Depression

Living under depression’s cloud is one of the most difficult challenges anyone can face. If you develop depression symptoms, contact board-certified psychiatrist Ahmar M Butt, MD, at Balance TMS, Esketamine, and Psychiatry, PLLC, in Ankeny, Iowa. Dr. Butt uses highly effective treatments like medication management and psychotherapy (talk therapy). Esketamine and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) are available to patients with treatment-resistant depression. Call Balance TMS, Esketamine, and Psychiatry, PLLC, today or schedule a consultation online for expert help overcoming depression.

What is depression?

Depression affects your mood, emotions, and thought processes. Unlike an attack of the blues that you might experience after a bad day, depression doesn’t lift no matter what you do. Depression symptoms include:

• Intense sadness
• Worthlessness
• Guilt and shame
• Hopelessness
• Sleeping too much or too little
• Tiredness
• Tearfulness
• Loss of interest in pleasurable activities
• Withdrawing from family and friends
• Poor school or work performance
• Loss of appetite or eating more

As depression gets worse, people sometimes develop substance use disorders from relying on alcohol or drugs. You might self-harm to distract yourself from emotional pain. It’s common for severely depressed people to think about death and suicide (suicide ideation) and act on these thoughts.

Why have I got depression?

There’s no single answer to this question. Many people develop depression after a traumatic experience or during a stressful time like a relationship breakdown, job loss, or someone close to you dying. But not everyone does, so it could be that your genes, environment, or lifestyle make you more vulnerable to depression.

Studies show that people with depression generally have lower neurotransmitter levels in their brains.

Neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine play a vital role in brain function. They act as chemical connections between the brain’s nerve cells (neurons) that create links called synapses. Lacking synapses in your brain’s mood center encourages depression.

People often blame themselves when they can’t shake depression, but they shouldn’t. This severe psychiatric disorder requires expert treatment.

What treatments help with depression?

Frontline depression treatments are medication and psychotherapy (talk therapy or counseling).

Medication

Antidepressant medication like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) boost your brain’s neurotransmitter levels. This helps rebuild a healthy network of synapses that improves your mood.

Psychotherapy

Talking with a skilled, compassionate psychiatrist at Balance TMS, Esketamine, and Psychiatry, PLLC, helps you understand what’s underlying your depression. Your doctor guides you as you work through bad memories, trauma, and current challenges, using psychoanalytic techniques.

You could also benefit from cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT and similar therapies focus on everyday problems that make life difficult. Your psychiatrist teaches you techniques that you use to identify harmful thinking and alter it.

If you don’t improve, you likely have treatment-resistant depression. If so, you might benefit from innovative solutions like transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and Spravato® esketamine nasal spray.

Call Balance TMS, Esketamine, and Psychiatry, PLLC today, or book an appointment online for compassionate depression treatment.