Depression isn't just feeling sad or being in a funk because you’ve had a letdown or a significant loss. And it isn’t something you can just “get over.” Depression is a serious mental health disorder that affects the way your brain and the rest of your body function. Without treatment, depression can wreak havoc on your health.
About 8.3% — or 21 million — women and men in the United States have had at least one episode of clinical depression. Symptoms run the gamut from emotional to physical distress and include:
If you have depression, you don’t have to suffer. Christopher Riegel, MD, and our expert team at The Riegel Center in Plano, Texas, offer science-based therapies and medications to help you feel better and thrive.
Here are five reasons why seeking help is a good idea when you have depression.
When you have depression, you may feel heavy, empty, and joyless. You may have withdrawn from activities that you once adored because they just don’t interest you anymore.
Whether you feel sad or you just don’t see the point in anything, living with depression is like being under a heavy cloud. Antidepressant medications work gradually to help your brain function better and more efficiently.
Antidepressants alter the way that your brain uses important chemicals called neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters help your brain communicate with your body and also aid in how your brain processes information it receives. Key neurotransmitters whose function is aided by antidepressants include serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine.
In addition to working with you to restore your brain’s healthy balance of neurotransmitters, your provider uses evidence-based talk therapy, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), to help you reframe negative thoughts and feelings. Through your work with your counselor, you learn techniques to manage stress and stabilize your moods.
When you feel better, everything around you tends to improve, too. Treating depression makes you less irritable, so you’re less likely to snap at your significant other, children, or co-workers.
You’re better able to participate in life’s daily activities without feeling overwhelmed. Treating depression also has a welcome side effect: It can increase your libido and increase your connection to your partner, for more intimacy and satisfaction in your relationship.
One complication of depression is insomnia, which may take the form of not being able to sleep at night, waking up frequently, or waking up too early. Unfortunately, when you don’t get enough sleep, that affects how well your brain functions the next day.
In a vicious cycle, lack of sleep makes your depression worse and your depression makes it harder to sleep. The cycle repeats until it’s interrupted by medications and therapy that help your brain relax so you can get the deep, restorative sleep it needs each night.
Untreated depression can lead to a range of serious health risks, including dementia. Depression affects the way your brain functions, which is why you may have trouble focusing or remembering things or you may feel like your brain is in a “fog.”
In one study of 46,000 people with depression, those who were treated for depression had a lower risk for dementia than those who weren’t treated. Talk therapy, such as CBT, seems to be particularly effective in reducing risk.
Depression can also lead to other health problems, such as becoming overweight or underweight. Imbalances in your neurotransmitters can affect your appetite, leading you to eat too much or too little.
In addition, if you don’t receive medical treatment and therapy for your depression, you’re at increased risk for self-medication, turning to alcohol or recreational drugs to try to feel better (temporarily). However, substance use only exacerbates depression.
The most serious side effect of untreated depression is suicidal ideation or action. If you or someone you know has engaged in self-harm, talks or thinks about suicide, or has tried to commit suicide, call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline immediately. Simply dial or text 988 on your phone to speak to a counselor.
If you’ve thought about seeking treatment for your depression, we’re here for you. Feel better and get your life back by contacting The Riegel Center by phone or online form today.
