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“I found that with depression, one of the most important things you could realize is that you’re not alone.”
- Dwayne Johnson
Depression can feel lonely and like nobody understands what you are going through. But this is not true. In 2022, 19.9% of people in Delaware had been diagnosed with some form of depression at various stages. The stages of depression cover a wide range of experiences. With thousands of people on this spectrum, there is somebody who can relate to you.
At SUN Behavioral Health Delaware, we know that understanding this concept can help you better understand yourself and, hopefully, seek treatment if you need it. Today, we will discuss these 4 stages.
First proposed in a 2017 scientific essay, the stages of depression are wellness, distress, depressive disorder, and recurrent or refractory depressive disorder. The author explained each stage, how to intervene, and the level of care necessary for recovery. These stages reflect the severity that someone is experiencing and can indicate if someone requires receiving mental health care intervention.
The author of the essay suggested that the stages of depression can give medical professionals a better approach to treating this condition than the previous one-size-fits-all method of “well” or “ill.” These categories offer a guideline of how to treat someone with depression and what they need based on the symptoms and severity they are experiencing. No matter the stage, it is still important to address depression appropriately, as neglecting it can allow it to worsen into later, more severe stages.
Common symptoms of depression, regardless of stage, include:
The 5 stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. These are the stages people go through when they are experiencing grief. This grief can be due to a loved one’s death. It can also be applied to any significant life change or reason to grieve, such as an impending loss or being diagnosed with a chronic disorder. People don’t necessarily have to go through them in that order; some may skip or repeat stages. In other words, the stages of grief do not have to be linear or in the order everyone knows them.
While there have been reports of the stages of depression being similar to the stages of grief, there is little to no research to support this claim. The stages of grief do not indicate severity like the stages of depression do. Denial and acceptance are not extremes on a severity spectrum, while wellness and refractory or recurrent depression disorders are.
Wellness is when someone has little to no depressive symptoms. They may experience occasional sadness or stressful circumstances, but it does not impact their daily lives. They can continue to do the things they enjoy doing without being influenced by the symptoms associated with depression. In the past, this may have been referred to as “well.”
Even someone in this stage of depression requires some interventions that will prevent them from progressing into further, more severe stages. These primarily include resources and promoting awareness. During this stage, having a nurturing environment, learning life skills, and addressing any risk factors of depression can help make sure that they can stay healthy. Keeping up with self-care by maintaining a nutritious diet, exercise, and social life can help prevent progression.
Some common risk factors of depression that someone in the wellness stage should be aware of include:
During the distress stage of depression, people will experience mild to moderate distressing emotional symptoms. These symptoms do not significantly impact the person’s ability to function. They may make it a little discomforting, but someone can still accomplish their tasks. The key indication of this stage is these symptoms last for short periods, less than 2 weeks. This stage of depression is still focused on prevention to decrease the chances that it doesn’t progress into the more severe stages of depression.
Peer support is still vital to preventing the distress stage from progressing further. Having a strong social network can help build self-esteem, confidence, and social skills, which can all improve depression symptoms. Alongside leaning on a social network during this stage, practicing self-care is also essential, as it was during the wellness stage. It might begin to become more complicated than it was at the wellness stage, but trying to keep up with it can help reduce the later stages of depression.
Additionally, keeping up with your routine physical health care is a vital component in prevention during the distress stage. While physical health is also essential during the wellness stage, it can be more important to maintain it during this stage. Physical conditions can be a risk factor for depression, so addressing and managing them during this stage can ensure that symptoms of depression do not worsen.
The depressive disorder stage is when someone experiences severely distressing emotions for at least 2 to 4 weeks. Their ability to function is significantly impaired. At this point, treatment for depression is necessary for recovery. During this stage, medication, therapy, or a combination of both is the most common method for depression treatment. Medications for depression are typically antidepressants, which can lift someone’s mood and increase motivation. You don’t have to take medications if you don’t want to, and therapy can be an excellent alternative for many people in healing from this stage.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is used for the depressive disorder stage. CBT involves learning skills to help people change negative thought patterns into ones that can allow them to feel better. It helps people recognize these negative thoughts and emotions and provides them with the skills necessary to work through them to change them.
In addition to beginning to manage your mental health, your physical health should continue to be managed. If a physical disorder results in symptoms of depression, it should be addressed and managed alongside the depressive disorder. Maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, diet, and exercise may become challenging, but managing these aspects can reduce symptoms if possible.
This stage is considered the most severe, and it occurs when the depression is not responsive to treatment. It can also happen if the person continues to experience the depressive disorder stage after recovering briefly.
During this stage, stabilization is necessary. People in this stage may have suicidal thoughts or behaviors. If someone is experiencing this, they should go to a 24/7 crisis care center as soon as possible, especially if they feel like they might be a danger to themselves or others. You do not have to call ahead of time.
Also, mental health care is the primary type of care necessary for someone at this stage. It often involves inpatient, partial hospitalization, or intensive outpatient levels of care for therapy purposes. Someone in the previous stage typically only needs traditional outpatient treatment, while this stage requires more intensive care.
Those with refractory or recurrent depressive disorder may also require more than one medication to reach stabilization. During the depressive disorder stage, one antidepressant may be good enough to allow someone to find relief and healing from their depression. However, the refractory or recurrent depressive disorder stage is a much more severe stage of depression that may require a combination to help the person better.
Getting the appropriate treatment for the stage of depression you are currently experiencing can significantly improve your life and prevent complications from occurring. When you arrive at treatment, you will be assessed to determine what treatment plan will work best for you and allow you to return to a healthier, more satisfying life.
SUN Behavioral Health Delaware solves unmet needs in Georgetown. While not an official diagnosis, we provide a depression survey that can help you determine which stage of depression you might be in. This tool can help let you know if you might be in a more severe stage of depression and require immediate treatment. If you are ready to start your depression treatment today, call us at 302-604-5600.
21655 Biden Ave
Georgetown, DE, 19947
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SUN Delaware
