Depression drains energy, hope, and drive, making it difficult to take the necessary steps to help yourself or a loved one feel better. Sometimes just thinking about the things one should do to feel better, like exercising or spending time with friends, can seem exhausting or impossible to put into action. Even the thought of seeking professional help can feel daunting. Here at Pristine Mental Health, we want to help lift the heavy fog of depression through various treatment options suitable for you or a loved one.
“It’s so difficult to describe depression to someone who’s never been there, because it’s not sadness. I know sadness. Sadness is to cry and to feel. But it’s that cold absence of feeling — that really hollowed-out feeling.”— J.K. Rowling
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, Major Depressive Disorder affects approximately 17.3 million American adults, or about 7.1% of the U.S. population age 18 and older, in a given year.
Depression is one of the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric ailments and, subsequently, one of the most severe. Depression can adversely impact one’s daily life, leading to difficulty with personal relationships, loss of interest in individual activities, and even suicidal ideation.
Symptoms of depression may include feelings of anxiety or sadness, anhedonia (inability to experience pleasure), and hopelessness, but may also manifest in the form of headaches, GI discomfort, fatigue, and weight loss.
The PHQ-9 is a self-evaluation to assess depression symptoms and to monitor severity.
The exact cause of depression is not fully understood, but at its core it is a psychiatric ailment caused by structural and chemical changes in the brain. Other factors pertaining to lifestyle, environment, genetics, and trauma can also contribute to depression.
At Pristine Mental Health, our treatment options include a broad spectrum of services, including medication management and interventional psychiatry, such as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS).
To get started:
To learn more about how depression is treated through TMS therapy click here.
“You say you’re ‘depressed’ — all I see is resilience. You are allowed to feel messed up and inside out. It doesn’t mean you’re defective — it just means you’re human.”― David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas
