Hi everyone Emma McAdam here I'm a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
and today, I want to talk to you about what you should do if you've received a
diagnosis of depression. Let's jump into this QuickStart guide to depression.
Okay so first, a depression diagnosis does not mean that you are defective. It's not
your fault, you're not broken, and you should know the disorder is treatable.
Depression is a real and challenging condition that combines biology, life
experience, thoughts and actions, to create a pattern that's difficult to
break out of on your own. But, with the right resources and support, things can
get way better. So the first thing you should do is you should see a doctor. You
you can look into medication options but that's not the reason I think you should
do this first. You should see a doctor because depression symptoms can actually
be caused by a bunch of underlying medical conditions and you should rule
these out before spending tons of money or effort on therapy and psych meds and
other treatments. So, you should get tested for vitamin deficiencies
especially in the area of vitamin D vitamin B's magnesium zinc and iron, and
you should get checked for other common deficiencies that impact sleep energy
and mood. Basically long story short, consider getting checked because many
physical disorders actually look and feel like depression. So you want to make
sure that your body's healthy and that that's not the real cause of your
depression. Now number two, find a therapist and or support or education
group that can help you find resources explore causes and solve problems.
Therapy literally changes brain chemistry and structure. It's effective
for up to 85 percent of people who seek help. Now, it may take a few tries to find
a therapist who you feel comfortable with and who also helps you stretch
learn and grow. But don't quit if the first therapist or first couple of
sessions don't work out. Now just one more
plug for therapy I've got to say, new research is showing that therapy
actually changes your blood markers that indicate depression and therapy can
change the physical structures in your brain that indicate depression. So one
study showed that people who received therapy their hypothalamus which had
shrunk during a bout of depression after a course of eight weeks of therapy, their
hypothalamus was regaining its original size. So that's a structure in the brain
that's physically changing because of what you think about and what you talked
about. So, go find a good therapist and do your
work that can change your brain chemistry function and structure. Okay so
number three, add a little movement to your day. Even if it's just a couple
minutes. In studies exercise has been consistently shown to be more effective
than medication at treating depression and it has great side effects you feel
good you lose weight and you get healthy. Don't get overwhelmed just start by
going for a short walk every day or find something else that you enjoy. Number
four, improve your sleep. Depression and insomnia are closely linked and
improving sleep has been shown to positively impact depression symptoms.
One study showed that eighty seven percent of people who completely
resolved their sleep problems also resolved their depression symptoms.
Practice good sleep hygiene if you don't know what that is I made a video about
it, turn your screens off one hour before bedtime, make your sleep environment cool
dark and quiet and consider cutting out caffeine from your diet. If you want to
learn more about neuroplasticity and research back treatments for a
depression that you can do at home, then check out my online course change your
brain 10 alternatives to medication for mental health. I'll teach you how to lay
the foundation for mental health and I go into more detail on nutrition sleep
and other treatments that can help you feel healthier and happier. It's on
udemy.com and the link is in the description. So, check that out. Ok back to
the video. Finally, more important than feeling happy all the time or not
feeling bad is creating a life full of purpose and meaning. When you do
this, contentment and joy tend to follow. When we obsess about how we feel then we
tend to feel miserable. Find a cause that matters to you. Put your values and your
life in order and work to improve yourself just a little bit each day. The
journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. If you only improve one percent
each day then by the end of the year you'll have grown immensely. Okay lastly,
know your treatment options. The following treatments have also been
shown to be effective at treating depression. Just start with one thing and
see if it helps and then try some others as needed. Medication. Medication can be
an effective way to kick-start supplement or maintain treatment of
depression. But it's generally not the best long-term solution. You can also get
a genetic test to narrow down which options are available. The process of
finding the right med and dosage usually takes months to years. So there's a lot
of different options out there, and make sure to take time to discuss those with
your doctor or psychiatrist. Another effective treatment is photo therapy.
This is using a light box or morning daylight exposure to trigger your brain
to have more energy. Dietary treatments can impact depression so 90% of the
serotonin in our body is in our gut and gut health has some impact on mental
health. So some people have vitamin deficiencies and others have
intolerances or allergies and other people just have poor nutrition. So if
you take care of your gut health, you might be able to really impact your
depressionE eat more vegetables and whole foods and consider including probiotics
and fermented foods in your diet. You also might want to think about adding a
multivitamin and omega-3 fatty acids to your diet. Decrease your screen time and
replace it with activities that promote health. Connection is also essential so
having a good support network is important to improving mental health and
so take the time to reach out and connect with people in a face-to-face
way. Psychological approaches can be really effective at treating
the underlying patterns that are causing depression. So, cognitive behavioral
therapy which is known as CBT is one approach and there's actually dozens of
research backed approaches that can be effective at helping treat depression.
Develop emotional intelligence. Learn to process your emotions so this is
noticing naming and responding appropriately to your emotions. These are
skills that can be learned. Depression isn't as much about your identity like
who you are as much as the skills that you need to learn. Self-help, books like
Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life, or Feeling Good, and others can be really
helpful for many people. Learn to reduce your stress. Learn relaxation skills,
learn mindfulness and meditation. Practice journaling, biofeedback is
another effective treatment for depression. TMS is transcranial magnetic
stimulation and ECT are is electroconvulsive shock therapy. Both of
these I would consider as being kind of last resorts for really difficult to
treat depression, but they are options that have been shown to be effective.
There are treatments that involve sending magnetic waves or electrical
shock through your brain. Another thing you can check is your local universities
Counseling Center and Nami for resources. So my local university offers
biofeedback inexpensive counseling sessions and online psycho-educational
program that helps with anxiety and depression, and it offers a ton more
resources. And Nami is the National Alliance for Mental Illness and they
offer local groups education and support for people experiencing mental illness.
So I hope this QuickStart guide has given you some ideas of what to start
looking at to know how to start treating your depression, and remember
depression does not have to be permanent. It is a real and painful experience that a
lot of people go through during their lifetime but it's also treatable. So, get
out there get the help you need. Life really can get better I hope you found
this video helpful, thank you for watching. If you want to see more of my
content you might like checking out my black and white thinking video or my
catastrophizing video. Both of these are about cognitive
distortions that contribute to depression and anxiety. Thanks for
watching and take care.