Why should depression be treated?
If symptoms of depression persist consistently for more than two weeks, you should seek treatment right away. In this Ask the Experts video, psychiatrist Sudeepta Varma, MD, discusses why it's important to get professional help for depression.
Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING] And it's important to get treatment for depression as soon as possible because depression affects every aspect of your life.
It affects your job. It affects your relationships. It affects your physical health, your mental health. And in severe cases, it can take your life.
If you're finding that two weeks or more have gone by and that you're experiencing difficulty with your mood, you're having a persistently chronically low mood
daily for long parts of the day, your energy is low. Your appetite might be changed.
You're having difficulty sleeping or perhaps you're sleeping too much. You're not enjoying the things that you once used to do. Things are not as pleasurable.
You feel hopeless. You feel helpless. You feel fatigued. You're irritable. You just don't feel like your normal self. You really would want to think about depression.
And it's important to get treatment for depression as soon as possible because depression affects every aspect of your life.
It affects your job. It affects your relationships. It affects your physical health, your mental health. And in severe cases, it can take your life.
There is a small percentage of people who have depression who have suicidal thoughts. And therefore, it is extremely important.
And it really does lower the quality of your life. So why would you not want to be your best, healthiest self
possible? I think that people with depression are suffering. It's a real medical illness. And it's something that really can be treatable,
and therefore should be treated. [AUDIO LOGO]
mental health behavior
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