Major Depression
Major Depression, also known as clinical depression affects some 17 million Americans each year. Major Depression is characterized by a profound, constant sense of hopelessness and despair. Symptoms of Major Depression make it difficult to work, study, sleep, eat and enjoy life.
With Major Depression you may experience a wide range of physical and emotional symptoms. You may experience fatigue or loss of energy, feel worthless of guilty, have difficulty with concentration, have difficulty sleeping or sleep too much. You may notice a loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed. You might feel restless or sluggish, may have thoughts of suicide or death and may experience significant weight loss or weight gain. If you are experiencing a depressed mood that is present most of the day every day and has lasted for at least two weeks, you may be experiencing Major Depression.
Major Depression can affect both men and women however twice as many women are affected as men. In men, Major Depression can look very different. Signs of depression in men can include irritability, anger and drug or alcohol abuse.
Counseling for Major Depression
Once you have had an episode of major depression you are at an increased risk of having another. The best way to prevent another episode is to know what triggers or causes your depression. Counseling can help you to identify your triggers and cope with them in healthy ways to prevent the onset of depression in the future.
Counselor Rick A. Combs uses a combination of talk therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
(CBT) to treat Major Depression. This combined approach addresses the affects that depression is having on your life, work and relationships as well as addressing the thoughts and behaviors that are keeping your depression going. The focus of CBT is on identifying and challenging those thought and beliefs about yourself, your life and your future that keep you feeling depressed. This form of therapy has proven to be effective at reducing the symptoms of depression in most people and teaching you the skills to better manage your mood in order to prevent depression from reoccurring in the future.