If you have a major depressive disorder, here’s how you can treat it

This is a collaborative post

Depression is common nowadays given the stressful events in everyone’s life. You may get upset over small issues if something does not go as planned. You can experience episodes of depression while living alone. The worst form of depression is a major depressive disorder. People with this disorder may experience suicidal thoughts and there is a complete loss of interest in life. When a person feels low self-esteem and hallucinations then it is better to consult with a therapist to treat this condition. 

Symptoms

When depression reaches its full capacity and enters into the adverse stage then it becomes difficult to come out of that phase. Most adults who have lived many years in this trauma tend to experience these symptoms to the point that they lose their senses and do not even notice bladder leakage. The following symptoms may be noticed  in a person with MDD:

• Low mood
• Delusions
• Hallucinations
• Suicidal thoughts
• Persistent low self-esteem
• Loss of pleasure in happy times
• Agitation 
• Insomnia
• Major anger outbursts
• Loss of memory
• Loss of concentration
• Lethargy

All these symptoms may appear to be minor in the initial stage but they may lead to serious consequences if not treated on time. 

Causes

There are a number of causes that are responsible for major depressive disorder. If a person continuously suppresses the feelings and does not share the inhibitions with anyone, depressive episodes are bound to occur. The causes may be as follows:

• Childhood abuse
• Neglect
• Family dysfunction
• Traumatic event
• Genetics
• PTSD

All these factors contribute a lot to the development of MDD. 

Diagnosis

Your thoughts and feelings about yourself and the environment around you will be assessed by a general practitioner or a psychotherapist. A thorough mental state examination will be conducted to identify the root cause. After the diagnosis, your treatment will be designed in such a way that the depressive episodes do not occur frequently and you will be trained to manage the episodes effectively. 

Treatment

There are a number of lifestyle changes that you will need to make to manage the symptoms of MDD. 

1. Exercise

If you think you have MDD then exercise can be the best option for you as increased physical activity distracts you from negative thoughts and diverts your focus on much bigger things in life. 

2. Medications 

Antidepressants are prescribed by the clinical therapists along with some exercise to cope with the symptoms of MDD. One of the best antidepressants is Trintellix. You can get a Trintellix coupon from PricePro Pharmacy at discounted prices. You must take medications only on the proper consultation with your therapist. 

3. Electroconvulsive therapy

This is the extreme form of treatment for patients with MDD. In this treatment, patients are induced with seizures to relieve the symptoms. It is done with the informed consent of the patient. It does have some side effects. The most common after-effects include memory loss. People with bipolar disorder are also given such treatment.