Depression is a mental health condition that interferes with your ability to function day-to-day by causing negative thoughts, emotions, and mood changes. The most common characteristic of depression is a deep and often overpowering sadness.

With ordinary sadness, your feelings return to normal after a short time. With depression, however, your low mood continues for months or even longer without treatment. Depression often intensifies if it goes untreated.

Depression causes many disruptive symptoms, such as:

• Persistent sadness
• Feelings of shame
• Feelings of self-blame and guilt
• Self-loathing
• Low self-esteem
• Low energy
• Difficulty concentrating
• Memory lapses 
• Insomnia or sleeping too much
• Dramatic appetite and weight changes
• Libido loss
• Loss of interest in your hobbies 
• Avoiding other people 

Depression affects every part of your life and often makes it difficult or impossible to manage your work, relationships, and other responsibilities. It may lead to suicidal thoughts, particularly if it isn’t addressed.

People with depression have reduced amounts of neurotransmitters, the brain chemicals that regulate mood. Depression may have multilayered causes. Genetics, hormones, trauma, and underlying health conditions like thyroid disease may all contribute.

Customized mental health care can relieve depression effectively and improve your quality of life. At Pulse Healthcare Solutions, Dr. Banor, a doctoral-prepared nurse practitioner, provides personalized treatment plans for depression. The treatment approach often includes:

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is “talk” therapy in which you and Dr. Banor discuss your feelings, thoughts, moods, and behaviors in detail. She uses proven psychotherapy approaches to help you prevent negativity and replace negative thoughts and feelings with positive ones. 

 Psychotherapy can help you learn more about yourself so you can better manage your depression.

Medication

Medication and psychotherapy form the first-line treatment for depression. Medication increases neurotransmitter levels to help improve your mood. Generally, medication takes around six weeks to take effect.

Spravato 

Up to one-third of Americans with depression experience treatment-resistant depression, in which their condition doesn’t improve despite psychotherapy and medication. Spravato® is a medication that offers incredible results for treatment-resistant depression*. 

People with depression lose brain connections, which prolongs their issues. Spravato increases glutamate, which is a different neurotransmitter than the ones that antidepressants affect. It helps regrow lost brain connections and improves the mood almost instantly. 

Call Pulse Healthcare Solutions or click the online scheduler for empathetic depression care today. 

*Spravato is FDA-approved for treatment-resistant depression.