Depression

Depression is a mood disorder that affects many people and can be caused by a particular situation or sometimes by nothing at all. Symptoms include loss of interest in pleasurable activities; insomnia or hypersomnia (too much sleep) increased or decreased appetite, feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt, fatigue and/or restlessness and at times suicidal thoughts. There is no “one” cause for depression. There can be a genetic component to the illness or it can be precipitated by environmental stressors or at times a combination of both. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has been proven to be quite effective in treating depression. At times, psychotropic medications (anti-depressants) may be needed to treat depression depending upon the severity of the symptoms and/or the person’s response to psychotherapy.