This document discusses chronic depression, including its symptoms, causes, risk factors, diagnosis, and treatment options. Chronic depression is a mood disorder that causes feelings of sadness, lack of interest, and other emotional and physical problems. It has several subtypes depending on additional symptoms experienced. Diagnosis involves psychological evaluation and may include medical tests. Treatment typically involves medications, psychotherapy, lifestyle changes, and in severe cases, hospitalization or electroconvulsive therapy. Major depressive disorder affects about 15% of Americans at some point in their lives.

1. Crimson Depree
MY CHRONIC DEPRESSION

2. • Mood disorder
• Affects how you feel, think, and behave
• Can lead to variety of emotional and physical
problems
CHRONIC DEPRESSION

3. • Anxious distress: depression with unusual restlessness and worry about
possible events or loss of control
• Mixed Features: simultaneous depression and mania
• Melancholic features: severe depression with lack of response to
something that used to bring pleasure
• Atypical Features: depression that includes ability to be cheered
• Psychotic Features: depression accompanied by delusions or hallucinations
• Catatonia: depression that includes uncontrollable motor activity
• Peripartum Onset: depression that occurs during pregnancy
• Seasonal pattern: depression related to changes in seasons
TYPES OF DEPRESSION

4. • Anxiety
• Apathy
• General discontent
• Guilt
• Hopelessness
• Loss of interest
• Mood swings
• Agitation
• Excessive crying
• Irritability
• Social isolation
• Lack of concentration
• Thoughts of suicide
• Sadness
BEHAVIORAL SYMPTOMS

5. • Early awakening
• Excess sleepiness
• Insomnia
• Excessive hunger
• Fatigue
• Loss of appetite
• Weight gain
• Weight loss
PHYSIOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS

6. • Biological Differences: appear to have physical changes in
brain
• Brain Chemistry: certain neurotransmitters are excessive or
there is a deficiency
• Hormones: changes in body’s balance may trigger depression
• Inherited traits: more common in people whose blood relatives
also have this condition
CAUSES

7. • Often begins in teens, 20s, or 30s, but it can happen at any age
• More women are diagnosed
• Low self-esteem and being too dependent or pessimistic
• Traumatic or stressful events
• Childhood trauma or depression starting as a teen or child
• Blood relatives with a history of the disorder
• History of other mental health disorders
• Abuse of alcohol or illegal drugs
• Serious or chronic illness
• Certain medications
RISK FACTORS

8. • Physical Exam: depression may be linked to an
underlying physical health problem
• Lab Tests: may do a blood test or test your thyroid ot
make sure it’s functioning properly
• Psychological Evaluation: will ask about your
symptoms, thoughts, feelings, and behavior patterns;
may be a questionnaire
• DSM-5: may use criteria listed by this
DIAGNOSIS

9. • Medications
• Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors
• Serotonin-norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors
• Norepinephrine-dopamine Reuptake Inhibitors
• Atypical Antidepressents
• Tricyclic Antidepressants
• Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors
TREATMENT

10. • Hospital and Residential
• May be necessary if you can’t care for yourself properly or if you are in
immediate danger of harming yourself
• Other Options
• Electroconvulsive Therapy
• Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
TREATMENT (CONT’D)

11. • Psychotherapy
• Treatment of mental disorder by psychological rather than medical means
• Through this, the patient learns about their condition and their moods,
thoughts, and behaviors
• Helps you learn to take control of your life and respond to challenging
situations with healthy coping skills
THERAPIES

12. • Try to be active and exercise
• Set goals for yourself
• Try to spend time with others and confide in a trusted relative
• Try not to isolate yourself
• Postpone important decisions
• Educate yourself about depression
ALTERNATIVE TREATMENT

13. • Major depressive disorder affects approximately 14.8 million
American adults
• Affects approximately 6.7 percent of U.S. population age 18
over older in a given year
• More prevalent in women than in men
• People with depression are four times as likely to develop a
heart attack than those without a history of the illness
STATISTICS

14. I feel like no one understands me and what I am going through.
ALONE

15. I feel like I can not focus or concentrate and I am restless.
RESTLESS

16. I feel that I am going to fail at everything that I do.
FAILURE

17. I am so tired and exhausted that I feel like I can not do anything.
FATIGUED

18. I am too exhausted and fatigued to even eat and have even lost weight.
LOSS OF APPETITE

19. I am disappointed in myself for everything that I do, especially my failures.
DISAPPOINTMENT

20. I also feel guilty about my life and its failures.
GUILT

21. I feel like I can’t help myself and no one can help me get over this.
HELPLESS