Major Depression | Johns Hopkins Medicine

Depression is a serious mood disorder. It touches every part of your life and is caused by a chemical imbalance in your brain. Treatment involves medicine ... SkipNavigation COVID-19Updates Masksarerequiredinsideallofourcarefacilities.Wearevaccinatingalleligiblepatients.Learnmore: Vaccines,Boosters&AdditionalDoses|Testing|PatientCare|VisitorGuidelines|Coronavirus|EmailAlerts FindmoreCOVID-19testinglocationsonMaryland.gov. HealthHome ConditionsandDiseases MajorDepression ShareonFacebook ShareonTwitter ShareonLinkedin ShareonPinterest ShareviaEmail PrintthisPage MentalandBehavioralHealth MoodDisorders Whatisdepression? Depressionisaseriousmooddisorderthataffectsyourwholebodyincludingyourmoodandthoughts.Ittoucheseverypartofyourlife.It’simportanttoknowthatdepressionisnotaweaknessorcharacterflaw.It’sachemicalimbalanceinyourbrainthatneedstobetreated. Ifyouhaveoneepisodeofdepression,youareatriskofhavingmorethroughoutlife.Ifyoudon’tgettreatment,depressioncanhappenmoreoftenandbemoreserious. Whatcausesdepression? Depressioniscausedbyanimbalanceofbrainchemicals.Otherfactorsalsoplayarole.Italsotendstoruninfamilies.Depressioncanbetriggeredbylifeeventsorcertainillnesses.Itcanalsodevelopwithoutacleartrigger. Whatarethesymptomsofdepression? Whileeachpersonmayexperiencesymptomsdifferently,thesearethemostcommonsymptomsofdepression: Lastingsad,anxious,or“empty”mood Lossofinterestinalmostallactivities Appetiteandweightchanges Changesinsleeppatterns,suchasinabilitytosleeporsleepingtoomuch Slowingofphysicalactivity,speech,andthinkingORagitation,increasedrestlessness,andirritability Decreasedenergy,feelingtiredor"sloweddown"almosteveryday Ongoingfeelingsofworthlessnessand/orfeelingsofundueguilt Troubleconcentratingormakingdecisions Repeatingthoughtsofdeathorsuicide,wishingtodie,orattemptingsuicide(Note:Thisneedsemergencytreatment) Ifyouhave5ormoreofthesesymptomsforatleast2weeks,youmaybediagnosedwithdepression.Thesefeelingsareanoticeablechangefromwhat’s“normal”foryou. Thesymptomsofdepressionmaylooklikeothermentalhealthconditions.Alwaysseeahealthcareproviderforadiagnosis. Howisdepressiondiagnosed? Depressioncanhappenalongwithothermedicalconditions.Theseincludeheartdisease,orcancer,aswellasothermentalhealthconditions.Earlydiagnosisandtreatmentiskeytorecovery. Adiagnosisismadeafteracarefulmentalhealthexamandmedicalhistorydone.Thisisusuallydonebyamentalhealthprofessional. Howisdepressiontreated? Treatmentfordepressionmayincludeoneoracombinationofthefollowing: Medicine.Antidepressantsworkbyaffectingthebrainchemicals.Knowthatittakes4to6weeksforthesemedicinestohaveafulleffect.Keeptakingthemedicine,evenifitdoesn’tseemtobeworkingatfirst.Neverstoptakingyourmedicinewithoutfirsttalkingtoyourhealthcareprovider.Somepeoplehavetoswitchmedicinesoraddmedicinestogetresults.Workcloselywithyourhealthcareprovidertofindtreatmentthatworksforyou. Therapy.Thisismostoftencognitivebehavioraland/orinterpersonaltherapy.Itfocusesonchangingthedistortedviewsyouhaveofyourselfandyoursituation.Italsoworkstoimproverelationships,andidentifyandmanagestressorsinyourlife. Electroconvulsivetherapy(ECT).Thistreatmentmaybeusedtotreatsevere,life-threateningdepressionthathasnotrespondedtomedicines.Amildelectricalcurrentispassedthroughthebrain.Thistriggersabriefseizure.Forunknownreasons,theseizureshelprestorethenormalbalanceofchemicalsinthebrainandeasesymptoms. Withtreatment,youshouldfeelbetterwithinafewweeks.Withouttreatment,symptomscanlastforweeks,months,orevenyears.Continuedtreatmentmayhelptopreventdepressionfromappearingagain. Depressioncanmakeyoufeelexhausted,worthless,helpless,andhopeless.It’simportanttorealizethatthesenegativeviewsarepartofthedepressionanddonotreflectreality.Negativethinkingfadesastreatmentbeginstotakeeffect.Meanwhile,considerthefollowing: Gethelp.Ifyouthinkyoumaybedepressed,seeahealthcareproviderassoonaspossible. Setrealisticgoalsinlightofthedepressionanddon’ttakeontoomuch. Breaklargetasksintosmallones.Setpriorities,anddowhatyoucanasyoucan. Trytobewithotherpeopleandconfideinsomeone.It’susuallybetterthanbeingaloneandsecretive. Dothingsthatmakeyoufeelbetter.Goingtoamovie,gardening,ortakingpartinreligious,social,orotheractivitiesmayhelp.Doingsomethingniceforsomeoneelsecanalsohelpyoufeelbetter. Getregularexercise. Expectyourmoodtogetbetterslowly,notrightaway.Feelingbettertakestime. Eathealthy,well-balancedmeals. Stayawayfromalcoholanddrugs.Thesecanmakedepressionworse. Itisbesttodelayimportantdecisionsuntilthedepressionhaslifted.Beforedecidingtomakeabigchange--changejobs,getmarriedordivorced--discussitwithotherswhoknowyouwellandhaveamoreobjectiveviewofyoursituation. Remember:Peopledon’t"snapoutof"adepression.Buttheycanfeelalittlebetterday-by-day. Trytobepatientandfocusonthepositives.Thismayhelpreplacethenegativethinkingthatispartofthedepression.Thenegativethoughtswillfadeasyourdepressionrespondstotreatment. Letyourfamilyandfriendshelpyou. Whentocallyourhealthcareprovider Ifyouhave5ormoreofthesesymptomsforatleast2weeks,callyourhealthcareprovider: Lastingsad,anxious,or“empty”mood Lossofinterestinalmostallactivities Appetiteandweightchanges Changesinsleeppatterns,suchasinabilitytosleeporsleepingtoomuch Slowingofphysicalactivity,speech,andthinkingORagitation,increasedrestlessness,andirritability Decreasedenergy,feelingtiredor"sloweddown"almosteveryday Ongoingfeelingsofworthlessnessand/orfeelingsofundueguilt Troubleconcentratingormakingdecisions Repeatingthoughtsofdeathorsuicide,wishingtodie,orattemptingsuicide(Note:Thisneedsemergencytreatment) Keypointsaboutdepression Depressionisaseriousmooddisorderthataffectsyourwholebodyincludingyourmoodandthoughts. It’scausedbyachemicalimbalanceinthebrain.Sometypesofdepressionseemtoruninfamilies. Depressioncausesongoing,extremefeelingsofsadness,helplessness,hopeless,andirritability.Thesefeelingsareusuallyanoticeablechangefromwhat’s“normal”foryou,andtheylastformorethantwoweeks. Depressionmaybediagnosedafteracarefulpsychiatricexamandmedicalhistorydonebyamentalhealthprofessional. Depressionismostoftentreatedwithmedicineortherapy,oracombinationofboth. Depression:WhatYouNeedtoKnowasYouAge Getthehelpyouoralovedoneneeds,andgetthelatestexpertinsightsoncopingandpreventingthismooddisorder. Readmore DepressionandSleep:UnderstandingtheConnection Depressionandinsomniaoftengohandinhand.Knowtheconnectionbetweenthetwo,andlearnhowtorecognizesymptomsandgettreatmentforboth. Readmore FindaDoctor SpecializingIn: BehavioralDisorder BehavioralMedicine Depression AffectiveDisorders MoodDisorders SeeMore AtAnotherJohnsHopkinsMemberHospital: HowardCountyGeneralHospital SibleyMemorialHospital SuburbanHospital FindaTreatmentCenter PsychiatryandBehavioralSciences WomensMoodDisordersCenter FindAdditionalTreatmentCentersat: HowardCountyGeneralHospital SibleyMemorialHospital SuburbanHospital Related PostpartumMoodDisorders:WhatNewMomsNeedtoKnow Depression BodyDysmorphicDisorder BehaviorDisorders RequestanAppointment FindaDoctor 410-955-5000 Maryland 855-695-4872 OutsideofMaryland +1-410-502-7683 International FindaDoctor SeeMore Related Conditions PostpartumMoodDisorders:WhatNewMomsNeedtoKnow Depression Depression MentalandBehavioralHealth BodyDysmorphicDisorder RelatedTopics MentalandBehavioralHealth MoodDisorders