Psychiatric hospitals may provide both in-patient and out-patient Mental Health Services Salt Lake City Ut. One of the conditions that they may treat patients for is major depressive disorder. Major depressive disorder is different from simply feeling the blues at times. It’s also called clinical depression, and it can be accompanied by real medical symptoms as well as other psychological symptoms.
Patients may feel tired, and not just tired, but completely drained to the point that they can’t even get out of bed. Patients may feel sick or have aches and pains, such as headaches. Depression can manifest in some very serious physical ways. Patients with depression have an increased likelihood of abusing drugs or alcohol, and and they may have up to twice the normal risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Many patients with depression also suffer from long-term anxiety.
However, unlike many illnesses, major depression can’t be diagnosed with a brain scan or a blood test. Patients can have real physical pains, but the depression itself cannot be viewed under a microscope or measured with a white blood cell count. Other symptoms of major depression are behavioral. The patient may become withdrawn from friends and family. Patients may be unable to perform any longer at their jobs due to lethargy and apathy, or they may feel very irritable. Some are so depressed that they can’t even motivate themselves to get out of the house to report to work. In this sense, major depressive disorder has a real and devastating emotional and financial impact on patient’s lives and that of their families.
Depression can come about from a variety of causes. Some patients are pre-disposed to it through heredity. In other cases, patients may become severely depressed due to emotional stress in their lives. Other patients who are suffering from other forms of physical illness may develop major depression due to their physical illness. Many who suffer from ADHD or post-traumatic stress disorder also have depression.
Major depressive disorder may be treated through out-patient or in-patient care. Each patient is different. For example, those who are also suffering from drug or alcohol addiction may need in-patient treatment so their physical and psychological needs can be closely monitored.
