Major Depressive Disorder
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a mood disorder that causes a persistent and highly intense feeling of sadness and loss of interest that last at least 2 weeks. MDD can cause significant distress or severely impact your social, occupational or other important areas of your life. To be diagnosis with MDD, the diagnostic criteria require the occurrence of one or more major depressive episodes.
Symptoms of a major depressive episode include the following:
Low Mood (Loss of energy or fatigue)
Anhedonia (diminished loss of interest or pleasure in almost all activities)
Significant weight or appetite changes
Sleeping Patterns Disturbed
Feelings of worthlessness (low self-esteem)
Diminished ability to think, concentrate and make decisions
Recurrent thoughts of death, dying or suicide
Longstanding interpersonal rejection ideation, such as: others would be better off without me, specific suicide plan; and or suicide attempt
MDD can be rated mild, moderate or severe and with or without psychotic features. When the MDD continues for more than two years, it is considered persistent depressive disorder.
Treatment:
MDD can be a combination of several different complementary approaches that work together to reduce symptoms. For one client, it may include medication, nutritional changes, exercise, and/or mental health therapy. For another client, it may include taking supplements/vitamins, practicing mindfulness, or spending lots of time outdoors in nature.
If you think you may suffer from any of the symptoms mentioned above, let’s work together to discuss your treatment options.