What is a typical symptom of depression?

Depression must be diagnosed by a competent professional. Some of the signs of depression to discuss with a professional may include:

• Sleeplessness
• Restlessness
• Lack of interest in activities that used to interest you
• Being sleepy much of the time
• Constant fatigue
• Frequent feelings of hopelessness

Natural depression treatment is often best

Depression can be treated with medication or therapy or a combination of the two.

Often, therapy can help treat depression naturally. A professional therapist can refer you to a physician such as a psychiatrist if medication would prove useful in your situation.

Clinical depression treatment -- coping with the help of a CapitalCounselors Anxiety/Depression Therapist

Clinical depression is depression that is diagnosed as a medical disorder.

A diagnosis of clinical depression is usually done by a psychiatrist.

Clinical depression often requires medication and in extreme cases may require hospitalization.

It is important to treat depression when it first appears, so it does not become worse.

Depression in adolescents -- treatment by a CapitalCounselors Anxiety/Depression Therapist

Adolescent depression is very common. Adolescents are going through so many changes in their bodies and in their brains. And they are often caught in the pressures of family expectations, school and the scary fact of their coming of age.

Adolescent depression can show up in various ways: a young person may be sleeping more than normal. Or the adolescent may not be eating. Or eating too much. Falling behind in school. Misbehaving or getting into trouble with the law.

Sometimes, an adolescent male may spend all his time on his computer, sitting in his room.

A CapitalCounselors Anxiety/Depression Therapist can often help an adolescent get back onto a healthy path. Adolescents may respond well to behavioral therapy or cognitive behavioral techniques, possibly combined with medication such as Prozac, Welbutrin, or Zoloft.

Treatment and symptoms for manic depression -- treatment for bipolar disorder

Manic depression, also known as bipolar disorder, is surprisingly common.

A bipolar person will often alternate between periods of being overly energetic and restless, and other periods of being lethargic and generally "blue".

A person suffering from bipolar disorder, or manic depression, affects those around him or her with difficult and exhausting extremes of behavior. It can cause friends and family members to become resentful. A manic depressive person in a manic mode may go on a shopping spree, running up balances on credit cards. And in a depressive mode, the person be so down as to become a danger to himself or herself.

Bipolar or manic depression disorders are usually treated with medication and therapy.

What can depression medication do to treat or cure depression?

Drugs such as Prozac, Zoloft or Welbutrin can help to make depression and anxiety feel better.

These drugs have enough of a history of safety so that psychiatrists, psychologists and therapists often use them to help treat depression and help treat anxiety.

Medication for depression and anxiety can help you feel better so that other forms of therapy can have time to work.

Some people can take depression and anxiety medication for short periods of time and then feel better. Others may need to take them for a longer period.

Cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT -- a treatment for depression

Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, is a type of therapy that helps you question negative beliefs and negative thoughts that cause you to feel bad.

A therapist competent in cognitive behavioral therapy methods can often help a client recover from depression or anxiety. The therapy has been shown to be as effective as medication in many instances.

A therapist can combine depression medication with cognitive behavioral methods, and can help a person treat or even cure their own depression.

Cognitive behavioral therapy to treat depression and anxiety

A CapitalCounselors Anxiety/Depression Therapist often has experience in using cognitive therapy, or cognitive behavioral therapy, to treat depression and anxiety.

The therapist may lead you through exercises that you will do between sessions.

These exercises are often done in a written notebook. For instance, a person who is depressed may believe "people do not like me." In their notebook, they will be asked to write down examples of people showed that they care during the week. These exercises help demonstrate how thoughts are often false, and help replace the false thoughts with new, more positive thoughts.

Husband depressed? Wife depressed? Therapy for you when a spouse is depressed

If your husband or wife is depressed, your CapitalCounselors Anxiety/Depression Therapist can help, even if your husband or wife won't come in for therapy at first.

When your spouse is depressed, it affects you very deeply.

It is important to deal with the affects of living with a person who suffers from depression, stress and anxiety. A CapitalCounselors Anxiety/Depression Therapist can help you cope with this situation.

Suicide -- suicidal thoughts and therapy

Sometimes, severely depressed people have suicidal thoughts. Especially when a situation, feeling or thought seems entirely hopeless, which is often the case in deep depression.

It is essential for a person with suicidal thoughts to seek therapy. This may be the last thing that such a person would think of doing, because when a person feels like they want to end their life, they are feeling so hopeless that they do not believe therapy will help their situation.

A CapitalCounselors Anxiety/Depression Therapist can help, though. Because a therapist sees so many people who have similar thoughts and has helped so many get through a difficult time.

If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, please dial 9-1-1 or go to the nearest hospital emergency room. If you know someone who you feel is in danger of trying to end their life, please do everything in your power to make sure they get immediate help. You could save their life.

Stress relief and anxiety relief -- treatment options

A Chinese proverb says "Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are."

Most mental health experts feel that some stress is an essential ingredient to a balanced life. But it's how we handle stress that really counts.

And while some stress may have value, anxiety may be responsible for more deaths and disease than anything else.

The trouble with anxiety is that it often causes health problems and can lead to depression. An anxious person's brain often goes through the same thoughts over and over again in a loop. When an anxious person has these thoughts repeatedly, he or she often feels trapped.

Treatment for anxiety often includes cognitive behavioral therapy and sometimes medication. Changes in lifestyle may be important, too -- and techniques such as relaxation and meditation can help a lot.

What is a typical symptom of anxiety?

It is important to consult with a professional when you feel you have symptoms of anxiety. Some symptoms may include:

• Constantly having the same thoughts over and over
• Difficulty concentrating or focusing
• Difficulty sleeping, waking up a lot, not having restful sleep
• Frequent headaches

An anxiety attack or panic attack at work or at home -- how therapy can help

Sometimes, anxiety can hit a person in an acute episode known as an anxiety attack or panic attack.

A CapitalCounselors Anxiety/Depression Therapist can help you work through an anxiety or panic attack. Many people have had great success with therapy, sometimes combined with medication for periods of time.

Stress management -- is it the answer to treating stress disorder?

Your CapitalCounselors Anxiety/Depression Therapist can often provide you with stress management tools that you can use in your daily life to manage stress to keep it at healthy levels.

Stress management may include relaxation techniques, breathing exercises, and meditation, along with specific things you can practice when you feel stress really affecting you.

Depression and grief counseling -- coping with a death or loss through therapy

Depression sometimes is triggered by a loss -- the death of a husband or wife, parent or child. Or the loss of an important job, or even retirement from a busy career.

A loss can cause you to become down for a period of time, which is natural. But this down period can turn into depression.

A CapitalCounselors Anxiety/Depression Therapist can help you deal with the death or loss in your life. By working through it, you can emerge from the experience a healthy and happy person. It is important to seek therapy when a loss in your life leads to depression.

Therapy for Post traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD

A special form of stress is psychiatric disorder that can follow seeing or experiencing a terrible event -- military combat, or a natural disaster, or a physical assault or rape.

Post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD can result in frequent nightmares, flashbacks, difficulty coping with day-to-day life, and depression.

PTSD is sometimes accompanied by physical symptoms such as problems with memory and cognition. A person suffering from PTSD may need medical help. A CapitalCounselors Anxiety/Depression Therapist can provide therapy that can help the person work through the experiences that they witnessed or experienced, and can help them improve their life.