MONDAY, Feb. 27, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- When depression hits, everyday activities like working, socializing, sleeping and even eating can become a daunting challenge.
As James Maddux, emeritus professor of clinical psychology at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., explained, “The problems with both depression and anxiety are the result of what people think about. These thoughts lead to feelings that also affect behavior.”
So how can you deal with the emotional, mental and physical impacts of depression? Maddux, who's also at the university's Center for the Advancement of Wellbeing, shares scientifically backed self-care tips you can use when you or a loved one begin experiencing a bout of depression.
What is depression?
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) states that depression is a serious mental health disorder, and the leading cause of disability in the United States today. It affects about 21 million adults across the country.
The causes of depression are diverse and can include:
Medical conditions such as anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), hypothyroidism and chronic pain can also trigger depressive episodes.
Depression symptoms
Just like the causes of depression, the condition’s symptoms are wide-ranging and vary from person to person, according to NAMI. The signs of depression include:
If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, it’s important to seek help because depression does respond to treatment. Your therapist or another health care provider can check for signs of depression and help you put together a plan to address your depression.
How to deal with depression
For the person with depression, Maddux recommends several self-care strategies that are part of a type of therapy known as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which aims to help people identify negative thinking patterns and change them.
NAMI states that interpersonal therapy to help improve relationships and psychodynamic therapy to address negative patterns of behavior from the past can be used alongside CBT to help treat depression.
In addition, a depression medication may also be prescribed by your doctor to help you manage and improve your symptoms. They include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like Prozac, and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) like Cymbalta.
Helping a loved one with depression
“One of the problems with depression, in particular, is that the person with depression often resists taking advice,” Maddux said. “When people are depressed, they usually have difficulty believing that things are going to get better.”
He noted that for loved ones of people with depression, this means that “the best thing a person can do is to learn how to be a good listener. What I mean by good listener is really provide some empathy, but also resisting giving advice unless a person asks for it.”
Depression can cripple its sufferers, leaving them struggling to do the daily tasks of living, but experts offer advice on how to bounce back from a bad bout of the mood disorder.