About Clinical Depression

Affective disorders include both depression and manic depression.

Common symptoms of clinical depression include:

• Prolonged feelings of sadness, anxiety, or hopelessness
• Sense of impending doom or disaster
• Reduced enjoyment and pleasure
• Loss of energy and motivation
• Low self-esteem, feelings of worthlessness or guilt
• Indecisiveness, reduced concentration, slow thinking
• Significant changes in appetite and/or sleep patterns
• Social withdrawal
• Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide

Key Facts About Depression

• Women are twice as likely as men to experience major depression: One in four women, as opposed to one in eight men, is likely to experience a mood disorder in her lifetime.
• Two out of three people with mood disorders do not get proper treatment because their symptoms are not recognized, blamed on personal weakness, or misdiagnosed.
• When properly treated, 90 percent of people with mood disorders can be helped.
• People with untreated severe depression have a suicide rate of about 15 percent.

Treatment

• Many DBSA-Boston members employ a mix of proper medication, good therapy, and peer support and education to manage their depressive illness.
• Medication regimes can vary widely, and many of our members take a combination of meds to treat their disorder.
• A wide variety and combination of medications may be used to treat depressive disorders. Examples include SSRIs, or Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, such as Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil, or newer medications such as Effexor, Wellbutrin, and Remeron. Older medications include tricyclics, such as desipramine or imipramine, and MAO inhibitors.
• Mood stabilizers such as Lithium and Depakote may also be employed.