San Diego’s Depression Treatment Program
“You are not your depression. You are a person who has depression.”
– Stephen Fry
Nearly 1 in every 3 California residents reported experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety within the last year. If you’re one of these people and you’re feeling lost, unsure of where to turn, we’re here to tell you that there’s hope.
At Wings Recovery, we’re dedicated to helping people find healing, and build lives that aren’t ruled by their mental health condition. Our goal is to help more people get connected to the care they deserve. Depression is treatable, yet so many who live with it feel like there’s no way out.
You’re not alone in this. You deserve support, so let’s show you how we provide it.
What We Treat: Depression and Major Depressive Disorder
The term depression is one most people know, yet the condition itself is more serious than many realize.
When someone is living with depression, formally known as major depressive disorder, they’re impacted on a regular, near-daily basis. The side effects of this mental health condition can be debilitating and decrease someone’s quality of life.
Untreated depression can compound into the formation of additional conditions such as substance use. Additionally, depression is frequently concurrent with other conditions like untreated ADHD, anxiety, and trauma.
Depression can make it hard to get out of bed, cause a decrease in self-care habits, impact someone’s finances and work function, and can lead to self-harm and even suicidal ideation.
How We Treat: The Holistic and Trauma-Focused Approach at Wings Recovery
Here at Wings Recovery, our team utilizes a whole-person approach to your treatment with a focus on trauma-informed care. We have a range of different treatment levels, from residential options to outpatient, to ensure you have support whenever and however you need it.
During your time with us, you’ll be paired with a therapist who’s dedicated to you and your healing. You will always have them to turn back to, even when you leave, as we believe consistency and connection are important for long-term care.
We also recognize that, like many mental health conditions, depression doesn’t just impact your mind. It also impacts your physical health, your self-care habits, and more. This is why we offer additional services that help you reconnect with those aspects of your life. From registered dieticians and nutrition counselors to services that promote the regeneration of your physical health like yoga, acupuncture, and cupping. We teach you the skills you’ll need to live the life you want.
What is a Co-Occurring Disorder?
Concurrent disorders, also known as co-occurring disorders or a “dual diagnosis,” refers to when someone has both a mental health condition and a substance use disorder.
This is not an uncommon development. Frequently untreated mental health can lead to someone seeking substances to address the side effects they’re living with. The opposite also happens. Consistent and long-term substance use is a factor for the development of a mental health condition with trauma, depression, and anxiety being some of the most common.
How Trauma and Depression Are Connected
When people think of “trauma” they often imagine someone who experienced a “big” event. Common examples we hear are people who lived through wartime scenarios or those who were present during 9/11.
Trauma is more complex than that. Many people live through trauma without recognizing it until later when they seek care for a condition like a substance use disorder or depression.
Untreated trauma snowballs within a person. It’s a common source for many mental health conditions, depression included. While there is no way to fully quantify every type of traumatic scenario, here are a few common examples:
- Living through verbal or physical abuse
- Living through financial hardship
- Sudden loss of a loved one
- Car accidents
- Natural disasters
- Sexual assault (verbal or physical)
- Being robbed
- Being attacked by an animal
- Experiencing a traumatic injury
The Benefits of Gender-Specific Treatment for Depression
When it comes to mental health, while there are a lot of similarities in how any gender experiences them, there are many positive reasons for gender-specific treatment.
The primary example comes from the different social circumstances most commonly experienced by women versus men. Our social lives – families, friends, work, and social media alike – have a large impact on our mental health.
Through gender-specific treatment groups, you receive the same quality of care and program offerings while being surrounded by people who have a better understanding of what your life is like. This understanding plays a huge role in mental health treatment, especially in the case of depression which often leads to people feeling disconnected and lonely.
What Are the Risk Factors for Depression?
Depression can happen to anyone regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, and more. How, though, does it develop? Are there certain triggers for depression?
There is still much we are actively learning about depression and how it develops, but there are still several patterns we’ve been able to identify regarding the sources of depression.
- Family history – There have been studies that indicate that depression could potentially run in a family. This means if one of your relatives, especially a parent or sibling, has depression you may be more likely to have it, too.
- Trauma – Living through trauma is a high-risk factor for depression.
- Substance use – The way substances mess with your brain chemistry, along with how substance use impacts your life as a whole, are both known triggers for depression.
- Genetics – In addition to family members having depression, there are some, innate biochemical conditions people are born with that give them a higher likelihood of developing depression.
The Difference Between Depression and Grief
As we mentioned earlier, the loss of a loved one is a common source of trauma, so how can you tell the difference between grief and depression?
The primary difference between the two stems from time. While there is no incorrect timeline for grief, and grief can come and go, depression lingers. It is a consistent and long-lasting condition with people experiencing symptoms on a near-daily basis for months at a time. Grief, on the other hand, often still has moments of positivity and fondness.
Additionally, while there may be overlap in symptoms such as sadness, depression influences a person’s self-esteem. Both conditions can make a person have lowered hygiene habits, but depression makes a person question if anything in life is worth doing.
Understanding the Warning Signs of Depression
Depression is something that impacts a person in every aspect of their life, yet at the same time, it is often overlooked. Because it doesn’t come out of the blue, the gradual showing of depressing side effects often gets to a boiling point before they’re finally noticed.
With the risks of self-harm and suicide always at play with depression, it’s important to be able to spot the signs of it. Recognizing depression in yourself or a loved one is the first step to getting access to care, support, and healing.
Depression often showcases itself through isolation, low mood, and low motivation. This has the chance to evolve into someone quitting a hobby they used to enjoy, withdrawing from friends and family, and a decline in self-care. Often, a person’s space is a good indicator of depression, with messy rooms, less frequent showers, and shifting appetite and sleep patterns being common symptoms.
How Long Does Treatment for Depression Take?
There is no specific timeline for depression treatment and management. Each individual has their own specific needs, severity, and other factors that have to be brought into consideration.
Here at Wings Recovery, our medical team will work with you one-on-one to determine what level of care is needed for your treatment. During your time with us, this level of care and timeline will shift and evolve to continue suiting your needs as they develop.
Get Started on Your Healing With Wings Recovery in San Diego
There’s no wrong time to get started on your journey of healing. Whether you need a space dedicated to recovery or you want to live at home while also getting treatment, we have options for you.
Don’t wait to find healing. Our team at Wings Recovery is here whenever you’re ready to begin. Our trauma-informed approach is designed to tackle the root of your depression and give you the tools you need to live a fuller life once more. Contact us today at 888-790-9377 and take your first step towards recovery.