Symptoms of Depression / Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
Signs of depression can be obvious or subtle, but regardless, they often severely impact your quality of life. For help in addressing your symptoms of depression, seek the assistance of a therapist or psychologist trained in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which is an evidence-based treatment for depression. This will help reduce your symptoms and make you less prone to future relapse. I am available for consultation and treatment in the Palm Beach (Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, West Palm Beach, Boynton Beach, Boca Raton), Fort Lauderdale, and Miami communities. I also welcome you to read my previous post on how depression can be easily overlooked in yourself or others. Here is a list of common symptoms of depression, also known as major depressive disorder (MDD): Symptoms of Depression Emotional Symptoms Feelings of sadness, emptiness, loneliness, or pointlessness. Feelings of worthlessness,...
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Depression / Major Depressive Disorder (MDD): The (Sometimes) Hidden Ailment
For some individuals with major depressive disorder, signs of depression can be pretty obvious. Depressive symptoms can be utterly disabling and leave you with very little hope that things will ever get better. Depression can make you feel like giving up or actually cause you to give up. But in other cases, depression can be nearly invisible to both the sufferer and his/her family, friends, and colleagues. In fact, some people who are depressed don’t even realize it. They entertain this distorted fantasy that all depressed people look the same. They imagine that people with major depressive disorder cry all day, can’t hold down jobs, and aren’t doing anything particularly “meaningful” or “worthwhile.” However, depression affects CEOs, bank presidents, actors, politicians, doctors, and lawyers just as easily as anyone else. It’s an equal opportunity ailment. Some depressed people walk around...
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School Refusal & Parental Stigma: Am I a Bad Parent?
Like any other behavior, school refusal does not have a singular cause. This is pretty self-evident, but in the heat of the moment when your child is having a tantrum, this fact is quickly forgotten. It is simply too easy to conclude that you have raised a “bad child.” Sadly, much of society might wrongly agree with you. For many, the term “school refusal” has automatic negative connotations. Although school refusal is a behavior that has many different potential causes, it often gets lumped together with rebelliousness, conduct problems, and oppositionality. This is unfortunate because many cases of school refusal do not actually involve any of these factors. Am I a Bad Parent? Parent Social Stigma in School Refusal. Regardless of the origins of your child’s school refusal, it is important to consider a separate parent-related factor that maintains...
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Panic Attack Causes: Fight-or-Flight & the Sympathetic Nervous System
Panic attacks feel awful. However, despite the unpleasantness of panic attacks, we’re actually lucky to have the neural circuitry that drives them. Although it might not feel like it, panic is caused by one of your body’s most important self-protective mechanisms. What causes panic attacks? When we are safe, our bodies are designed to conserve resources in order to promote long-term survival. If all is going well, there is simply no need to squander a precious commodity like energy. However, whenever we are in danger and there is the potential for death or serious harm, our bodies will utilize whatever resources are necessary to guarantee that we live to see another day. Think about a time you unexpectedly encountered a physical threat in your environment. Maybe you were peacefully gardening when you happened upon a snake. Maybe you were...
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One Panic Treatment Basic that Even Your Therapist Might not Know
If you have panic disorder or suffer from panic attacks or agoraphobia, chances are you might be inadvertently doing one simple thing that is making your panic attacks and anxiety worse. You might have even learned this strategy from your therapist. Although beneficial in many different contexts, when used inappropriately, this technique has the potential to dramatically increase symptoms of anxiety and panic. The technique in question? Deep breathing. What is deep breathing? Deep breathing, or diaphragmatic breathing, is a core coping skill taught by many excellent therapists of diverse theoretical orientations. It is a technique that has a long and revered history in the field of psychology due to its anxiety-reducing (anxiolytic) effects. Used alone or when combined with other strategies, such as visual imagery or progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), deep breathing can be a potent aid to...
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Dr. Steven Seay is a licensed psychologist in Florida & Missouri. He is the Director of the Center for Psychological & Behavioral Science and provides treatment & therapy throughout South Florida, including Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Fort Lauderdale, & Miami.
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