#DEPRESSIVE EPISODE HOW TO#

Loved ones can also encourage you to seek treatment. They may mention that you haven't been acting like yourself or that they're worried about your emotional health. Often family members are the first ones to notice depression symptoms, says Viguera. 'Sometimes there is not a trigger,' she adds.

#DEPRESSIVE EPISODE HOW TO#

'There should be a plan for how to respond to these triggers constructively, like take a walk or call a friend.' However, you can't always prevent a depressive episode or identify a cause. 'Identifying triggers should be part of therapy,' says Viguera. A depressive episode can also be triggered by the stress of work or home responsibilities or life events, such as the death of a loved one, trauma, or a difficult relationship. Paying attention to your lifestyle habits, including daily routines, sleep schedule, and eating habits, can also help you manage depression, as any disruption in those routines could trigger - or signify - a depressive episode. Feeling hopeless, helpless, or negative.Losing interest in hobbies or pleasurable activities.Changes in appetite (eating more or less than usual).Difficulty sleeping or sleeping more than usual.When charting or journaling, note any common symptoms or signs of depression and how severe they are, such as: Writing in a journal is another technique to get in tune with your moods and feelings, and it 'can be very helpful for some people,' Viguera adds. 'Bringing in such a calendar to the doctor's office can help with treatment, and adjustments can be made accordingly,' says Dr. If you start to notice more bad days than good days, it may be time to schedule a visit with your doctor. To chart how you're feeling, keep a calendar that you use each day and jot down your mood using a simple scale - from 1 to 10 or 1 to 3, whatever makes sense for you. Tracking your moods and symptoms can help you understand your emotions and spot signs of depression, such as slight changes in your mood, and situations or events that could trigger a depressive episode. 'They try to explain it away they tend to minimize what they're going through.' 'Often, the problem is that people don't have insight into what's happening to them,' says Adele Viguera, MD, associate director of the perinatal and reproductive psychiatry program at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. It may be difficult for you to recognize when depression is returning. Paying attention to even subtle changes in your emotions and behavior can help you understand how depression affects you and allow you to reach out for help when depression symptoms surface. They can develop gradually, even when you're undergoing treatment. But when you have a mental illness like depression, the symptoms may not be as clear. You start experiencing pain or discomfort, burn with fever, or just ache all over. With many conditions or illnesses, you know when you're feeling sick.

Depressive episode