Depression is a serious disorder that affects mental health. Therapy, medication, or a combination of the two can help treat depression. But these options may not work for everyone. Also, some people may not have access to them.
For these people, anxiety and depression treatment centers are often the next best option. These centers have an environment where patients with depression can be safe while getting the tools and resources they need to thrive on their own.
What Is Depression?
In the United States, depression affects 18 million, or one in 10, adults every year. Depression can negatively impact your mental state including the way you think, feel, and act.
Depression is the leading cause of suicide, resulting in one death every 12 minutes for a total of over 41,000 people per year. Suicide is the second leading cause of death in individuals aged 15 to 34 years and the third leading cause of death in those aged 10 to 15 years.
According to the Hope for Depression Research Foundation, depression is an umbrella term for major depressive disorder and other related mood disorders.
Major depressive disorder is the standard form of depression you may think of when you hear the term “depression.”
Other related mood disorders that can be classified as part of depression diagnosis include:
- Anxiety disorder — A person with an anxiety disorder has excessive or out-of-place feelings of anxiety or anxiousness.
- Bipolar disorder — A person with bipolar disorder often cycles between intense moods, usually between manic and depressive states.
- Postpartum depression — This condition was recently renamed to peripartum depression. A person may get this kind of depression during pregnancy or after giving birth.
- Posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD — Depression can be a symptom of PTSD in people who’ve experienced or witnessed one or several traumatic events.
What Are the Symptoms of Depression?
Because there are so many disorders categorized under depression and because many people may experience depression differently, symptoms may vary widely from person to person.
Symptoms seen in most kinds of depression include:
- Feeling sad or having a depressed mood
- Increase or decrease in appetite
- Brain fog — difficulty in concentrating, thinking, or making decisions
- Fatigue or loss of energy
- Feeling guilty or worthless
- Loss of interest or pleasure in activities you once enjoyed
- Difficulty in falling asleep, sleeping too much, or both
- Thoughts of death or suicide
What Are Inpatient Treatment Centers for Depression?
Inpatient treatment centers for depression provide a safe and secure environment for patients with depression to stay in while they’re in a mental health crisis. Patients usually stay for anywhere from a few days to a few weeks while their mental health stabilizes. These patients are also given resources to help them with their mental health in the future.
While operations may vary between treatment centers, the goal of inpatient psychiatric care is to compassionately return the patient to a safe and stable state, to teach them how to identify and cope with their triggers, and to offer resources that help stop them from going through another mental health crisis and deal with others that may arise.
Inpatient treatment centers for anxiety and depression may offer a range of services:
Psychiatric and psychosocial assessments. Assessments are tools that medical providers and clinicians use to learn more about you and determine treatment options. Most of these tools need the provider to get to know your history and symptoms so that they can learn what your triggers may be and help them gauge how severe your depression is.
Medication evaluation. Many different kinds of antidepressants are available on the market. During a medication evaluation, your medical provider will look at a range of factors to find the right medication for you. These factors may include:
- Your symptoms and diagnoses
- Possible side effects of the medications
- Your family medical history and genetics
- Other medications you may be on
- Medical conditions you may have
- Your pregnancy or breastfeeding status
Mental health education. Learning more about mental health can help you manage your condition the best. Many clinics provide resources to help you learn more about what causes mental health conditions and how to deal with symptoms as they appear.
Treatment planning. Treatment planning is an important part of inpatient treatment. Your treatment plan will often start with a psychological assessment and may include medication, therapy, and education. Your provider may revisit your treatment plan from time to time to see if they need to make any adjustments.
Individual, family, or group therapy. There are several different forms of therapy, and your treatment plan will include only the kinds of therapy that are the best for you. Therapy has many benefits for those dealing with depression, including:
- Helping you understand triggers or stressors that contribute to depression
- Uncovering life events that may have contributed to depression
- Learning to identify distorted or unhelpful thought processes that worsen your symptoms
- Learning to manage your symptoms and stressors
Many centers will also help you with things like accessing social services. The goal is not only to get you to a place where you can thrive but also for you to also know that help is there if you need it.
Before you’re discharged, your inpatient center will often set you up with a treatment plan, including resources for treating your depression as well as things like follow-up appointments with a therapist and a prescription for medications such as antidepressants.
What to Do When You or Your Loved One Has Depression?
If you or your loved one is in crisis, reach out to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by texting or calling 998. You can also use the chat at 998Lifeline.org. This lifeline provides free, 24/7 access to trained crisis counselors. For those in crisis who are under the age of 25 and need a counselor specifically focused on services for the LGBTQI+ community, the 998 Lifeline offers this 24/7 by call and from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time through text and chat.
If you aren't in crisis but would like information about treatment options, call SAMHSA’s national hotline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). This 24/7, 365-days-a-year helpline provides free, confidential treatment referrals and information services in both English and Spanish. SAMHSA also offers a treatment locator on their website.
Some women with postpartum depression may have intrusive thoughts of harming themselves or their baby. If you're experiencing these thoughts, seek help right away by calling 911 or the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-9-HELP4MOMS (1-800-943-5746). The National Maternal Mental Health Hotline offers 24/7 free and confidential counseling services in over 60 languages.