The pressures of everyday life can compound and drag people into the doldrums. Most people use healthy coping skills to deal with their feelings; once the stressful situations resolve, their emotions return to normal. However, some people experience a funk they can’t seem to shake. When this feeling persists, it impacts their daily lives to the point where they may isolate themselves from those who love them the most.
These feelings go beyond life’s normal ups and downs, signaling the onset of a major depressive disorder. If a loved one is struggling with depression, you may have tried to help and support them, but your efforts have been in vain. As they sink deeper and deeper, you grow more fearful that you will lose them forever. Fortunately, interventions for depression can provide the motivation your loved one needs to seek professional help.
Addiction Interventions provide top-tier intervention services in Southern California that help your loved ones and your family heal. Call us toll-free today to learn more about our intervention services for adults.
The signs of depression are going to vary in each individual. There are several conditions that fall under the depression disorder umbrella. These disorders include the following:
While each disorder has unique characteristics, there are symptoms of depression that are common across all depressive disorders. These include:
While a person suffering from a depressive disorder may not experience all of these symptoms, five of these symptoms need to present for at least two weeks to warrant a diagnosis of clinical depression. Additionally, depression can co-occur with conditions such as ADHD, heart disease, and anxiety disorders.
One of the biggest risks of a dual diagnosis is that either the mental illness or the substance abuse will be overlooked. Because of the situation, they find themselves in, they may not realize the problem they have is severe. Overlooking one or the other can be devastating. Without treatment one or both disorders can get out of control rather easily. The risk of having both a mental illness as well as a substance abuse problem is that neither of them will receive the treatment they need, leaving the patient in worse shape than ever before.
While parallel treatment seems like a logical solution, it is rather ineffective. It can be difficult to determine which symptoms are associated with which problem. Now doctors recommend taking an integrative approach. Instead of having a team develop a treatment plan for the mental illness and a different team develop a treatment plan for the substance abuse, one team will take care of both disorders at the same time. With this type of treatment, one team will be able to observe and make adjustments to the treatment plan, It allows for a more complete treatment program that is more effective and has a better success rate. Having one treatment team also eliminates any miscommunication between doctors that could disrupt the treatment plan.
There isn’t one single universal cause for depression. In fact, many underlying factors make people vulnerable to developing depression in their lifetime. One common underlying cause is a family history of depression and other mental illnesses. With family history, there may be a genetic link passed on through generations, but it doesn’t mean that people with family history are going to develop this disorder. Another common cause of depression is stressful events that linger because of a lack of healthy coping skills.
People with personality traits such as low self-esteem or being overly self-critical are more vulnerable to developing depression. For women, the drastic hormonal changes associated with birth can cause chemical imbalances that can lead to the development of depression. Similarly, changes in neurotransmitter production and functioning can also play a role. These changes can be either due to substance abuse or a brain injury.
Depression is a treatable condition. While depression can be managed with the help of mental health professionals, there are many people who are reluctant to seek treatment. The main reason for this reluctance is the strong and long-prevailing stigma attached to mental illness. While a substantial body of research shows that depression is a disease, there is still the thought that depression is due to a spiritual and moral breakdown. Secondly, depression treatment programs can be costly, and people may be underinsured or uninsured.
For those who struggle with the signs of depression, some people will turn to drug abuse to cope with their depressive symptoms. While drugs and alcohol provide short-term relief from the symptoms of depression, using substances in this manner does more harm than good in the long run. In many ways, substances are a “blanket” solution, and their only benefit is to temporarily reduce symptoms, but with long-term health risks.
Without actually addressing the underlying causes through depression treatment programs, people will become more unstable and fall further away from family and other loved ones. Unfortunately, people who use substances to escape their depression are very likely to develop a substance abuse problem in addition to their untreated depression. This creates a condition known as dual diagnosis, which is extremely difficult to treat.
For those who use substances to cope with their depression, some substances will worsen their depression. For example, alcohol is a potent depressant that can make feelings worse once its effects diminish. A dual diagnosis intervention may be beneficial for those suffering from alcohol addiction and depression.
For those who use cocaine, meth, or other stimulants, the immense rush of euphoria and energy is replaced by more intense feelings of depression once the effects of the drug wear off. To prevent those feelings from returning, people will continue to use drugs, worsening their condition.
If you are dealing with a family member who has depression and is reluctant to enter treatment, you may wonder what you can do to persuade them to get help. Fortunately, there are a growing number of facilities offering depression intervention services.
Addiction Interventions is a nationally recognized intervention program provider that helps addicts and their loved ones heal. Our evidence-based approach simplifies the intervention process and makes recovery a collaborative effort. Whether looking for mental health or drug interventions in Southern California, we can help.
We can help you find detox, outpatient programs, and other services for your loved one. Our experienced and compassionate team of professionals will be with you every step of the way to help you, and your loved one break the vicious cycle of mental illness and substance abuse. Call Addiction Interventions today.
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