Depression Treatment
When normal, occasional, and fluid feelings of sadness become overwhelming and affect your ability to function, you may be experiencing depression. No one should struggle through feeling this alone. Depression treatment in Washington, DC, is available. So if you’re struggling through daily life, it’s essential to seek help.
Are you unsure whether what you’re experiencing is severe enough to be considered depression? This mood disorder comes in multiple forms, and even if you’re surviving, you may not be thriving. So find out if medication therapy for depression is right for you.
What is depression?
While not everything is understood about depression, there are many chemicals and biological processes that go into mood regulation. These affect our perceptions and experiences. When combined with external factors, out-of-balance mood regulators can cause depressive symptoms. Medication therapy for depression seeks to address these components.
Research has shown that some people with a history of depression have physical differences in their brains. For example, they may have a smaller hippocampus with fewer serotonin receptors through which emotion travels. Neurotransmitters, like serotonin, are vital to emotional processing. So issues with supply or function may cause depressive symptoms.
Hormones also affect how the brain processes emotion. This is why some types of depression, like postpartum, occur with hormonal changes.
There does seem to be a genetic aspect to depression. So you’re more likely to experience depression if others in your family do too.
Depression treatment should take into account the biological side of depression and how it affects your symptoms.
How does medication treatment for depression help?
Therapy for depression includes a combination of client-centered care and medication management to mitigate symptoms that negatively impact your life.
People are sometimes hesitant to take medication. But it may be a necessary and effective part of depression treatment to address brain chemistry problems.
Dealing with symptoms associated with depression can be isolating and frustrating. So if you need medication therapy for depression in Washington DC, Griffin Psychiatric Services can make all the difference.