When it comes to a dual diagnosis, depression and anxiety are two mental health diagnoses that will often occur together. It is common for someone with major depression or another mood disorder to develop anxiety, or for someone with an anxiety condition, like generalized anxiety, panic disorder, or OCD, to begin to experience depression. These two challenges may also occur independently of one another but manifest at the same time. Living with both anxiety and depression simultaneously can be significantly more challenging for your mental well being, but as these two separate conditions often occur together, they remain extremely treatable.…
read moreSeasonal Affective Disorder, often called SAD or seasonal depression, is a form of depression that develops for a limited period of time, most often in the winter. About 3% of people experience seasonal affective disorder which can have all the same symptoms as clinical depression, making it difficult to go about your everyday life and leaving you feeling extremely unhappy. Because seasonal depression can have an intensely negative effect for several months of the year, having strategies to prevent them and knowing how to respond if you feel the onset of SAD can help you keep your moods more balanced…
read moreYour body’s functioning is controlled by hormones. This includes the emotions you feel as well. When these hormones are present in the brain, they are called neurotransmitters and they play a role in making you feel happy, sad, stressed, and angry. The four neurotransmitters tied to happiness are serotonin, dopamine, endorphins, and oxytocin. When something good happens, these neurotransmitters will flood your brain, making you feel content. Over time, the brain will reabsorb these neurotransmitters and the feelings will dissipate. When you can increase how often and how much neurotransmitters are released in the brain, you can often increase how…
read moreHappiness is not a long term state, but rather one that fluctuates day to day, and even throughout the day. It is also not an emotion that is completely out of your control. While there are some factors of happiness that you cannot change, such as genetics and environment, about 40% of happiness is completely within your control. You can start changing your emotional state and working towards being happier by identifying what you can change and making alterations. These small steps – backed by scientific research – are easy ways to improve your happiness. Quick Ways to Be Happier …
read moreMany people who experience depression feel that it begins without a specific event to trigger its onset, but others can pinpoint a specific moment that led to their feelings of sadness, stress, hopelessness, and a sense of being overwhelmed or unable to face the day. In many cases, this may be situational depression. Situational depression is considered an “adjustment disorder with depressed mood.” Since it is a different condition than clinical depression or other depressive disorders, it can be helpful to know how the symptoms you may experience differ from those commonly associated with depression and what steps you should…
read moreDepression affects millions of people, both men and women, each year. This makes it likely that at some point in your relationship, you might find that your partner is experiencing symptoms of depression. This can be a challenging time for both of you. Depression is hard for the person experiencing it, but it can also cause strain in a relationship and leave the person not experiencing depression unsure of what to do and how to help. While you do not need to be an expert in psychology, knowing a few tips on how to support your partner through depression can…
read moreDepression affects both men and women, but the way the different genders individually experience depression in terms of symptoms and coping skills will often vary. This is due to a few factors, including genetics, the ways the brain processes information, experiences, and societal expectations for men and women. The separate symptoms add to the challenge of knowing that you may have depression and realizing that you need to take the first step toward getting treatment. Gendered Symptoms and Coping Mechanisms of Depression What a person experiences when they have depression is almost always highly individual from person to person, but…
read moreComorbidity occurs when a person suffers from two illnesses at the same time. They can be both chronic illnesses that affect your physical health, a mental health issue and a physical health issue, or two or more mental health conditions that impact you simultaneously. One of the most common comorbidity combinations in mental health is a mood disorder, like depression or bipolar disorder, combined with a substance abuse problem. These form a complex pairing in which both will continue to exacerbate the effects of the other, creating a cycle of depression and dependence that can be extremely difficult to break…
read moreLiving with insomnia can be extremely frustrating. You lie down to go to sleep, feeling tired, but as soon as your head hits the pillow, you find you are wide awake and no amount of tossing and turning can help you fall asleep. Many people who experience this attribute it simply to insomnia, but only about 10% of insomnia diagnoses are pure insomnia, meaning they have no outside cause. More often, insomnia is the result of another mental health challenge, but effective treatment will involve looking at both issues concurrently. External Causes of Insomnia Some of the most frequent mental…
read moreDepression is most often characterized by the emotional symptoms it brings- persistent low mood, hopelessness, sadness, and worthlessness – that can make day to day life difficult and be extremely taxing on your mental well being. But the mind and body are heavily connected and when you experience depression, the challenges do not stop with just your mental health. Many people will also experience physical health problems when depression is left untreated. How Depression Can Affect You Physically Depression can have both short term and long term physical health challenges that often get worse the longer depression goes untreated. Common…
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