Major depressive disorder, also known as depression, is a mood disorder that leaves you feeling constantly sad or uninterested in life.

It is common for people to feel sad or depressed from time to time. The reaction is normal when you have suffered a loss or faced a challenge in your life. If you feel helpless, hopeless, and worthless for many days to weeks and are unable to live your life, it may be something more than sadness. There is a possibility that you have clinical depression, a medical condition that can be treated.

Feeling down is not the only sign associated with the onset of depression. You may experience a physical change in your brain as a result. Your thoughts, feelings, and actions can be affected by this. These changes aren’t known to be caused by anything in particular. Inflammation, stress, and genetics may play a role.

People suffer from grief when a loved one passes away, when they lose their jobs, or when a relationship ends. When such situations occur, it is normal to feel sad or grieved. It is common for people who have experienced loss to describe themselves as “depressed.”

However, being sad differs in many ways from being depressed. Grieving is a natural and unique process that shares some of the same characteristics as depression. There may be a feeling of intense sadness and an individual may exhibit behavior such as a withdrawal from usual activities during either grief or depression.

Major depression is characterized by a decrease in mood and/or interest (pleasure) for a long period of time. Self-loathing and feelings of worthlessness are common in major depression. As a result of feelings of worthlessness or unworthiness or unable to cope with the pain of depression, people with major depression think about ending their lives.

Depressive disorders cannot be cured. It’s possible that your symptoms will disappear over time, but the condition will remain. However, with the right care and treatment, you can reach remission and live a long, healthy life.

Mild depression may be treated using psychotherapy alone; moderate to severe depression may be treated using psychotherapy along with antidepressant medications. In the treatment of depression, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been found to be effective. The focus of CBT is to assist patients with shifting their thinking and focusing on the solving of problems in the present. The goal of CBT is to recognize and correct distorted/negative thinking so that a person can respond to challenges in a more positive way.

In psychotherapy, the individual may be the only participant, but others may also be involved. It is possible to address issues within these close relationships through family or couple therapy, for example. People with similar illnesses can benefit from group therapy by learning how others cope in similar situations and interacting with others.

Treatment for depression may take a few weeks or several months, depending on its severity. A significant improvement can often be achieved in 10 to 15 sessions.

Chronic depression may cause long-term changes in the brain, particularly in the hippocampus. It might be for this reason that some people find depression so hard to treat. In addition, people who were diagnosed with lifelong major depression but had not suffered from depression for years had lower gray matter volumes.

There is no clear answer as to which comes first, depression or inflammation. Those who suffer from major depression, on the other hand, have high levels of translocator proteins. Inflammation of the brain is linked to those chemicals. People with untreated major depressive disorder for more than 10 years have higher levels of these proteins.

Studies show depression can lower GMV in the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus. Growing evidence also supports that some areas of the brain shrink during depression.

Treatment for depression is available at Body & Mind Consulting. We serve clients in Murfreesboro, Nolensville, Brentwood, Franklin, Smyrna, Mt Juliet TN, and surrounding areas.