulsivity
• poor judgment

Treatment

Traditionally, clinical depression has been treated with antidepressant medications or various forms of talk therapy. Among antidepressants, the most common are serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs. SSRIs treat depression by increasing the levels of serotonin in one’s brain. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that carry signals between brain cells and is partially responsible for mood regulation. SSRIs block the reabsorption of serotonin in the brain, making more serotonin available. While SSRIs are preferred over other antidepressants because of their lower chance of side-effects, some patients are unable to take the medication or see little response with SSRIs.

Talk therapy is also used to treat clinical depression, often in conjunction with medication. Talking with a therapist or social worker, alone or in a group setting, can help alleviate the symptoms of depression. One form of talk therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, has gained a strong reputation for helping patients understand their mental illnesses and better manage them. Cognitive behavior therapy, or CBT for short, is generally short-term therapy that focuses on helping clients deal with a specific problem. During CBT treatment, people learn how to identify and change destructive or disturbing thought patterns that can have a negative influence on emotions and behaviors.

Beyond the traditional means of addressing clinical depression, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation is changing the way the mental health community looks at treating the disorder. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, or TMS, is a non-invasive treatment that has virtually no side-effects. Using the power of electromagnetics, nerves are painlessly stimulated, and cortical neurons are depolarized, creating lasting relief from clinical depression for some patients. TMS treatment can also be used alongside medications and talk therapy for a comprehensive approach to treating clinical depression. If you would like to know more about TMS treatment in Northern California, check out TMS Health Solutions.