Is there short-term depression?!
Question: Is there an actual medical diagnosis of acute or short term depression? I've never been depressive before, but I think I may be. I'm don't know much about depression other than the meds. If there is acute depression, how do you treat it? I'm an RN so run of the mill answers aren't going to do me any good.
Thanks for any information I can get.
Answers: Is there an actual medical diagnosis of acute or short term depression? I've never been depressive before, but I think I may be. I'm don't know much about depression other than the meds. If there is acute depression, how do you treat it? I'm an RN so run of the mill answers aren't going to do me any good.
Thanks for any information I can get.
Hope I'm not run of the mill, but I'll just say what I believe to be true after 15 years of being treated for depression.
Most people suffer from short-term or acute depression at least once in their lives; situations happen: someone dies, you wife leaves you, etc.
That being said, when a psych evaluates you, they have to decide one of two things: do your symptoms require meds or not? The criteria usually for being diagnosed with "clinical depression" have to do with the length of time and the persistence of the symptoms and the type of symptoms.
I don't know all the diagnostic codes, I just know that people are usually determined to be either situationally depressed (usually shorter-term), or clinically depressed all the time (pretty much forever, like me). Then there is a term called "dysthymia" which is used to describe someone who has a persistent low grade depression, something that is yucky and annoying but doesn't cause severe symptoms or suicidal thoughts or anything.
In any case, even situational depression that will eventually go away after a period of time can benefit from medication in the short term. You don't have to be depressed forever and a day to benefit from a med for a while if you'd like.
If you're an RN, then why don't YOU know something about depression?? Obviously you treat "acute depression" with prescription drugs.
A mild form of depression that is acute is dysthymia- a low mood for a looooooong time. Not clinically depressed to the point of suicide but just.....not happy with life. I don't feel good. I feel good enough to function but I'm not filled with joy about life like I'm supposed to be. Wait a minute. Like I'm "supposed" to be? Maybe my mild irritants are good? Maybe they alert me to needs. Maybe social or biological needs. Hmmm. What might I THINK i need? A thought occurs before an emotion. I need _____ and then I would be self-actualized. No. Happiness is a biproduct of an interesting and invigorating life. Think.
Yes, you can encounter short-term depression which can be brought on by any number of things. There is one in particular that seems to be quite common called SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) which is essentially becoming depressed during winter and "snapping out" of it for the rest of the year.
Depression can also be brought on by chemical imbalances in the brain, these can be cyclical in nature with depressive symptoms coming and going. Medication (Not sure which exactly) can restore the balance.
Sure
I've never heard of "acute" depression. Major depression is the most common and it's characterized by a severely depressed mood for at least two weeks (which is why I'm saying that there's no such thing as "short term" because anything less than two weeks is probably situational). Now major depression can range from mild to severe, and subtypes can vary from atypical (as in behavior that is different than your usual routine--like decreased appetite, sleeping longer than usual, etc.) to melancholic (feelings of worthlessness, lack of interest in hobbies, etc.).
There's also such thing as recurrent brief depression in which the patient suffers from depression symptoms for less than two weeks, BUT the episodes have to be recurrent for at least a year.
I would like to know your symptoms to know for sure. If you really feel like you have depression, you should see a therapist/psychiatrist, but please be wary that a lot of doctors diagnose people like crazy, meaning they might say you have some illness when you really don't. Therefore, I suggest asking a close friend or relative if they've seen a change in you. Have your sleeping and eating patterns changed? Have you been more reclusive? These are questions a therapist/psychiatrist would ask anyway. But only YOU will know if you're in need of professional help.
Good luck.