Some people describe depression as a black, enveloping cloud that descends into their lives making everyday activities seem overwhelming and pointless. They may feel sad and hopeless or tense and restless – symptoms vary from person to person. Often, sleep and appetite are disturbed. Once a person suffers one depressive episode, they are quite likely to have other subsequent episodes. Depression can affect a person’s ability to earn a living, study or maintain important relationships.
Depression symptoms involve more than just a low mood and sad feeling - clinical depression affects 15-18% of Americans and is really a brain disorder characterized by a dysregulation of the depressed person’s own neurotransmitters – the chemical messengers used by the brain to produce feelings, moods, and emotions. Depression can result from a genetic predisposition for the disorder, hormonal imbalances, stress and trauma or the use of mood-altering chemicals.
Clinical depression treatment takes a multifaceted approach at Cottonwood that looks at the whole person. Our board certified psychiatrists are skilled at treating clinical depression using non-habit forming medications to gently re-regulate the depressed person’s brain functioning. Individual and group therapy is helpful in identifying behavioral and attitudinal components of clinical depression and can help patients lighten and stabilize their mood and develop more adaptive ways of managing thoughts and feelings that may act as triggers to depressive episodes. Using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) our therapists help patients to identify and challenge unhealthy or irrational beliefs that can cause emotional pain. Grief groups, trauma therapy and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) can help lessen the emotional resonance of painful memories help patients to explore and process the root causes of their depression.
Over time, depression can actually shrink key areas of the brain. At Cottonwood, our clinicians understand how the right kind of exercise can trigger the release of chemicals that stimulate the growth new brain tissue. We also know that physical activity is also key in optimizing the brain’s ability to think clearly and produce a happy, steady mood.
Good nutrition is an important, though often overlooked, component of recovery from clinical depression. At Cottonwood, our behavioral health dieticians work with patients in developing nutritional plans aimed at ensuring that each person will have sufficient amounts of the right vitamins and amino acids to promote a stable, happy and confident mood.
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