The Canadian Mental Health Association reports that eight percent of Canadians will experience major depression at some point. Statistics Canada’s 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey reports that seven percent of 15 to 24-year-olds had experienced depression in the past year. Of Canadians who have suffered from depression, only 49% of Canadians who have suffered depression or anxiety have never seen a doctor about the issues.
What is Depression?
Depression is not mere sadness. Whether it’s referred to as depression, clinical depression, or major depressive disorder, depression is frequently defined as extreme sadness or despair, in which emotion persists for several days. Depression is not merely an emotional state but can interfere with activities of daily living and can cause physical pain. Another highly important fact about depression is that depression can be treated, often with the help of a psychologist.
There is a wide range of possible causes of depression, which may act in combination. Those causes can include genetic, biological, environmental, social, and psychological factors; a family history of depression; suffering chronic disease; and life changes, stress, and trauma.
What are the Symptoms Of Depression?
No two individuals will have the same experience of depression. There is a large cluster of symptoms that people experiencing depression have in common. Those symptoms of depression include:
- Prolonged feelings of sadness, emptiness, helplessness, hopelessness, guilt, and worthlessness
- Feelings of anger and irritability
- Restlessness and difficulty concentrating
- Altered sleep patterns and fatigue
- Altered appetite
- Chronic pain, headaches, and stomach aches
- Withdrawal from family and friends and loss of interest in activities
- Contemplations of death or suicide
Psychologists can help treat depression.
An online psychologist in Calgary is a specially educated mental health professional with training, experience and expertise in helping people of all ages experiencing depression. Psychologists help people with depression through various forms of psychotherapy.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a talk therapy that a psychologist near you uses to support patients experiencing various mental illnesses and emotional problems, including phobias, trauma, insomnia, grief, anxiety, and depression. The goal of psychotherapy with our online psychologist near you is to minimize or even resolve behavioural and emotional symptoms that cause psychological harm and interfere with activities of daily living.
While there are wide varieties of psychotherapy techniques that will benefit different patients, two of the most common forms of psychotherapy for the benefit of people experiencing depression are cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and interpersonal therapy (IPT).
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
A psychologist in Calgary will use CBT to help people experiencing depression identify thought and behaviour patterns that might contribute to their depression. Beyond identifying those thoughts and behaviour patterns, the goal of CBT is to help people experiencing depression to manage those thoughts and behaviours by altering emotionally and psychologically harmful behaviours and developing a more accurate understanding of the emotional and psychological impacts of certain behaviours.
Interpersonal Therapy
Through IPT, psychology services in Calgary to understand the dynamics involved in relationships with others and how to improve those relationships by expressing emotions and seeking to solve problems in ways more protective of the patient’s emotional and psychological health. By way of IPT, psychologists help people experiencing depression to work through conflict and fractious relationships and to cope with symptoms of depression and stressors which may contribute to depression.
One important thing to keep in mind about getting support for depression from a psychologist is that psychologists can not prescribe medications, antidepressants or otherwise. While antidepressants are a common treatment for depression, antidepressants can be prescribed only by psychiatrists and medical doctors.
A psychologist in Calgary can support patients experiencing symptoms of depression and the families of those patients by guiding them through psychotherapy processes that can include CBT and IPT. If you or a loved one is struggling with the symptoms of depression, contact a psychologist near you or ask your family doctor for a referral to a local psychologist.