Confused about whether you have unipolar depression? Here are your answers

Unipolar depression is not a new condition and is the other name for major depressive disorder or clinical depression.

It's a mental health condition characterized by a range of symptoms that impede your daily functioning. Naming is very important, not only for the client who's experiencing these symptoms but also for someone who is familarising them with mental health conditions.

We form a perception of what depression looks like because of what the media shows us or what we have heard from others. That can stop us from understanding that depression lies on a continuum.

On one end of the spectrum, you may experience severe unipolar depression and on the other, you may experience high-functioning depression.

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What are the causes of unipolar depression?

Mental health issues can be caused by various factors. (Image via Unsplash/Zohre Nemati)

Numerous factors work together to cause most mental health issues. Generally, a practitioner will ask you for the family history of an illness.

They may specifically focus on your parent's mental health or if any sibling has experienced these concerns. Often, people don't realize that mental health issues have a biological basis and disregard these concerns as being 'unreal'.

Hormonal changes can occasionally fuel these symptoms. You may have heard of postpartum depression, which is also a form of unipolar depression. The symptoms often appear after becoming parents.

Other precipitating factors can be in the environment, like toxic parenting or childhood trauma. Not everyone who goes through these experiences develops depression, but the chances become higher.

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What are unipolar depression symptoms?

Depression symptoms often lie on a continuum. (Image via Unsplash/Laura Chouette)

The symptoms of major depressive disorder can have a tight grip on you. The only difference between bipolar depression and unipolar depression is that in the former, you may also experience manic or hypomanic episodes.

You may not only experience an all-time low but also feel hopeless and helpless about your life experiences. That may be worse if you have experienced something life-changing, like divorce, death in the family or even experiencing a road traffic accident.

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Identifying unipolar depression treatments

People often resort to various coping mechanisms. (Image via Unsplash/Zachary Kadolph)

Unfortunately, depression is one of the most common mental health issues. When we start observing the symptoms, we often slip into denial and resort to unhealthy coping mechanisms. However, there are many effective strategies you can use to feel better.

Treatment for depression can vary depending on your symptoms. Mild symptoms can be managed with therapy and self-help strategies, but severe symptoms often need to be managed with therapy and medications.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is often considered the gold standard treatment for depression. However, the effectiveness of therapies can largely depend on client needs, goals, personal experience with therapy and personality.

It means that CBT can also fail for some individuals, which means that it's not bad for you, but rather the therapy approach is not working for you.

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Depression is a treatable condition. In fact, the earlier you seek treatment, the chances of recovery can double.

It can be tough to acknowledge that you may have a mental health condition, but it's always a starting point. No one is born with perfect mental health. Depending on our vulnerabilities and external life conditions, we may experiences difficulties and unipolar depression is one of these.

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Janvi Kapur is a counselor with a Master's degree in applied psychology with a specialization in clinical psychology.

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