Depression and Mood Disorders
Last year depression impacted over 8% (20 million) adults and 15% of youth ages 12-17 (3.7 million)
Experiencing depression can make daily life difficult. Losing a sense of purpose, motivation and hope are key signs depression is getting serious. Thoughts of self-harm and suicidality can also show up with depression. Quality depression support includes building internal and external supports for recovery. Longmont Counseling Center provides experienced care for acute, chronic and bi-polar depression.
Major depressive disorder:
Difficulties persisting beyond 2 weeks qualifies as a Major Depressive Episode. This includes change in appetite, sleep and energy levels, depressed moods and motivation.
Persistent depressive disorder:
This long-lasting form of depression means someone has experience depressive symptoms most days for two years. Often the symptoms are less severe than Major Depressive disorder but persist chronically.
Bi-polar depression:
More challenging to diagnose, this mood disorder is less common than unipolar depression. Along with significant times of depression, individuals with bi-polar also have times where they see major increases in energy, impulsive behaviors, racing thoughts and either euphoria or agitation.
Pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder:
While it is not unusual for women to experience heightened emotions and symptoms during the pre-menstrual phase of their cycle, PMDD represents severe symptoms of depression, irritability and dysphoria the week prior to ovulation. These symptoms are clinically significant as they impact women’s lives in significant ways.
Seasonal affective disorder:
This mood disorder intensifies during fall and winter months and lessens naturally as days become longer in spring and summer. Symptoms can range in seriousness and impact happiness and life satisfaction in significant ways.
Depression Treatment:
Behavioral Activation
Coaching and goal-setting are an important part of gaining traction against depression. What sounds simple is incredibly difficult during depression. Behavioral activation is small, simple and direct actions to create change within depression.
- See improved mood and energy
- Find motivation
- Reduce isolation
- Increase self-compassion and confidence
- Behavioral goals are tangible and achievable
- Change should be sustainable over time
- Skills should be personalized and become intuitive
Cognitive Therapies
Thoughts are a powerful force to harness. Developing the power of thought management creates positive change, even when a situation may not. This can be hard work, but has shown effective for thousands and thousands of people seeking mental health and wellness.
- Lessen rumination and overthinking
- Gain perspective within emotional situations
- Increase awareness of thought patterns that contribute to depression
- Change inner dialogue and automatic negative responses
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
- Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Narrative Therapy
Bi-polar and Mood Disorder Support
Counseling should provide the opportunity to be the expert of your own experience. Learning the common features of your depression can unlock understanding and even creativity to find your own solutions. While your experience is unique, there are paths to recovery that others have forged and can accelerate your own growth.
- Learning symptom patterns and how to predict what makes things better/worse
- Developing tolerance and acceptance for uncomfortable emotions
- Connecting emotions with thought and behavior patterns
- Building strategies for coping and recovery
- Modalities include DBT skill-building, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)