Major Depression Disorder

Get help NOW. Discover treatments for major depression disorders at Lakeview Health.

Major depression disorders can have a serious impact on your life. But thankfully, major depression disorders can be treated and you can recover. Get the help you deserve. Call 1-800-231-2950. The treatments at Lakeview Health are designed to help those suffering from major depression symptoms and get them back into a healthy lifestyle. For immediate assistance, call 1-800-231-2950 now. Our staff is available to take your call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and every call is kept entirely confidential.

Major Depression Symptoms

Depression is a mentally and physically debilitating illness. In fact, major depression disorders account for the most cases of disability in the United States and other developed countries. If you or a loved one is suffering from major depression symptoms, it's time you reached out for help.

Everyone exhibits signs of depression throughout their lifetime, but those suffering from major depression disorders have an extremely difficult time rebounding. Unlike the temporary emotional experiences most people deal with like sadness, moodiness or loss, major depression symptoms can seriously affect an individual's life. For these people, they often turn to drugs or alcohol to cope with this mentally crippling illness.

When drug use turns into drug or alcohol addiction, we term that a dual diagnosis. A dual diagnosis is the co-existence of drug addiction or alcoholism with a mental disorder, such as major depression disorder.

Dual diagnosis addiction treatment programs are able to effectively treat a person battling both substance addiction along with their major depression disorder. If you need dual diagnosis treatment for major depression symptoms and one or more substance addictions, call 1-800-231-2950 now.

What are Major Depression Symptoms?

Major depression disorder usually builds in intensity gradually. In fact, the onset of major depression disorders often aren't even obvious to the individual. It may be a friend or family member who originally notices a slight shift the character of the individual.

People suffering from major depression symptoms will typically exhibit the following characteristics:

• Changes in sleep, energy and appetite
• Prolonged bouts of irritability, agitation or sadness
• Mental sluggishness
• No longer exhibits pleasure or interest in activities that were once enjoyed
• Continued feelings of guilt, hopelessness, worthlessness and emptiness
• Continued thoughts of suicide and death
• Constant headaches, chronic pain and digestive disorders that do not respond to treatments

It is common for many people suffering from major depression disorder to exhibit more than one of these symptoms simultaneously. When these symptoms last longer than two weeks, it is extremely important to get professional help immediately. Depending upon the severity of a person's drug addiction or alcoholism, admission into a drug rehab, alcohol rehab or addiction treatment program with an included dual diagnosis treatment component might be the best option.

What are the Causes of Major Depression Disorders?

Unlike bipolar disorder or regular depression, which can be brought on by a difficult or stressful time on one's life, major depression disorders have been proven to be a biological medical illness. Scientists believe that many cases of major depression disorder are caused by an imbalance in the chemicals being delivered to and from the body's neurotransmitters.

Because the body requires certain levels of dopamine, serotonin and norepinepherine to function properly, if one or more of these chemicals are not being produced enough, the imbalance can cause major depression symptoms. Scientists have also discovered a potential genetic link to major depression disorder as well, meaning that many people may in fact be predisposed to the illness. For patients suffering from a chemical imbalance, antidepressant medications can usually help relieve their symptoms by adjusting the sensitivity of their receptors.

Dual Diagnosis Treatment for Major Depression Symptoms and Substance Addiction

The issue with drug abuse is that in many cases, it becomes progressive in an attempt to manage the depression and turns into addiction or alcoholism. As this process continues, the depression usually worsens. In a case such as this, one can contact an inpatient drug rehab for an evaluation or seek admission into an inpatient addiction treatment program. Detox from the drugs and alcohol is usually warranted. Once the drug or alcohol addiction is treated, we can then effectively address the depression.

Treatment for major depression disorders usually begins with the administration of antidepressant medicines. In many cases, it can take up to four weeks before the patient begins feeling the effect of the medications and up to 12 weeks for the antidepressants to reach their full effect. As with all treatments, it may actually take a few medicine adjustments before the right medication is found for each individual.

Other treatment possibilities include the use of psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and interpersonal therapy (IPT) in addition to the administration of antidepressant medications. For severe depression episodes or when CBT, IBT or psychotherapy have proven ineffective, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has proven to be highly effective.

Inpatient hospitalization might be warranted if the person is in danger of hurting themselves or others, is ineffective in managing their medication or is also suffering from drug addiction or alcoholism.

If you are looking for an effective dual diagnosis program specializing in major depression disorder treatments, call Lakeview Health Systems now at 1-800-231-2950. All calls are completely confidential and our staff is available to assist you 24 hours a day.