When Does Depression Warrant Medical Intervention?

Sometimes, it’s hard to know when you need help — or when you need to help someone else. 

Feeling sad or upset sometimes is a normal part of life, especially when you’re experiencing something difficult. But if your feelings don’t subside, or if they get worse, you or your loved one may be experiencing depression that needs to be treated.

At Primora Primary Care, our team is here to serve our patients well. Here’s more about how we determine when depression warrants medical intervention.

What is depression?

Clinical depression, also called Major Depressive Disorder,  is a mental health condition characterized by feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and a loss of interest in life and activities.

For a diagnosis of depression, someone has to experience five symptoms of depression nearly all day, every day, for two weeks. Symptoms typically include:

• Persistent feelings of sadness, emptiness, and hopelessness
• Loss of interest: the inability to take any joy in things you normally like
• Appetite and weight changes: this could be a gain or a loss
• Fatigue: an extreme tiredness and lack of energy
• Sleeping changes: getting too much or too little sleep
• Cognitive issues: difficulty concentrating or remembering things
• Suicidal ideation: thinking about or making plans to end your life

There’s not one single cause of depression. It’s usually brought about by a variety of factors, including brain chemistry, genetics, stressful life events, medical conditions, and even medications.

What’s the difference from sadness?

Everyone feels sad occasionally about something that happens in their life. Depression is different because it’s persistent, severe, and doesn’t get better even when something good happens. 

Depression also includes physical symptoms and an inability to feel any pleasure or joy.

What should you do?

If your condition or the condition of your loved one has moved from sadness to depression (you’ve been experiencing five of the symptoms for two weeks), it’s time to see a medical professional. 

Depression can be treated with a combination of services, including talk therapy, prescription medication, and even brain stimulation therapy. You can also take some steps at home to help, including setting up a healthy sleeping environment, getting exercise and quality sleep, and spending time with the people you care about.

If you or your loved one is suicidal, you can call 911 for emergency services, or call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline to speak to a trained professional.

If you think it’s time for you or your loved one to see a medical professional about depression, our team at Primora Primary Care can help. To schedule an appointment, call our Bridgeville office or use our easy online scheduler to book your own time.