You’ve faced and overcome the challenges of depression in the past. Perhaps you’ve gotten professional help through therapy, medication management, an IOP, or ketamine treatments.
These approaches are incredibly effective and can help you through the dark waters of depression. Unfortunately, however, that doesn’t mean all of your depression symptoms are going to stay at bay forever.
Utilizing the helpful tools and strategies you learned through therapy can be beneficial and even help you through rough patches without getting worse.
But what if your depression is roaring its ugly head and threatening your mental health and well-being again? What if it comes back with a vengeance?
It can be difficult to truly recognize whether you’re feeling the regular ebbs-and-flows of emotion or experiencing depression relapse symptoms. It’s crucial to err on the side of caution and reach out to a mental health professional as soon as possible if you feel depression creeping back into your life.
It’s also important to recognize the signs of depression relapse before things worsen.
The Benefits of Group Therapy for Depression
Potential Triggers for Depression Relapse
It’s important to understand that recurring depression is not your fault. You haven’t failed in any way. Just like you didn’t choose to have depression initially, you’re not choosing to deal with it again. There are a number of potential triggers that could lead to depression relapse.
Some of these triggers include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Stress: High levels of stress from work, school, family, or personal life can trigger depression relapse. Ongoing stress can wear down your resilience and coping mechanisms, making it easier for depression to creep in.
- Ending depression treatment early: You may feel significantly better after undergoing depression treatment in San Diego for a while. But it’s important not to end your treatment too early. A good rule of thumb is to continue treatment six or more months after feeling better to reduce the risk of depression relapse symptoms.
- Medical conditions: Not only could certain medical conditions make your depression worse, but if you deal with chronic pain, cancer, neurological disorders, diabetes, or other medical concerns, it could trigger depression relapse.
- Major life changes: Significant events like divorce, the loss of a loved one, job loss, a breakup, or moving can disrupt your mental health and increase your chances of depression relapse.
- Substance abuse: Drugs, alcohol, and other substances can not only interfere with antidepressant medications, but they can also trigger a relapse of depression.
- Untreated trauma: It’s important not to let past trauma go untreated since it could lead to more persistent depressive episodes and trigger depression relapse.
- Seasonal changes: Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) can also trigger depression relapse symptoms, so it’s crucial to maintain treatment and/or medications and be mindful of how you feel when the weather gets gloomy.
- Lack of self-care: Everyone needs to practice regular self-care like exercise, a balanced diet, mindfulness, and taking time for themselves. This is especially important to prevent depression relapse.
Coping Strategies for Managing Stress and Depression
Depression Relapse Symptoms: 10 Signs
- Social Withdrawal – If depression begins creeping into your life again, you may feel inclined to separate yourself from everyone and everything. Isolating yourself away from activities, people, and even phone calls and texts is a sign you may be experiencing a depression relapse.
- Changes in Sleep Patterns – Another common and frustrating depression relapse symptom is the inability to fall asleep, stay asleep, or sleeping more often. If you notice a change in your sleep patterns, this could signal depression relapse.
- Irritability – Everyone gets irritated from time to time. But if you notice yourself losing patience more easily, irritability, frustration, and a short fuse, this could indicate depression relapse.
- Self-loathing – One key indicator of depression is feelings of guilt and worthlessness and lowered self-esteem. If you notice your thoughts frequently turning to self-criticism, depression may be coming back.
- Weight Changes – Whether you lose interest in food or find yourself binge eating to deal with emotions, it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor or mental health professional because this could be a sign of depression relapse.
- Fatigue – When you deal with depression, simple tasks like doing laundry or dishes may seem impossible due to overwhelming exhaustion. Pay attention to your energy levels, as fatigue is a common symptom of depression.
- Suicidal Thoughts – Having suicidal thoughts is undoubtedly a symptom of depression. In fact, it’s likely you have severe depression if that’s the case. If this is you, contact your mental health provider immediately.
- Chronic Aches and Pains – While depression is a mental health issue, it can also affect the body. One commonly overlooked symptom of recurring depression is body aches and pains. This could include muscle soreness, headaches, stomach aches, chest pain, back pain, or limb pain.
- Inability to Enjoy Things – One of the earliest symptoms of depression is when you lose interest in doing things you typically enjoy. This could be anything from hanging out with friends, hobbies, or even sex.
- Gloominess – Nobody is happy all the time. It’s typical to feel down on occasion. But if you feel unbearably sad, are crying more often, and feel empty inside to the point where it affects your everyday life, it’s time to consult a mental health professional.
Understanding the Link Between Childhood Trauma & Depression
Tips for Preventing Depression Relapse
Depression relapse isn’t a certainty. However, it’s vital to do what you can to prevent it. Here are some things you can do to try to keep depression from coming back.
- Keep up with depression treatment. As mentioned earlier, you shouldn’t stop treatment immediately when you start feeling better. Continue going to therapy and taking any prescribed medication. This is especially crucial during the first six months after you begin treatment.
- Recognize the signs: Just reading this post can help you prevent relapse because you’re preparing to recognize and understand what to look for. By checking in with yourself daily and how you’re feeling, you’ll be better able to pinpoint potential signs of relapse and act on them.
- Keep your friends and family informed: Share what you’ve learned about depression relapse symptoms so they can be on the lookout for potential signs.
- Practice mindfulness: It’s a good idea to practice mindfulness exercises at least three times per week to stay in tune with potential negative thought patterns. Mindfulness can help you identify them and use healthy coping mechanisms to replace them with better ways of thinking.
What is Psychodynamic Therapy for Depression? How It Works
Partner With BOLD Health for Depression Treatment In San Diego
Staying in touch with how you feel is vital for everyone. But if you’ve struggled with depression in the past and you feel like it’s coming back, the sooner you get the help you need to avoid depression relapse, the better.
At BOLD Health, we provide several options for depression treatment in San Diego, curated to your individual needs. Whether you’ve partnered with us in the past to beat depression or other mental health concerns or are looking for help from us for the first time, we’re here for you.
Our clinicians will complete a comprehensive evaluation using a holistic approach. That means we’ll get to know and understand all of you, not just your symptoms. This allows us to design the ideal plan for depression treatment in San Diego, which may include any of the following:
- individual depression therapy in San Diego
- group therapy
- medication management
- intensive outpatient program for depression
- ketamine treatment
Whether you’re looking for depression therapy in San Diego or need a more intensive approach to help you feel better, we’ve got your back. Contact us for more information about our depression treatment options so you can get back to living the life you deserve.