Episode 12: Major Depressive Disorder
In this episode of the podcast, we talk Major Depressive Disorder: symptoms, sub-types, co-occurring disorders, and treatment options. I also make a note to stress that there is no shame in dealing with a mental health disorder, despite the stigma that society has placed on the issue. The sooner you’re able to be honest and seek the help you need, the more time and better quality of life you can give back to yourself.
TRANSCRIPT
Amaka (00:00:14) - Hey, y'all. Welcome back. Welcome back to the podcast. Is your host Amaka. It's Sunday when I'm recording. It's a Sunday when I'm recording, it's about 9:00 in the morning. usual setup going on. Sitting at my desk, looking out my window. We had some snow a couple of days ago. So there's like, snow on the rooftops and things like that. And like it's cloudy. I definitely wasn't expecting to get this much snow. I remember when they forecasted it and I was like, oh, probably be an inch, probably won't even stick. And then I woke up the next morning and it was legit, like 4 or 5in. I was like, whoa, whoa. So yeah, that was quite the surprise. And, I had planned to go out that day to run some Samaritan. So I was like, am I really still going to go? but I did. It stopped like around 10:00 or something like that. It was kind of like an overnight thing. I'm quite surprised that the amount of snow that fell actually fell within like that time.
Amaka (00:01:35) - and that's why I thought that it wouldn't be much, but I was sorely, sorely mistaken. But it finished snowing like around ten or so, and I really did not want to, like, stay home. I was trying to. I kind of put myself on like a schedule with some things, so I wanted to get them done. So I was like, okay, let me just see how the roads are. It was 10:00, like I said, and the roads in my little area didn't look too great, but I was like, you know what? This might not have been the best idea, but I was like, I'm just gonna drive really slowly. If I feel like it's not that great, I'll just come home. So, I made my way out, and by the time I got to the highways, they were clear. Like, it was like it never rained or snowed. so I got what I need to get done. Done. and there's still snow on the ground.
Amaka (00:02:35) - You know, it's been cleared better in my area now. so. Yeah, that's, I guess, the weather forecast. but it's pretty, it's pretty to look at and kind of get lost in my thoughts. So how have things been with me? It's been a little while since I've recorded. at the time of this recording, I have concluded, like, my holiday season, and, I went out of state. I went to see some of my family. It was a very, very sweet time with them. I hadn't seen them in a little while, and it was just great to be, you know, around loved ones and catch up and joke around and get to know them better when it comes to, like, my little cousins, because I don't stay with them a lot, a lot. So, very chaotic because they're they're not little, little. They're between the ages of six and 13. And the six year olds are twins, amazing kids, but full of energy. There's always something going on in the house, so there was never a dull moment.
Amaka (00:04:04) - I can say that. but when it comes to just warmth and love and togetherness, that's kind of what I felt, you know, being there and laughter. And it was just great when it came to, you know, being with family for Christmas. So that was a snapshot of my holiday. So I'm back at home now. I've been back for a little while and what have I been up to? I've gotten started with packing because I'm starting my new job in a couple of weeks. I'll be moving in a week or so. So I'm getting the boxes. I'm starting to organize. I've started to categorize what I'll be donating and gotta like, you know, get the ball rolling with that because you blink and then moving day is here and you're like, what the heck, I'm not ready. But that's not that's not me. That's not me. That would never be me I would trust. Probably, like melt in a puddle of nervousness and angst if I left packing to literally the last day or so.
Amaka (00:05:24) - So, yeah, getting that going. in a nutshell, that's kind of what's going on with me right now. Just, you know, looking towards moving and looking towards starting my new job and getting my mind right for that. And. And yeah, so for this episode, as you have probably seen by the title, I'm switching things up a little bit. I'm going to be in my psychiatry bag a little bit, and I plan on doing more of these episodes over the course of the year and beyond, because not only do I want this podcast to be about books that I love all different types fiction, nonfiction, self-help, you know, therapy, what have you. I also feel strongly about just educating, putting more information out there about psychiatry in general, different conditions, clinical, medical, mental health issues that people out there. Black women out there who are, those I have in mind when I'm speaking. I want to talk more about these, These issues, because they're important. And I think sometimes a lot of the time we're going through things and perhaps we see that our mind is not all the way there, the way it was not too long ago.
Amaka (00:07:13) - And we just chalk it up to, you know, laziness or, you know, I'm just not on my game right now. And perhaps there's actually something more serious going on. And as, like a psychiatric nurse practitioner, I want to put out there some symptoms and telltale signs that you might be able to hear today and think about. Is that something that you think you have been experiencing because, you know, if you don't know and if there's nothing, quote unquote physically wrong with you, you might not think it's serious and you might not think that you ought to seek professional help. So I am starting this quote unquote series. It's not a series, but it's like a group of episodes that are going to be pinpointing more so, psychiatric conditions because they are within our community just like any other community. But I don't know that they are given as much attention. I don't know that they are just as properly diagnosed in the way that they should be. And I don't know that the folks that who have it and don't know it, I don't know that we get the help that we need.
Amaka (00:08:43) - So I just wanted to offer some education, you know, and if there's anyone who hears what I say today and they feel like, oh, I've been going through this, oh, I think this is happening to me, then, maybe, hopefully it moves you to take some steps and seek some help. So yeah, we're talking about depression today. We're talking about, it's official name major depressive disorder. And I am going to try and discuss this in the most clear and simple way. So like depression, if you want to really boil it down to one word, I would say mood. And what is your mood? Your mood is pretty much just like how you're feeling at any point during the day. You may wake up in the morning and your mood is not high. It's not low. It's just baseline, you know? And over the course of the day, your mood will fluctuate depending on the goings on of what's happening. So it might go up, it might go down, it It might stay pretty level, but typically we are able to sense our mood, we're able to categorize it.
Amaka (00:10:16) - We're able to know when it's elevated. We're able to know when it has gone down. we know what we are like when it's stable. We know how to get our self back to baseline. if you know it's on the down side and, you know, perhaps something that happened that day or that week is kind of getting to you. there are ways to improve it, you know, so mood can be a lot of different things. and mood affects how we behave and it affects what we do. A typical person with a stable mood is able to go about their day and, you know, complete their tasks, do what they have to do. Their mood is not decreased in a way that it is affecting their ability to function. You know, so typically folks have a baseline when it comes to mood, and they know how they feel when they're there. And then we have things that kind of elevate our mood and make us feel happier. And we have the things we know that decrease our mood and can make us feel sad and downcast and, you know, just not ourselves.
Amaka (00:11:42) - But what separates someone who has a pretty stable mood that goes up and down, and they're able to regularly regulate it versus someone who has a perpetually decreased mood. One is neurochemistry, but I am not really going to go into that into this episode. Depression, along with a lot of other psychiatric disorders, have a neurological component. So when people say, oh, it's all in your head, yes, that's true, but, I take that phrase in a way that supports that it is real. When people say, oh, it's all in your head, they're saying, oh, it's not real. You can get over it just like, you know, pull yourself up or whatever. Yes, it's all in your head. It's happening in your head, it's happening in your brain, but it's very real. And there is a neurochemical component and there could be, a mismatch of the chemicals in the brain. They're not really functioning the way they ought to. And that's why I am screaming from the rooftops that depression is real and bipolar disorder is real, and schizophrenia is real, and all of these conditions are real.
Amaka (00:13:07) - So one, there is a neurochemical component, and two, the amount of time that a person is in a depressed mood also is important. So if you have been feeling the symptoms, which I'm going to get into in a second, if you have been feeling those for more than two weeks, this is kind of like the cutoff point where the DSM, which is the Diagnostic Statistical Manual for Psychiatric Disorders. That's kind of like our psychiatry Bible. That is the that is the time frame that we would say, okay, let's look into this a little bit more. I think that you might need help. And I think that this might be something that you might need assistance with. So when it comes to major depressive disorder, think two weeks if you are feeling down and it lasts about a week or so and things get better. it wouldn't really be categorized as major depressive disorder, but going beyond two weeks. Okay, there might be something going on. Now, when it comes to symptoms, no one fits into a box when it comes to depression.
Amaka (00:14:40) - Clinical depression. No one fits into a box. There is a spectrum. There are subtypes. But when it comes to the type of depression that is most diagnosed, there are specific symptoms that clinicians like myself look out for, and there are about 9 or 10 symptoms that we look for. If, a diagnosis of depression is being explored. A patient would need to have at least five of those symptoms and one of those symptoms would have to be a persistent depressed mood or what we call in the psychiatry world and adonia. So anhedonia is pretty much lack of pleasure in things that you used to love to do. So if you know yourself as someone who you know, loves to bake, or loves to sew, or loves to watch movies, loves to play sports, loves to travel, loves to spend time with family, things like that. If you have hobbies that fill you up and all of a sudden, or over the course of a short amount of time, you find that you have no interest in those hobbies anymore, or those things that you you loved like none, like none at all like.
Amaka (00:16:07) - Or it's like really, really diminished. Like compared to you being at 100% on a regular day, you're like at 5 or 10% now, like like 0 to 10% now like that is significant. So if you have little interest or no interest in the things that you used to do, that's called anhedonia. And if you have a persistent, depressed mood over the course of two weeks, one of those two symptoms, then we are on the track to potentially diagnosing depression as a clinician. It's a clinician, a psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse practitioner who I am, who has the ability and the authority to diagnose it. But I think it's helpful for people and folks in general to know what to look for so that they know that they might need help. so we have these two symptoms, and along with that we have and also to when it comes to depressed mood, that's not like, oh, I feel a little sad today because, you know, my car broke down or things like that. Like this is going from your baseline of 10 or 9 to a 1 or 2, you know, and it happening pretty noticeably.
Amaka (00:17:34) - And it's staying that way for at least two weeks. That's what we would call a depressed mood. So getting into the other symptoms, if you find that you are eating more than typical and you have it has resulted in weight gain that would not have otherwise happened. or if you are eating way less than you typically would if you have very little appetite or no appetite, and that has resulted in noticeable weight loss. and you weren't trying to lose weight. You just don't know what happened. Your appetite just kind of disappeared out of nowhere and you don't want to eat. And you have seen the pounds drop. That is a symptom of potential depression and the clinical diagnosis. If you are sleeping more and there's no reason why, you can't explain why, if you are just kind of like always in your bed conked out and you can't explain it, or if you cannot sleep, so it can be one or the other. With eating and with sleeping, you can either be eating too much, unexplainable, and gaining weight or no appetite.
Amaka (00:19:04) - You're not eating, you're losing weight, unexplainable, or sleeping way more than you would typically sleep or not sleep at all. You are not able to go to sleep and you cannot explain why. These are symptoms of possible clinical depression. And another symptom is what we call psychomotor agitation. So let's break down the word psychomotor motor is what we use to describe movement and then movement. And then psycho is mine. So we kind of relate the movements that we're seeing in the person to their state of mind. So like psychomotor agitation is like a change in a negative way to how you're moving from how you would move on a typical day. So if you're like smooth, clean with how you're moving, how you're walking, things like that, nothing was really bothering you from a physical sense. And you start to get really restless and you start to move unexpectedly. Maybe you're kind of like always moving your hands, or you're always tapping your feet, or you kind of are exhibiting, a nervous energy that's manifesting in your body or on the other side.
Amaka (00:20:25) - You were slower in your movement. You know, you're kind of like trudging along. You're dragging your feet. You are not moving with the fervor and the vigor that you used to. Then that is also a possible sign of depression. I haven't really seen too much of this, but it's possible. So I need to include it as well. and moving forward. Also lots of energy. So this can kind of this is a separate symptom from sleeping or not sleeping. Your energy levels have they like plummeted. Are you always tired. Do you not have the wherewithal to do the things that you used to do? Like are you physically struggling to perform daily tasks that were not hard or, you know, kind of were automatic for you prior? Is there a loss of energy? Is there a loss of concentration? That's another symptom. Things that you used to focus on, work that you used to do, schoolwork, things that you had to study, that you had an easier time with before. Is it difficult or near impossible to do it now? That is another symptom.
Amaka (00:21:52) - Lack of concentration. Are you feeling worthless? Are you feeling guilty? Are you feeling like you don't deserve happiness or good things in your life? Are these type of thoughts coming to your head? That's another symptom feelings of guilt and worthlessness. And particularly if you have never had these type of feelings and thoughts before that is assigned to. Lastly, I'm going to put like a warning here because this can be triggering thoughts of suicide. If you have been having thoughts of not wanting to be here anymore, if you have thoughts currently of like, oh, you know, if I went to sleep, it wouldn't really matter to me if I didn't wake up. if you have thought about means how it would happen if you have, you know, anything in that realm and you do not have a history of it, that is also an important sign. So that's what we would categorize as suicidal ideation. You are thinking about suicide whether you are actively pursuing it or you're just kind of like, I wonder. So like, that's what if you're if you're like, I wonder.
Amaka (00:23:25) - That's kind of what we call ideation without intent or plan. But if you are thinking about it and you are thinking about how it might happen, then we would categorize that as with intent. If you're thinking about how it might happen and you're actually starting to like, put some pieces together and like putting a date on it and putting, a strategy, adding a strategy to it and like putting things in order. That's what we would call a plan. And hopefully we would be able to help you before it got to that point. But unfortunately, you know, in real life, that's like the really sad part. Oftentimes we're not able to. And that's another reason why I wanted to put this episode out, because folks may not really know what to do, or folks may not really know that what they're experiencing is not normal and they should seek help. So that's the last symptom when it comes to. Clinical diagnosis of depression. So I'm going to go through everything again really quickly. So the two hallmark symptoms that have to be diagnosed either one is persistent depressed mood for more than two weeks.
Amaka (00:24:49) - And then anhedonia what is described as complete or like 90% at least decreased interest and what you used to do that you loved. Then we have noticeable weight gain or weight loss that is linked to decreased appetite and not eating nearly as much as you used to on a typical day, or eating way more than you typically would. You have hypersomnia, which is increased sleeping like you're sleeping way more than you used to, or insomnia, which is persistent lack of sleep. Like no matter what you do, you cannot close your eyes and go to sleep. Then we have what we what I described as psychomotor agitation. this is a change in how you're moving, typically. Are you moving in a less controlled way? Are you fidgeting more? Are you more restless? Is this manifesting physically or are you slower in how you're moving? Are you dragging your feet, or are you kind of just like, slow with everything? And like I said, I don't see that a lot, but it's important. It is a symptom and it's important to mention so also to decrease fatigue.
Amaka (00:26:14) - Sorry, increased fatigue, decreased energy. Are you always tired now and you can't explain why do you have a very low tank in terms of energy. And you can explain why that is a symptom of depression clinical depression. Are you feeling worthless? Are you feeling guilt? Are you feeling like you don't deserve happiness or joy or good things? We would categorize this as feelings of worthlessness and guilt or guilt that is its own symptom. Are you not able to concentrate on things that you had an easier time before getting done? Work, school, daily tasks, what have you? Are you forgetting things a lot easier? That is a symptom of clinical depression. And lastly, suicidal ideation. Are you thinking about what it would be like to go to sleep and not wake up? Are you romanticizing that idea? Has that not happened before? That is also a symptom and it is important to seek help. So these are the symptoms when it comes to diagnosis of clinical depression. A patient in order for them to be clinically diagnosed has to be experiencing at least five of these.
Amaka (00:27:44) - And of those five, at least one of them need to be persistent, depressed mood and loss of pleasure or interest in doing the things that you love to do. Hobbies which I have described as an idea. So having said all that, I wanted to offer just a few statistics because sometimes we feel like we're the only ones going through this, and I'm offering this information to drive home that no one is alone like there are. There are folks everywhere for one reason or another who are going through this. And, I don't want if there's anyone listening, I don't want them to feel like it's just them because it's just not true. It's not you. So I hope if you're going through something, if you are resonating with these symptoms, and you're feeling like it's just you, it's not. Because if you take 100 people anywhere from 5 to 17 of those people, according to my reference that I'm using for this episode. Anywhere from 5 to 17 of those people have depression or battling it currently or have experienced it.
Amaka (00:29:02) - So like 5 to 17% have struggled with clinical depression. unfortunately, data purports that women are twice as more likely to experience depression than men, and there are some theories around this. some of them are hormonal differences. I'm not quite sure how true that is, but it's worth mentioning. and there is a particular type of depression that is linked to hormones. I'm not really going to get into that too much. I might do an episode of like clinical subtypes of depression, but for sake of length of this episode and kind of just wanting to talk about the most prevalent type that the most people might be able to identify with, I just wanted to talk about major depressive disorder. So some theories around why women are found to experience depression more. Hormonal differences are noted. effects of childbirth are noted, and there is a type of depression that is linked to pregnancy and childbirth. and then psychosocial and societal stressors and pressures are different between men and women. So because of that, that is thought that that's a reason why women are more likely to experience depression, but men are very much still able to experience it.
Amaka (00:30:38) - And, men who are having these symptoms ought not to dismiss it. But, you know, like I said, as I'm speaking, I'm speaking with black women in mind. So I want you guys to be able to, like, hear this and digest this. And even if you're not having any of these right now, even if you are listening to this episode and you feel like you're fine, at least you have heard it. So if something happens to you in the future, or a loved one or a friend, they're telling you what's going on with them. And you think back to what I said. You might be able to counsel them like, hey, like I was listening to this episode about this psych and PE who was talking about depression. She detailed the symptoms, and it sounds like you are kind of experiencing what she talked about. Like it's really just about educating and putting the right information out there for you guys. Because when people say that they're depressed, they kind of it's really like colloquial now.
Amaka (00:31:42) - Like it's just like, hey, like, hey, you call someone, hey, how are you? Oh, like, I'm, I'm like depressed, like, you know, like they use it as describing a state of mind, which it is. But like, they're not using it in the clinical sense. And I want people I want more people out there to know what depression is clinically and not just in the in the realm of, you know, describing your mood just because you are feeling sad not to dismiss sadness that you might be experiencing temporarily. But if it is sadness that you are not able to shake and it has been weeks, and you think that you have been experiencing some other symptoms that I have described, then you need some attention. So when it comes to age, age range that you might be able to experience it, it it kind of spans from childhood to old age. But where we see it, the most diagnosed is between the ages of 20 and 50. And the average age of onset is 40.
Amaka (00:32:52) - So like I said, it could it could vary from like across the lifespan from as young as like ten, 11, sometimes even younger, unfortunately, and as old as 90s. And unfortunately, when the elderly are experiencing depression, a lot of times it's chalked up to old age. And that's not true. You can have elderly folks who are going through depression and who need help. They need a more tailored type of help when it comes to medications. If they can't just, kind of help their condition with, talk therapy. But depression is depression. It might present a little differently in them, but it is that that would not be how they would normally behave if they weren't going through it. So it's important to know that depression can affect pretty much anyone, at almost any age. And it should be taken seriously. It should not be dismissed. It should not be minimized because, oh, they're old or, you know, what have you. So that's that. In terms of the age and when where you can see it.
Amaka (00:34:09) - Depression to you, it can also be exhibited with other types of disorders. This is what we would call comorbidity co meaning together and morbid which is which we break down that word to mean disease. So like having two diseases or more so you can see depression. And folks who struggle with substance use, who may be drinking, more than is typical in like a social setting. Or occasionally you might see that you might find that the person is engaging in substance use, marijuana, More illicit hard substances? Cocaine. Methamphetamine. a lot of times these substances are used to dull or distract from the intense feelings of sadness and worthlessness and depression. and they're used as means to make the person feel better. So it's not uncommon to see folks who are experiencing depression and are also engaging in these substances, because they're kind of using it as like an outlet, as a way to escape. folks can also experience depression with anxiety. Folks can also experience depression with panic disorder, which is where like you feel like this overwhelming.
Amaka (00:35:48) - It's like anxiety is on a spectrum and I'm going to do an episode solely on anxiety, but like it's on a spectrum, panic disorder is on that spectrum where you just feel like the most overwhelming sense of panic and you are not able to explain it. and you do everything you can to avoid it, but you are not able to. So folks can experience depression with panic disorder. Folks can experience depression with upsells of compulsive disorder. This is a disorder where you have persistent intrusive thoughts. and or you have a persistent way of doing things in your daily life that are uncommon, but you feel like you have to do those things in order to move on with your day. That's kind of like a really like, bare bones type of way to describe it. but I can definitely offer more information about certain disorders. I just want to kind of talk about what you might see with a person with depression. So yeah, when it comes to major depressive disorder, these are just some of the other diseases that you might see that a person is exhibiting.
Amaka (00:37:11) - Lastly, I wanted to talk about risk when it comes to family. If you have family members, particularly primary members, those in your nuclear family who have been clinically diagnosed with depression, you have an increased risk of diagnosis. It doesn't mean you will be diagnosed, but if you have a mother or a father, a sister, a twin, who has been clinically diagnosed with depression, your risk is higher. even with extended family, if you have a grandmother, grandfather, biological aunt, uncle, cousin. If depression is in your family, there is a higher risk, but the risk is highest if it's within your nuclear family, your parents and your siblings. And that increased risk can range anywhere from 10% to 25%. Increased risk, particularly if you're if you have one parent who has been clinically diagnosed with depression. If both parents have been clinically diagnosed with depression, that increased risk goes up to 20 to 50%. So, that might be worth thinking about if you are experiencing the symptoms that I talked about before, and you can think back to perhaps how your parents would behave, that maybe they weren't really able to explain.
Amaka (00:38:41) - But when you think about how they would present and how you're presenting right now, maybe you're seeing some consistencies that just might be you going through clinical depression and, you know, kind of realizing that that was what your parents were going through as well. Perhaps they told you, perhaps they didn't. A lot of times in parents, it goes clinically undiagnosed, too. So I just wanted to also put that out there that, there is an increased risk regardless of race, regardless of ethnicity. in depression, if your family, particularly nuclear family, extended family as possible as well, but particularly your nuclear family, if there is a history of clinical depression, you have an increased risk. You have a higher risk. if that's the case. I also wanted to briefly mention some subtypes of depression. We have seasonal depression that has kind of entered the general conversation when it comes to, you know, the changing of the seasons, particularly fall to winter and the shortening of the days having less daylight. Seasonal depression is real and it affects a lot of people.
Amaka (00:40:02) - And folks do need help. Oftentimes there are more folks who. Kind of. They do perfectly fine throughout the other times of the year, and they just need a little. Bit more support during this time of the year. it is real and it is something that happens. And if you find that your mood is markedly changed during that transition and this has happened to you in the past, and you really weren't able to explain why. This might kind of give you some insight into what is happening. And we are able to help as clinicians, as psychiatrists, as therapists, as psychiatric nurse practitioners were able to help you. kind of identify that and get some help, whether, like I said, whether it's therapy, whether it's medication, there are people out there who aren't typically on mental health medication until that period of the year, and then they need some help. And it's okay. There are folks who experience depression while they are pregnant, and they have not before. There are folks who experience depression after they give birth and they have not before.
Amaka (00:41:18) - That is something that is pretty prevalent to. So anyone out there who is experiencing some of these symptoms and they have never done it before, and you are pregnant or you just gave birth and you are experiencing some of these symptoms. I could do an episode just on postpartum depression, and in fact I am planning on doing it. but the bottom line for just this episode and what I want to get out there is if you are feeling persistently depressed and you are pregnant or you just gave birth, it's not abnormal. There is nothing wrong with you. You just need help. You have just birthed a child or you are actively gestating a child. Your body, your hormones are not what they would be on a typical day if you were not pregnant, or if you did not just give birth. Sometimes folks need help getting back to that baseline, and a lot of times it's ignored. Meanwhile, that person needs help. So like I said, I'm going to do an episode alone on postpartum depression. but I just wanted to put it out there that it is possible.
Amaka (00:42:44) - And if you are feeling depressed, mood. And that has not happened to you before and you just had a baby or you're having a baby. It's okay to seek help. So why did I do this episode? I think I kind of have explained it over the course of it. But just to reiterate again, we as a community experience this we as a community go through this, but we as a community, I feel, do not give enough attention to it and we as a community do not get as much help as, say, others. And I want that to change. I want the tides to turn and I feel like they are. I feel like they are, I think therapy as a practice, as a means of regular mental health has become way more accepted, and it has become way more celebrated as a way to just live life, you know, kind of adopted as a means of mental hygiene, which I believe in 1,000%, but I think it's important to really put out there what to look for, because if you are feeling out of sorts and you have been feeling out of sorts for a long time, and the symptoms that I have talked about in this episode, you feel like they have been happening to you, but because of whatever it is, because of work, because of, you know, home, because of responsibilities, you have not given it the attention that it needs.
Amaka (00:44:43) - You have just been chalking it up to being lazy or just dropping the ball, and you're just being hard on yourself. You're saying, what is wrong with you? You are, you know, kind of just like beating yourself down. I am encouraging you to stop, and I am encouraging you to kind of really think about what could really be going on because something medical could be going on, something clinical could be going on. And I want folks to consider that because it's not you, it's not your fault. And I want to repeat that. It's not your fault. There's something beyond your control that's going on, and you need help. That's all. Just in the way that folks, you know, break their arm and go to the hospital. Or they have a UTI and they get medication or they are diagnosed with diabetes and they have to be put on a regimen to manage it. The same thing goes with mental health, and that has not been the case. It has kind of been banished and relegated to a part of society that people oftentimes don't want to touch and don't want to discuss, because it's not tangible and we're not really able to see it.
Amaka (00:46:11) - I feel like it's kind of being more accepted, like I said, with therapy and things like that. But the more we talk about it, the better. The more we raise awareness, the better. And that's where I thought my role in this discourse and conversation would be most valuable, because we need more folks like me who have a deeper understanding of this space to be able to put out this information so that folks know what to look out for and know when to seek support. So. That's where folks like me come in. Psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners are able to work with you through psych like psychological rehabilitation, talk therapy, medication management, psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners are able to prescribe medication to you if you need help in that way. Therapists and counselors are able to help you through rehabilitation. Psychologically, they are not able to prescribe medication. only psychiatrists and psych and PS are, but they play a very vital and critical role as well. if you find that you are in a place where you don't, if you feel like you don't need medication, but you would benefit a lot from talk therapy, you can venture out to talk with a counselor or a therapist.
Amaka (00:47:47) - If you feel like you are in a place where not only would you need talk therapy and psychological rehabilitation, you would also need pharmacological support, which is where medication comes in. Then you would see a person like me, or a psychiatrist who has gone through medical school and has gone through psychiatric residency and is able to clinically evaluate you, diagnose you, and prescribe you the appropriate medication. So I'm going to end this episode, but I really say all this to say that there is no shame in what you're going through. There is no shame in seeking therapy and there is no shame in using medication to get help for your mental health. It is just like anything else that you would be struggling with physically a broken arm, a UTI, diabetes, a headache like it is. It ought to be treated just like those other ailments. And there are ways to do that. But if people don't know, they're not able to take the right steps. So if there's one thing that you guys take from this podcast, even with all the information that I've shared, if there's one thing you guys take from this podcast, I really want it to be that, like, there is no shame in therapy.
Amaka (00:49:15) - There's no shame in needing help for your mental health. There is no shame for taking medication to help with your mental health. And I'm hoping that what I talked about in this episode kind of gives a little bit more insight and clarity into what you might be experiencing in this moment, or perhaps you experienced in the past that you just didn't know what was going on, and you didn't know to how to explain it. All you knew is that you were not yourself. So at least if it happens to you again in the future, you have a better idea of what's going on, and then you can take the steps to get help. I don't know why it was really on my heart to record this episode. I had other plans, but I, those were kind of pushed away in my mind, and the theme of depression kept coming to me and I'm like, maybe there's somebody out there who needs to hear this. So I hope that the information that I have shared in this episode was of value to somebody, and I hope that what I shared in this episode might inspire someone who is going through some or a lot of what I talked about to get help, to look for therapists, to look for psychiatrists or psych MPs, in their area or virtually.
Amaka (00:50:53) - There are a myriad of ways to connect with folks like me who can help you get better and improve on your journey. and like I said, I'm going to be doing throughout this year, I'm going to do at least a few more episodes that are more psychiatrically focused. I plan on doing an episode, talking strictly about anxiety, and different types of anxiety. and some more episodes too, because I really think that this information is important and really needs to be out there. and yeah, so, this was a little bit heavier in terms of content, but I also I, I at the end of it all, I want to thank you guys for listening, especially if you listen to the end, if you appreciate this information that I have shared with you guys, if it has impacted you in a positive way, if it has changed how you view depression, if you have just appreciated it in general, please write a review on Apple Podcast. Podcasts. Please rate and review on Spotify. Please share this episode to anyone who you feel like may benefit from it.
Amaka (00:52:15) - Who you think maybe is struggling in a way that is consistent with what I talked about and might benefit from listening. Please recommend. And yeah, as always, I appreciate you guys. I love you guys and I will talk to you in the next episode. All right. Be well. Bye.
