Comprehensive Depression Treatment in Los Angeles
Being one of the most common mental health conditions means millions of people experience depression every year. Additionally, many people have co-occurring disorders like substance use disorder (SUD), which further complicates long-term recovery when left untreated. Unfortunately, people often avoid depression treatment and rehabilitation for SUD.
Many factors contribute to avoiding therapy for depression and substance use, such as guilt and shame from stigma. However, if left untreated, these mental health conditions can impair functioning and ruin your daily life. Despite your fears or doubts about your deservingness of support, seeking help in a treatment program can help you heal and achieve wellness in long-term recovery.
What Is Depression?
Depression is one of the many mood disorders that disrupts the well-being, health care, and daily life of people living with mental illness. Unaddressed depression can significantly impact your life, impairing your ability to function and fulfill your day-to-day responsibilities.
Yet, what exactly is depression? Many think depression only causes feelings of sadness, but it extends far beyond that. Mood disorders like depression deeply influence your emotional state, thought processes, and well-being.
Everyone feels sad or down from time to time. Experiencing grief or sadness after the loss of a loved one, job loss, or the end of a relationship is a normal response. However, those low feelings typically go away after a short time and do not completely disrupt your daily life.
In contrast, depression highlights mental health issues with persistent and severe symptoms that can devastate your mental wellness. Not only does depression impact how you feel and think, but it also impairs functioning in your daily life.
Some of the ways mental health issues like depression can impair daily functioning include:
- Sleeping
- Eating
- Working
- Memory
- Interest in the things and activities you once enjoyed
Impaired functioning harms your interpersonal relationships and ability to maintain your responsibilities at work, school, and home.
Major Depressive Disorder and Its Impact on Health
Depression, also known as major depressive disorder (MDD) or clinical depression, can significantly impair your health and well-being due to the physical and mental discomfort it causes. To be diagnosed with major depressive disorder, you typically experience feeling sad, low, or worthless most days for at least two weeks. You may also experience other symptoms, such as sleep issues, changes in appetite, and loss of interest in activities.
Some of the physical and mental health symptoms of clinical depression include:
- Low mood
- Sadness
- Emptiness
- Hopelessness
- In children and adolescents, low mood often presents as irritability
- Feelings of worthlessness and intense guilt
- Low energy or fatigue
- Slowed speech
- Decrease in movement
- Impaired cognitive function
These physical and mental changes may increase your risk of developing chronic conditions. Some common co-occurring disorders with depression include:
- Substance use
- Panic disorder
- Social anxiety disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Self-destructive behaviors, including the risk of suicide
Recognizing the signs and symptoms of depression and understanding other mood disorders and co-occurring disorders is one way to better prepare for combating such conditions.
Understanding Mood Disorders
Mood disorders are mental health conditions that primarily affect your emotional state. Depending on the kind of mental illness, mood disorders can contribute to long periods of extreme emotions, from happiness and sadness to anger and irritability. Mood disorders that can impact the well-being of you or your loved one include:
Depression and Its Subtypes
Like other mood disorders, depression includes a variety of conditions. Some of the most common types of depression include:
- Persistent depressive disorder (PDD): Previously known as dysthymia
- Causes long-term, but less severe symptoms than major depressive disorder
- Postpartum depression or peripartum depression: Occurs during or after pregnancy
- You experience significant physical, psychological, and social changes during and post-pregnancy
- Seasonal affective disorder (SAD): Occurs during certain seasons of the year
- Typically starts during late autumn or early winter and lasts into the spring or summer
- Other depression related conditions
- Depression and psychosis
- Severe depression combined with psychotic episodes
- Hallucinations and delusions
- Severe depression combined with psychotic episodes
- Medical condition-related depression
- Loss of pleasure in most or all activities due to the effects of a health problem
- Chronic pain, hyperthyroidism, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis
- Loss of pleasure in most or all activities due to the effects of a health problem
- Substance use-related depression
- Some medications can cause depression as a side effect
- Abusing substances can contribute to or exacerbate symptoms of depression
- Withdrawal can cause symptoms of depression
- Depression and psychosis
Bipolar Disorder and Its Subtypes
Mood disorders like bipolar disorder are a lifelong mental health condition that causes intense shifts in mood and energy, and unhealthy thinking patterns and behavior. These mood swings can include intense highs and lows that shift from one to another or to a typical mood, occurring continuously.
Several types of bipolar disorder can impede your health and well-being:
- Bipolar I disorder
- One or more episodes of mania
- Manic and depressive episodes
- Causes significant impairment in daily life
- Increases the risk of addiction
- Bipolar II disorder
- Depressive and hypomanic episodes
- Hypomania is a less severe form of mania episodes
- Does not typically diminish functioning
- Increases the risk of addiction
- Depressive and hypomanic episodes
- Cyclothymia disorder or cyclothymia
- Chronically unstable mood with significant emotional highs and lows that impair functioning
- Hypomania and milder depressive episodes
- Other specified and unspecified bipolar disorder and related disorders
- Symptoms of bipolar disorder that highlight significant and abnormal changes in mood, but do not meet the criteria for the other forms of bipolar disorder
- Medical condition-related bipolar disorder
- Bipolar disorder symptoms brought on by medical conditions
- Cushing’s disease
- Multiple sclerosis
- Traumatic brain injury
- Stroke
- Bipolar disorder symptoms brought on by medical conditions
- Substance use-related bipolar disorder
- Bipolar disorder symptoms that stem from medication side effects or substance abuse
Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD)
- A more intense form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
- Physical and emotional symptoms that typically start a week or two before your period
- Irritability, brain fog, food cravings, anxiety, and sadness
- Bloating, fatigue, sore breasts, pelvic pain, constipation, and diarrhea
- Can experience one or more mild or severe PMS symptoms that disrupt daily life
- Symptoms typically go away once your period starts
- Physical and emotional symptoms that typically start a week or two before your period
- With PMDD, you experience PMS symptoms and mood symptoms
- Mood symptoms can include extreme irritability, anger, insomnia, anxiety, and depression
Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- DMDD symptoms are typically seen in children and adolescents
- Symptoms typically start around the age of ten
- Symptoms of DMDD include chronic, intense emotions
- Extreme irritability
- Frequent anger outbursts
- A severe form of intermittent explosive disorder (IED)
- Unlike IED, DMDD symptoms consist of persistent feelings of anger most of the time
The physical and psychological symptoms of mood disorders can have a profound impact on your ability to function and maintain responsibilities in your daily life. Disruptive symptoms like headaches, stomachaches, irritability, and sadness can lead to unhealthy thinking and behaviors, such as substance abuse and suicidal thoughts.
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