Caregivers of depressed adults

Help for Parents and caregivers of Depressed Teens

Caregivers of depressed adults

Types of depression

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There are six common types of major depression and they are listed with symptoms below.

Types of major depression

Major depressive disorder, also referred to as unipolar depression

  • Interferes with ability to function
  • Affects all areas of life – relationships, work, sleep eating
  • Episodes may occur several times in a person’s life
  • Slowed movements, speech and thinking, speak less, some stop speaking
  • Have recurring thoughts about their own death – range from thinking about it to seriously considering

Manic-depressive disorders, more commonly known as bipolar disorder

  • Serious mental illness involving episodes of depression that alternate with mania. Mania is feelings or greatness and elation, sudden energy, and feeling uncontrollable power. Sometimes depression and mania occur simultaneously shifting from one to the other rapidly.

Dysthymic disorder

  • Milder form of depression that lasts longer.
  • Feeling of melancholy
  • Unable to get really excited about life
  • Can still function but feel gloomy

Seasonal Affective disorder

  • Often brought on in the winter months, though it can occur as a reverse
  • Could be a result of disruption of circadian rhythm or lack of Vitamin D
  • Full spectrum lights can help
  • Less that 2% of people in Florida have SAD, while 10% of people in New Hampshire do

Psychotic depression

  • 15% of depressed people experience delusions or hallucinations
  • Often need to be hospitalized to prevent themselves from suicide

Postpartum depression

  • 4 weeks – year after a woman gives birth
  • Most women experience baby blues, postpartum is far more severe
  • May involve delusions or hurting themselves or their newborn
  • Many women feel a great amount of guilt
  • 10% of new mothers

Factors that raise the likelihood of depression and suicide

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The following is a list of risk factors that will heighten an individual’s chance of getting depression and considering suicide as a valid option. A person could have one Factors that raise the likelihood of suicideor more of the risk factors to be considered vulnerable, though, it’s often a combination.

Factors that raise the likelihood of depression and suicide

1) Dealing with difficult life circumstances:

  • Having a history of trauma or abuse and not having dealt with it using therapeutic tools
  • Major financial loss
  • Job loss
  • Loss of valuable relationship
  • The death of a close loved one

2) Actions that can worsen mood and lead to major depression:

  • Abusing substances like alcohol and drugs
  • Having already tried to commit suicide makes you more prone to considering it as an option faster than other people
  • Not eating enough daily calories or carbohydrates (which are important for brain energy)
  • Eating too many processed foods and sugars
  • Not getting enough physical exercise
  • Spending too much time alone (up to three days without seeing or speaking to anyone)
  • Doing something you deeply believes goes against your morality – what you believe is right or wrong. If you’ve done something you consider bad it could cause you a great deal of emotional pain. It could be a severe as committing a crime, cheating on a partner or even having sex if you are raised in a religion

3) Environments that can increase the risk of depression and/or suicide:

  • Family history of mental health issues or suicide attempts
  • Living in household of trauma or abuse or being in an environment (ie. school or work) where you feel trauma regularly
  • Easy to access lethal means like guns or drugs or dangerous objects
  • Living in an area where local suicides have occurred
  • Lack of social support and sense of isolationLack of health care, especially mental health and substance abuse treatment
  • Not having financial stability or living in poverty
  • Cultural and religious beliefs, such as the belief that suicide is a noble resolution of a personal dilemma
  • Exposure to others who have died by suicide (in real life or via the media and Internet)

4) Having an underlying medical disorder or mental illness that’s affecting mood:

  • Mental disorders, particularly mood disorders, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders and certain personality disorders
  • Major physical illnesses
  • Illness that has you deal with daily physical pain

5) Having a weak emotional IQ:

  • Never having learned how to properly deal with your emotions. It’s a learned skill that isn’t taught in schools or taught to parents.
  • Believing there is something wrong with asking for help, so you try to do it on your own and don’t get very far.
  • If you’ve been put down and taught that you aren’t good enough you may have very low self-esteem.