Depression

What Causes Bipolar Disorder?

Jim Sugel on November 12, 2024

Bipolar disorder is a mental health disorder affecting an estimated 3% of the U.S. population. While there are different types of bipolar disorder with different symptoms, bipolar disorder is primarily a lifelong or chronic disorder that can go in and out of remission for as long as you are alive. While many types of mental health disorder can go away with treatment to never return, bipolar disorder is normally chronic. This means that, for the most part, treating bipolar disorder is about managing symptoms and pushing the disorder into remission for as long as possible.

That can probably help you to understand that bipolar disorder is almost always something you’re born with. However, bipolar disorder can express itself in different ways and can be caused by different things. In this article, we’ll look at the different causes of bipolar disorder as well as triggers and what causes relapse or reoccurrence of bipolar episodes.

Causes of Biploar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is overwhelmingly caused by genetics. Some 73-91% of all instances of bipolar disorder occur when someone else in the family has bipolar disorder. In fact, bipolar disorder is about 0.71% hereditary. If a fraternal twin has bipolar disorder, there’s about a 5% chance that the other twin has it also and if those twins are identical that rises to about 41%. If you widen that spectrum to include all bipolar spectrum disorders including major depressive disorder, that rises to 67% for identical twins.

So, there’s a very strong genetic element in bipolar disorder. Here, risk factors include:

A family history of depression
A family history of bipolar disorder
A family history of mania

In some cases, you might not know about having a family history of bipolar disorder. For example, until recently, women with bipolar disorder may have been diagnosed with hysteria or borderline personality disorder. Men are much more likely to be diagnosed with a bipolar spectrum disorder, despite women experiencing bipolar disorders at similar rates to men and being almost twice as likely to experience bipolar disorder with major depression than men. Therefore, a family history of mental illnesses including borderline personality disorder, split personality disorder, narcissism, hysteria, and depression can all be indicative of a family history of bipolar disorder.

So, there’s a very strong genetic element in bipolar disorder. Here, risk factors include:

A family history of depression
A family history of bipolar disorder
A family history of mania

Are Genetics the Only Cause of Bipolar Disorder?

While genetics cause up to 91% of all instances of bipolar disorder, there are some other causes. However, it’s unclear if these are “causes” or “triggers” that caused a latent disorder to manifest.

In most cases, it’s likely that the genetic basis for bipolar disorder was there, but triggers brought it forward when it might not have appeared otherwise.

Trauma
Childhood abuse and trauma
Depression
Sleep deprivation (sleep deprivation can induce mania in most people with bipolar disorder)
Neurological injury such as stroke, brain injury, multiple sclerosis temporal lobe epilepsy, etc. However, this may be “Bipolar-like” rather than a bipolar disorder

In addition, for most people, the earlier the exposure to trauma, the more likely it is to contribute to bipolar disorder. For example, an estimated 30-50% of all persons with a bipolar disorder diagnosis report traumatic childhood experiences including trauma and abuse. In addition, children who experience physical or sexual violence are significantly more likely to engage in violence during bipolar mania episodes, with rate and severity of violent outbursts heavily linked to how young the child was at the time of abuse. This is so much the case that hospitals are increasingly using the Violence Tendency Scale to score these factors to predict violent behavior in children with diagnoses, before violent behavior manifests.

Therefore, environment can significantly shape bipolar disorder and its expressions, even if it doesn’t cause that behavior to begin with.

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What About Different Types of Bipolar Disorder?

The bipolar spectrum consists of three subtypes of bipolar disorder, as defined by the DSM-5.

These include:

Bipolar I – Bipolar I disorder is characterized by manic (extreme high energy periods with psychosis that cause social and occupational impairment) episodes, which much have occurred at least once for a diagnosis to happen. Depression is not necessary to receive this diagnosis but it may be present. Here, episodes last 3-12 weeks, with most patients experiencing a rollercoaster of mania and then depression with potentially some “normal” periods in between.
Bipolar II Disorder – Bipolar II disorder is characterized by hypomanic (high elevated mood without social and occupational impairment and without psychosis) episodes followed by periods of depression. This can look like someone having periods of high productivity followed by normal or low productivity – resulting in a lowered chance of diagnosis because depression alleviates itself often enough to seem like remission and hypomania makes people feel better. Therefore, many people who qualify for Bipolar II disorder may not have it.
Cyclothymia – Cyclothymia includes any series of hypomanic episodes and depression that don’t meet criteria for bipolar II. E.g., if episodes last a few days or weeks instead of longer, if depression isn’t strong enough to be major depression, etc.

So, you have three expressions of essentially the same disorder. Are they caused by different things? No. They’re all primarily genetically based. For example, Bipolar I is .73 heritable, Bipolar I and II is .77 heritable, and Bipolar I, II, and Cyclothymia are .71 heritable. This means that of the three, cyclothymia is the least likely to be heritable.

Eventually, all three disorders are related to the same genetic and heritability factors. In each case, triggers such as trauma, neuropathic damage, and stress or sleep deprivation can cause a latent disorder to appear. However, it’s unlikely that those factors can cause any form of bipolar disorder on their own.

A genetic basis for bipolar disorder also explains why it’s almost always chronic. Most people who are diagnosed with bipolar disorder will have periods of remission and relapse throughout their lives. That means most people with bipolar disorder will receive treatment and probably medication for the rest of their lives. However, with good management and potentially medication to reduce risks and to prevent mania with psychosis, some people can be respectively in remission for most of the rest of their lives.

Getting Help with Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder effects 3 out of every 100 adults in the United States, with about equal occurrence in men and women. If you have it, chances are, someone in your family has it too, even if you aren’t familiar with it. At the same time, you don’t need active expressions of bipolar disorder in the family to have it. For example, some people have the genes, but the disorder is never triggered, which means you may have heritable bipolar disorder but no recent episodes of it in your family.

Finally, bipolar disorder is a chronic disorder. Treating the trigger for bipolar disorder may be important for improving your mental health and your quality of life. However, you won’t be able to undo that, and you will have a bipolar disorder for the rest of your life. That means choosing treatment that focuses on long-term management, symptom management, and getting your life under control so you can live as normally as possible around your disorder are the important things.

If you or a loved one are struggling with bipolar disorder, there is help. Medication, behavioral therapy, and ongoing support will help you take control back and get your quality of life back.

10 Signs of Depression in Your Young Adult

Annie Winner on November 4, 2024

Depression is a normal fact of life for many of us. In fact, today, an estimated 21.5 million people experienced a major depressive episode or depression in the last year. For most of us, the age of mental health disorder onset is between 12 and 18, with 4.5 million youth aged 12-17 also experiencing depressive episodes in the same year. But, depression is highest for young adults, aged 18-25, with 6 million individuals, or 17.5% of all people of that age category. This means that young adults are especially vulnerable to depression.

While this relates to a large number of factors including high workloads, uncertain futures, covid-19 disruption, economic uncertainty, genetics, and social pressure – our youngest adults are also our most vulnerable. If you suspect that a young adult in your life is struggling, it’s important to pay attention, to make spaces to talk, and to look into getting help together.

The following 10 signs of depression in young adults will get you started.

Persistent Sadness or Low Mood

Prolonged sadness, low mood, or apathy are a core symptom of depression and are present in almost all people with depression. This might result in a young adult experiencing prolonged low mood or being bummed out for long periods of time.

What it looks like: Feeling down or persistent low mood can be difficult to spot from the outside so often, you’ll have to talk to your loved one. They also might not have words to say, “My mood is low” or “I’m just bummed out all the time” or “I feel depressed” and might instead say things like “I just feel off” “I’m having a bad month” or “I just don’t have any energy”. Especially for men, talking about mental health tends to be translated into physical symptoms, which can make it harder to figure out what’s going on.

Loss of Interest in Activities

Anhedonia, or loss of interest in things you previously enjoyed, is one of the most common symptoms of depression. Often, this means that you’re struggling with your brain regulating the uptake of serotonin and dopamine, meaning you simply don’t experience things like you used to. For example, instead of feeling excitement and interest in doing something you just feel nothing and after doing something, you also feel nothing because you’re not getting the reward of feeling good about interactions.

What it looks like: Young adults experiencing anhedonia might withdraw and stop doing things. They might drop out of sports or chess clubs, they might spend less time with family, they might do less with partners. Instead, they’ll likely dump time into high-reward/low-energy activities like phone games, alcohol or drugs, or binging food/sugary drinks.

Sleep Disturbances

People struggling with depression are very likely to have problems with sleeping, which can mean sleeping too much or not enough. In young adults, this most frequently results in sleeping too much paired with difficulty falling asleep. Often that results from sleeping too late, being tired all day, and then staying up too late in an attempt to regain control over the day – resulting in a negative reinforcing pattern of poor sleep. In addition, poor sleep worsens depression by disrupting rhythms and disrupting the brain’s ability to heal.

What it looks like: Young adults with depression are very likely to sleep in and have trouble waking up, which can result in missed classes, being late for work, and all-day fatigue. At the same time, they are unlikely to go to bed on time and are instead more likely to take frequent naps or to fall asleep in vehicles. Still, they will be tired even if they go to bed on time and get the right amount of sleep.

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Changes in Appetite or Weight

Significant changes in appetite or weight are always a sign that something is wrong. If someone is losing or gaining a lot of weight without changing diet, it can be a symptom of both physical and mental health problems so it’s important to go to a doctor. Changes in appetite can also be a red flag, as young adults with depression may avoid food and lose too much weight because they aren’t experiencing enough reward from it or may turn to high sugar and fat foods to binge on in an attempt to feel good.

What it looks like: If a young adult is suddenly losing or gaining weight, it’s a cause for concern. Weight loss is more concerning than weight gain, because it can stress the organs and cause more problems. However, disinterest or over interest in food are both a sign that something is wrong, and you should talk to a doctor about it.

Fatigue or Lack of Energy

Chronic fatigue, even after sleeping enough, is a very normal symptom of depression. Young adults with a healthy sleeping schedule may still feel chronically fatigued and may sleep for seemingly absurd amounts of time. This is linked to the way depression disturbs the body’s inflammatory responses, meaning your young adult is experiencing the same fatigue as if they had a cold or hay fever – but all the time.

What it Looks Like: Your young adult may be lethargic, may take naps frequently, and may drop responsibilities. They might not do things like taking out the trash or helping around the house. They might start missing work or class because they’re sleeping too late. Tasks like picking up medication, doing assignments for college, or doing chores around the house might seem monumental because they are tired all the time and so simply might not happen.

Difficulty Concentrating

People struggling with depression can experience life as if they are walking around in a fog. Concentration and focus-oriented tasks can become extremely difficult. This makes sense because depression actually impairs cognitive functioning and can slow down processing and can result in actual impairments to the brain.

What it looks like: Your young adult may show symptoms of depression by having no attention span. They might not pay attention when you’re talking, they might lose focus in the middle of a conversation, they might leave tasks half-finished. Alternatively, they might struggle with making choices, experience executive dysfunction, and may lack the attention to complete longer tasks well.

Feelings of Worthlessness or Guilt

Feelings of worthlessness and guilt are hallmarks of depression. This is often a self-reinforcing cycle of feeling excessive guilt and low self-esteem coupled with fatigue and executive dysfunction. These in turn, exacerbate each other, which can be difficult to treat or to manage.

What it looks like: Young adults are not known for self-esteem, but excessive self-blame, low self-esteem, and guilt are signs that something is wrong. If your young adult jumps to “I always fail”, “People are better off without me”, “this is terrible because of me”, it’s a sign that they are struggling with self-esteem.

Irritability or Anger

Irritability and anger are extremely common symptoms of depression. Here, depression is heavily linked to both episodic and chronic irritability, where a young adult may experience spikes of being irritable or cranky or might be irritable as a common standard. This happens because of a symptom known as severe mood dysregulation, in which the person with depression loses control of and insight into their moods.

What it looks like: Your young adult might snap or be irritable at slight provocations, like being interrupted from texting to be asked if they want dinner. They might have mood swings and unpredictable outbursts or moods. They might behave as though they are cranky or annoyed as a standard.

Physical Aches and Pains

Depression heavily interacts with the immune system, which means that depression can result in physical pain including headaches, stomach issues, and general malaise. Your young adult may experience life as though they have a cold or flu all the time.

What it looks like: Your young adult may frequently have stomach pain and diarrhea. They might also complain of aches and pains. And, they are very likely to have a headache as a normal thing. Here, they might say nothing, but you’ll see increases in acetaminophen or other painkiller use, changes in how they eat, and will hear more frequent complaints.

Thoughts of Death or Suicide

Suicidal ideation is one of the most serious symptoms of depression, but it affects 12.2% of young adults. Untreated depression is also one of the most common causes of suicidal ideation, meaning that suicidal ideation is a very common symptom of depression.

What it looks like: Most people don’t talk about thinking about suicide or death. However, they might let things slip by accident, they might google ways to kill themselves, they might text with friends about it. If you see things like this, it’s important to talk about it, even if it seems like it might be a bad joke.

Young adults struggle with depression more than any other generation. If someone in your life is struggling, it’s important to make space to talk, to offer help, and to work towards going to a doctor, looking for treatment, and finding professional help. Depression impacts 17.5% of all young adults but mental health treatment and therapy will help and can improve quality of life and your future – even when depression is chronic.

How to Know If You Need Outpatient Depression Treatment

Jim Sugel on October 21, 2024

If you’ve been diagnosed with depression, getting treatment is very likely to be an ongoing part of your life. That’s so much true that many people benefit from inpatient stays in clinics for rehab treatment and care. That stint in full time treatment gives you a baseline to build life skills and to learn how to manage your disorder. However, over time, you might need more and ongoing support.

Outpatient treatment is ideal for that because you can stay at home, continue your daily life and responsibilities, and fit treatment into your life instead of the other way around.

Outpatient treatment is typically 5 days per week and up to three hours per day. Here, you’ll go to treatment in the evening after work or during the day, while kids are in school. You might also opt for treatment on the weekends or in the morning before the rest of your day starts. In any case, you’ll get treatment for your depression without having to give up on the rest of your life. Mental health treatment is normal and it should be. 12.7 million U.S. adults received mental health assistance for things like depression and anxiety in 2022. If you need help, it’s important to ask. Whether you need that or not should almost always be decided by a doctor. However, some signs that you will benefit from it include:

You’re Struggling

If you’re having trouble with your day-to-day life, you probably need help. That’s true whether you’re withdrawing from the things you love, you’re having trouble keeping up with routines, you’re dropping out of social life, or you feel bad. Even persistent feelings that things are off or wrong are a good sign to reach out and talk to your doctor and to potentially get help.

You should never have a hard time keeping up. You should always feel like you have the tools to manage your life and the things in it. And, while emergencies happen, the norm should be that you have a handle on things. If that doesn’t feel like it’s the case, reaching out and looking into treatment and help is an important thing.

That’s also true if the issue is that you’re “just” feeling stressed or tense all of the time. A lot of people experience expression as fatigue. Others experience it as stress or feelings of tension or that things are about to go wrong. These feelings are not normal, and you shouldn’t have to live with them all the time. You can get help and you can work on finding a solution.

You’re Not Enjoying Things

If you’re doing things you used to enjoy and are getting nothing out of it, it’s time to talk to a doctor about treatment. Depression means that your brain isn’t processing serotonin and dopamine correctly. That can mean feeling less enjoyment, less motivation, and more simple fatigue and tiredness. Either way, if you’re not doing things you love anymore, it’s a sign that things are deteriorating. And, that means things will get worse. Without positive things in your life and things you enjoy, you won’t have outlets or good things to look forward t. That will mean things will just keep getting worse. Therefore, it’s critical that you seek out depression treatment if things are that bad.

It’s okay to have a few down weeks. However, if things last more than a few weeks, you really want to make sure you’re getting help.

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Your Routines are Falling Apart

If your routines are falling apart, it’s a good sign that you’re overwhelmed. Sometimes that can be because the routines are too much. In other cases, it can be because you are not doing well and you need help keeping up. This means that the first step is to step back, reduce your workload, find workarounds, and ensure that you have tools to get things done. That might mean talking to a professional and asking for help and insight. That’s especially true if you have family responsibilities that might push you towards doing more than you feel capable of. However, if you notice:

Personal hygiene slipping, e.g., you don’t put the same effort into dressing up, you don’t brush your hair, you don’t get dressed, etc. It’s a good time to be concerned for yourself and to ask for help. Major changes in personal routine and hygiene are hugely important indicators of your mental health. Even small stuff like not being invested in dressing nicely when you used to be or feeling like tying your shoes is too much effort can be hugely important indicators of mental health.
Slipping up on home routines like cleaning the house, putting away the dishes, or cooking. If you used to have a routine you could keep up with and now things are piling up, or you don’t know how to create a routine you can keep up with, it’s a very good sign that you might want professional help. It’s normal to have some trouble keeping up with dishes and other cleaning. It’s less so to have those tasks be overwhelming, for them to fall by the wayside for weeks at a time, or for some chores like laundry to just not happen until things are extremely bad.
Dropping responsibilities at home, like childcare, cooking for yourself, spending time with your partner, etc. The more important the responsibility, the larger the red flag it is when you drop it. If you find you’re just not keeping up with things you need and want to do, it’s critical to ask for help – even if that means staying at an inpatient facility.
Being late for work or failing other major responsibilities outside the home. If you’re not keeping up when social or financial pressure are involved, it’s a sign that you are having significant trouble and you should be getting help.

Letting things slip for a few days is okay. But, if things are falling behind for the longer term, you feel overwhelmed, too tired to manage, or just don’t care, it’s a very good sign that you badly need help.

Trouble with Relationships

The worse you’re doing, the more your mood is going to go up and down, the harder of a time you’ll have handling your emotions, and the worse you’ll be at keeping up with social responsibilities. That often means your relationships with friends, family, and even partners will deteriorate. Here, it’s important to recognize that depression can actively sabotage your relationships. Having the tools to communicate that, to set expectations, and to manage your emotions will allow you to manage your relationships and to maintain them around depression. That’s important for you, your quality of life, and your ability to maintain those relationships. Often, it will mean going to treatment, getting relationship therapy, and learning skills to manage your life around depression.

Eventually, going to treatment is a normal and healthy thing. Even if you think you’re struggling, it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor, get insight from a professional, and get a handle on what your options are and how you can move forward.

Outpatient treatment for depression can be a great choice to allow you to get help and to get your depression under control without putting your life on hold – but you might also need more intensive care. It’s important to talk to a professional and ask for advice on what will work for you with your symptoms.

Redeemed Mental Health is a mental health & dual diagnosis treatment center offering PHP, IOP, and individual levels of care. Contact us today to begin your journey of recovery!

The Benefits of an IOP Program for Managing Bipolar Disorder

Jim Sugel on July 19, 2024

Today, an estimated 2.6% of the adult population struggle with bipolar disorder. For many of us, that diagnosis means a lifelong disorder of symptoms that come and go. It also means medication, ongoing treatment, and inevitable relapses into poor mental health that will require treatment.

For most people, a bipolar spiral that results in a diagnosis means getting inpatient or residential treatment. You’ll stay in a clinic or facility for 30 or more days where you’ll be able to focus on treatment, recovery, and learning the skills that allow you to live a happy and healthy life.

Once you get out of treatment, most people assume they are finished, that’s the end of it. But, increasingly, we’re aware that the key to long-term management of bipolar disorder is offering long-term treatment and long-term support. Here, an intensive outpatient program or IOP can be a valuable way to transition from residential treatment into everyday life.

What is Outpatient Treatment for Bipolar Disorder?

An intensive outpatient treatment program means that you attend a treatment program at a clinic for part of your day while having the freedom to go to work, to go home, or to attend responsibilities like childcare or school in between. Programs vary considerably; however, you can expect:

9-12 hours of treatment per week, broken into 3–4-hour sessions.
Treatment happens at a hospital, clinic, or community center
Multiple timing options are available. E.g., morning (6 AM-9AM), afternoon (12:00-3:00 PM) or evening (7 PM-10 PM). These allow you to choose a schedule that works with your life. E.g., afternoon schedules are ideal if you drop kids off at school and pick them up just after 3.
Programs include both group therapy and one-on-one counseling and therapy
You always go home and live in your own home or a social living accommodation after instead of staying at the clinic.

Outpatient treatment essentially means you get to continue going to treatment and therapy – while having the space to pick your life back up.

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What are the Benefits of IOP for Bipolar Disorder?

There are plenty of benefits to going to an intensive outpatient treatment program. For example, you can get ongoing care that’s delivered in the environment where you’re likely to be triggered. You can also get ongoing accountability and support, with structure to ensure you’re taking care of yourself.

Ongoing Treatment – Systemic or long-term care is significantly more effective at improving bipolar disorder management than one-touch treatment. Here, you can plan to receive treatment regularly for the long-term, which means for the foreseeable future. Typically that starts out with a heavy program such as inpatient care and then switches to intensive outpatient and may eventually switch to weekly treatment or even virtual sessions. In one study, 700 people getting long-term treatment over a 2-year period were significantly less likely to have severe episodes of mania, significantly less likely to require hospitalization and treatment, and significantly less likely to require follow-up residential treatment than a control group that did not attend ongoing outpatient care.

Accessibility – Outpatient treatment allows you to seek out ongoing help without having to rely on putting your life on hold to do it. Instead, you go to a clinic for a few hours a week and typically spend about 9 hours of your week there every week. That makes ongoing care much more accessible than taking 30 days out to go to residential treatment. IOP are also often designed around work, school, and childcare obligations, which means you can more easily fit them into your daily schedule – so you can start to get your life back while continuing to take care of yourself.

Structure – People with bipolar disorder often struggle with structure. Having an IOP program ongoing as you reintegrate into life means you’ll have structure forced on you. You’ll have to show up every week to treatment. You’ll have ongoing reminders to take care of yourself, to take medication, to invest in routines. You’ll have the structure you need to support good bipolar disorder management. In addition, IOP can recommend you into social housing if you end up needing more structure than you’re getting.

Accountability – Going into treatment 2-4 times per week means you’ll have accountability to take care of yourself, accountability to do your homework, and accountability to work on managing yourself and your disorder. That means people will check on you, you’ll have to share what you’ve done with your week, and you’ll get ongoing recommendations and support as you move forward. That can be valuable, because you’ll get help working support and structure as you run into issues with it, which means you can get specific tips and help with things you struggle with.

Integrating Treatment into Your Life – It’s one thing to get treatment in an environment where you’re not facing triggers. It’s another to be able to take things you’re struggling with, emotions and interactions you’re struggling with, instances where you reacted badly, feelings like you’re going out of control again into therapy and getting immediate help. Having treatment while living your life means you’ll be able to learn more about yourself, more about how you respond to the world around you, what starting mania feels like, what steps you can take to manage that. Integrating that into your normal life will be a powerful step towards managing your bipolar disorder for the long-term. It also means you’ll have someone else checking on you, noticing when your behavior is changing, and helping you manage that from an outside perspective.

Aftercare – Getting ongoing care is always going to ensure you can reach out and ask for help if you start slipping. It also means you’ll have help reintegrating into work. It means you’ll have help when things go wrong, when you face old triggers, when you go into depression or mania. That will always help with long-term management.

Are There Downsides?

Intensive outpatient treatment takes 9+ hours of your life every single week for as long as you go. That’s a lot. For many people, it means giving up a lot of your free time. In addition, that means you’ll have to stay motivated to stay in the program. On the other hand, if you start to lose motivation, it’s probably a good sign that you should be talking to your therapist or counselor about it, because it may mean you need additional help.

Getting Help

Moving into an IOP program is often a relatively simple step of talking to your doctor, getting approval from your insurance, and going to a local clinic. The intensity and duration of your program should also vary depending on your diagnosis, your history of treatment, and where your mental health is at when you start going. For example, if you’re mostly fine but want to manage and maintain your progress, you might have relatively light program based around building life skills and improving on what you have. If you’re struggling with symptoms, you might end up in a program that’s 12+ hours per week where you work to reduce the impact of bipolar disorder on your life. In either case, good luck getting treatment and with managing bipolar disorder over the long-term.

What Are the Best Foods for Fighting Depression?

Jim Sugel on April 15, 2024

If you’re struggling with mental health, you’re probably aware that nutrition is an important part of managing your health. For many of us, who have little to no experience with nutrition, eating well can sound like picking a few foods. After all, most of us have heard of superfoods and specific fruits or vegetables or healthy fats that are good for your brain health.

Unfortunately, that’s not quite how it works and there’s no magic wand to cure depression or improve your mental health. The good news is that healthy eating for your mental health and to support recovery from depression often means eating a diverse range of foods and getting a varied diet. Of course, there’s more to it and we’ll go into that in the rest of the article.

What Foods are Good for Fighting Depression?

Often, it’s the case that some foods are extremely good for you because they are healthy, affordable, and accessible. For example, apples are one of the best fruits you can eat. However, food is better when you eat a diverse range of fruits, vegetables, and protein sources. The more you mix your diet up, the higher the chances that you’re having a healthy and well-balanced diet.

About half of every meal should be unprocessed fruits and vegetables
About half of your grain intake should be whole grain
You need about 3 servings of low-fat high calcium dairy or equivalent per day
About ¼ of every meal should be made up of protein sources
You should eat different foods as often possible to vary your nutritional intake

It’s also important to keep in mind that what you avoid can be almost as important for your mental health as what you do eat. For example:

Don’t rely on caffeine or sugary beverages that can disrupt your dopamine and serotonin systems and therefore disrupt how you feel.
Don’t have more than about 1-4 cups of coffee per day
Try to stick to no more than a can or about 12 ounces of carbonated beverages per day.
Keep sugar to less than 10% of your daily calorie intake. That normally means less than 50 grams/12 teaspoons of sugar per day
Keep fat to less than 20% of your daily calorie intake. That’s usually about 44-78 grams per day.

Following those rules, you automatically have to watch your intake of:

Fruit juice
Soda
Energy drinks
Baked goods
Prepared / frozen meals

For example, if you look at the back of a pack of frozen lasagna, it’s about 12 grams of fat per 290 calories, meaning you’d max out your recommended fat intake before meeting your daily caloric requirements for the day if you ate nothing but that.

If you want more advice, including meal advice and shopping lists, government resources like MyPlate.gov offer it for free.

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Talk to Your Doctor and a Nutritionist

Nutritional disorders and deficiencies are very commonly co-occurring with depression and other behavioral health problems. Why? They feed into each other. You feel bad so you don’t cook a healthy meal and eat something unhealthy, rely on caffeine and sugar to get through your day, and then have a comfort meal to feel better at the end of it. You feel down later so you have chips or donuts to boost your mood. That eventually catches up with you and you feel worse. Or, you’re actually low on nutrients like Vitamin A, which can actually cause your mood to drop and for you to feel bad.

As a result, many mental health support centers actually incorporate nutritional therapy and recovery into their programs. That means you get a blood panel to see if you’re deficient on anything and then a targeted meal plan to help you get and stay healthy. Those plans also often involve helping you learn skills like meal prep and cooking nutritious food as part of it.

Talking to your doctor can get you that same blood panel and a recommendation to a dietician. From there, you’ll typically get a meal plan recommendation and help with planning food. Getting into meal prep and similar programs also means you’ll be able to prepare meals for the week ahead and you’ll have less temptation to go for unhealthy convenience meals.

What Does Eating Well Do for Depression

Nutrition impacts your mood, your energy levels, and your physical health. Those, in turn, impact your long-term mental health. Eating well makes you feel good. That will ensure you have a baseline of health to manage your depression so you can move towards recovery. Nutrition also impacts your mental health in fairly basic ways. For example, if you don’t eat enough proteins, your body can’t produce the serotonin and dopamine you need to feel good. If you don’t get enough vitamin D, you might actively experience symptoms of depression and fatigue. That’s also the same with Vitamin A. Yet, many Americans don’t get enough of either. Often, ensuring you have enough dairy and eat enough vegetables can balance both of those issues out – though you may need supplements if your doctor recommends it.

However, supplements are always an inferior choice to simply eating diverse foods. In fact, you don’t digest everything from supplements, which means that often you are wasting money because supplements pass through your system before being fully digested. Therefore, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and diverse protein sources are still a much better way to boost your mental health.

Eating well will also boost your mood. Most of us are aware of how we feel bad after a day of eating nothing but fast food. The high salt and fat content of fries is satisfying in the short-term, but over a few days, offers nothing for the body other than sugars that are quickly used for energy or stored as fat. You need healthy food, and for about 80% of meals that you eat.

Improving Nutrition for Depression

If you’re struggling with depression, improving your nutrition is one good step you can take. Many of us struggle to cook and eat well at the best of times, let alone when depressed. That normally means you’ll have to take steps to ensure you have the resources to do so. For example:

Ask for help with cooking and preparing meals
Do meal prep if you can manage
Move into a social living or support housing situation with communal meals
Go to inpatient therapy and get help with depression while building the skills and routines you need to eat in a healthy fashion
Talk to your doctor and ask for advice

Eventually, everyone is different. You might have an easy time switching to a healthy diet. You might already have a healthy diet. On the other hand, you might not know how to cook, you might be too busy to easily add food prep into your routine, and you might have no real idea of what counts as healthy. Getting help means you’ll have someone help you with building habits and routine, with food prep, and with anything else you need to make your lifestyle support recovery and feeling good. That may mean you need a nutritionist or dietician, it may need you need social support, it may mean you need therapy, and it may mean you need something small like a meal box or other solution. You’re the only person who can gauge what that is. Good luck.

Passive Suicidal Ideation: Signs and When to Seek Help

Jim Sugel on March 15, 2024

If you or a loved one is struggling with thoughts of self-harm, suicide, and dying, it’s important to reach out and talk to a professional. That’s even true if that ideation is passive, because even if it’s not pressing, suicidal ideation is never a good sign. It’s a warning that you need help, and you need to get it before the problem becomes worse.

Passive suicidal ideation is, in short, the desire to die without having a plan to achieve that. That means you face a feeling of wanting to die, intrusive thoughts of self-harm or killing yourself, or feelings of not wanting to live. If you’re experiencing that, that is enough warning sign to seek help and to talk about it with a mental health professional. However, we’ll go more into detail on that in the rest of this article.

What is Passive Suicidal Ideation

Passive suicidal ideation is the desire to die, to kill yourself, or a lack of desire to keep living. However, it’s called “passive” because the person experiencing it hasn’t made an active or concrete plan to make these thoughts a reality. In fact, they might never do so. For many people, passive suicidal ideation is unwelcome and unpleasant. For others it’s an early warning sign of actually wanting to die and will eventually solidify into an active want to die. That change can be triggered by bad things happening, mental health getting worse, or by trauma. However, it can happen.

In either case, passive suicidal ideation is not something to just live with. It reduces your quality of life, it harms your mental health, and it can turn into active suicidal ideation over time. That means you should always look for and get help if you are experiencing it. Even talking about it with a professional can give you insight into what your coping mechanisms are, how you can redirect thoughts, and how you can work towards overcoming those thoughts.

What are the Signs of Passive Suicidal Ideation in Others

Passive suicidal ideation can take a lot of different forms. For many people, it means expressing or showing thoughts of wanting to die. Others will never voice those thoughts aloud. That can mean you’ll never notice or see suicidal ideation until it’s too late. However, you can look for signs like:

Expressing a desire to die. Even if it’s said as a joke, it is something you should take seriously, talk about, and try to figure out how real the sentiment is.
Researching or looking into how suicide works and what types of suicide methods work. Even things like knowing suicide statistics and what kinds of suicide attempts work can be a red flag. For example, if someone knows why a suicide method is the most effective, that means they’ve looked it up, and that means they had motivation to do so.

You can also look for statements like:

“I want to die”
“life just doesn’t feel worth living”
“I hope this car crashes”
“I could step in front of this bus”
“My loved ones would be better off if I were never born”
“I don’t want to be alive anymore”
“Everything is too hard to cope with”
“I just want to sleep and not have to deal with life”

These statements, and others like them, all express passive suicidal ideation.

You can also look for signs of poor mental health like:

Increased reliance on substances
Depression
Self-isolation or avoiding friends and family
Expressions of or feelings of loneliness
Changes in behavior such as self-care
Changes in sleeping patterns
Self-harm
Feelings of hopelessness

These latter symptoms can map to a very large number of mental health problems. However, they all point to the fact that this person is not doing well and probably needs help.

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Are Suicidal Thoughts Normal?

In 2021, an estimated 12.3 million Americans seriously thought about Suicide. This means that for almost 4% of the population, suicide is a normal thing to think about. At the same time, normal does not mean healthy, good for you, or something you have to live with.

People think about dying all the time. Today, someone dies by suicide almost every 11 minutes in the United States. The fact that something is normal does not mean that you should leave it alone. Instead, it means that it’s normal to need help and it should be normal to ask for that help.

Coping with Passive Suicidal Ideation

Therapy and mental health support is the best way to cope with suicidal ideation. Professional help can allow you to understand what’s underneath suicidal ideation, to find and change behavior and patterns in your life that contribute to feeling that way, and to build habits and change that improve your life so you can move past suicidal ideation and get back to enjoying your life. And, when therapy isn’t enough, a mental health professional can help you to get treatment and medication to help balance your mood so you can improve quality of life that way.

Managing suicidal ideation also means managing your life and the people in it. That means:

Managing your routines so you have structure and support
Manage energy by going to bed and getting up at the same time every day, making sure you get plenty of rest, and taking steps to ensure your quality of sleep is good
Keep your space clean by spending 15-20 minutes per day cleaning up
Take time to socialize and spend time with people who are fun and doing fun things. Consider what things you like to do and make sure you do them, even if you’re not experiencing joy in doing them right then
Make sure you have what you need to feel good. That means exercising 30-60 minutes per day most days and eating nutritious food about 80% of the time.
Minimize caffeine and alcohol intake and try to stick to recommended daily limits or less for both

Essentially, if you take steps to give yourself structure and routine, put effort into taking care of yourself, and keep your space clean, you’re giving yourself a good basis for mental health. On top of that, you should add things you like to do like hobbies (crafting, sports, games) and spending time with friends and family so that you get to enjoy things as well. That won’t make you feel “not depressed”, but it will give you a good baseline for feeling good about yourself and your life.

When Should You Seek Help?

In any case where you’re experiencing suicidal ideation, you should be seeking help. If you have recurring thoughts of death, wanting to die, not wanting to live, self-harm, or suicide, you should be talking to a mental health professional. Often, that starts with talking to your doctor who can recommend you to a therapist or to other treatment. However, you can also reach out and ask for treatment directly from a mental health clinic or center.

Suicidal ideation is always a warning that something is wrong, and it is always a good sign to reach out and ask for help. If you or a loved one is experiencing even passive suicidal ideation, the time to seek out help is now.

A Closer Look at Anxiety, Depression, and Psychosis: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments

Andrea Wagner on July 25, 2023

Welcome back to Redeemed Mental Health, your trusted source for expert mental health care. Today, we’re taking a closer look at anxiety, depression, and psychosis. We’ll explore their symptoms, delve into their causes, and discuss the treatments available. Ready for another informative (and surprisingly fun) journey? Let’s dive in!

Understanding Anxiety, Depression, and Psychosis

Anxiety, depression, and psychosis are common mental health disorders that can significantly impact an individual’s quality of life. But what exactly are these disorders, and how do they affect us? Let’s take a closer look.

Symptoms

Each of these disorders presents with unique symptoms.

Anxiety

Anxiety is characterized by persistent and excessive worry. Symptoms can vary from person to person, but common signs include:

Restlessness: Feeling on edge or being unable to sit still.
Fatigue: Feeling tired all the time, even after a good night’s sleep.
Difficulty concentrating: Struggling to focus on tasks or frequently finding your mind going blank.
Irritability: Feeling easily annoyed or angered.
Muscle tension: Experiencing frequent muscle aches or stiffness.
Sleep problems: Having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or experiencing restless and unsatisfying sleep.

Depression

Depression is more than just feeling sad or going through a rough patch. It’s a serious mental health condition that requires understanding and treatment. Here are some common symptoms:

Persistent sad, anxious, or “empty” mood: Feeling down most of the day, nearly every day.
Loss of interest or pleasure in activities: No longer finding joy in things you once enjoyed.
Changes in appetite or weight: Significant weight loss or weight gain, or decrease or increase in appetite.
Sleeping too much or too little: Insomnia or oversleeping nearly every day.
Feeling worthless or guilty: Feeling bad about yourself or feeling guilty over things that aren’t your fault.
Difficulty thinking, concentrating, or making decisions: Struggling to focus, remember things, or make decisions.

Psychosis

Psychosis is characterized by an impaired relationship with reality. It’s a symptom of serious mental disorders. People who are experiencing psychosis may have either hallucinations or delusions.

Hallucinations: Seeing, hearing, or feeling things that aren’t there. For example, hearing voices or seeing people who aren’t there.
Delusions: Strong beliefs that aren’t true and that the person holds, even when presented with factual information. For example, the belief that outside forces are controlling their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Thought disorders: Ways of thinking that are disorganized, confused, or nonsensical.
Movement disorders: Agitated or abnormal body movements.

Causes

The causes of these disorders are complex and multifaceted, involving a combination of genetic, biological, environmental, and psychological factors. It’s like a puzzle with many pieces – each piece plays a part, and the picture isn’t complete without all of them.

Anxiety

Anxiety disorders can be caused by a variety of factors:

Genetics: Anxiety disorders can run in families, suggesting that a combination of genes and environmental stresses can produce the disorders.
Brain chemistry: Changes in the areas and pathways of the brain that control fear and other emotions.
Environmental factors: Elements in the environment around an individual can increase anxiety. This includes things like trauma, abuse, death of a loved one, or long-term stress.

Depression

Depression is often caused by a combination of factors:

Biological differences: People with depression appear to have physical changes in their brains.
Brain chemistry: Neurotransmitters are naturally occurring brain chemicals that likely play a role in depression.
Hormones: Changes in the body’s balance of hormones may be involved in causing or triggering depression.
Inherited traits: Depression is more common in people whose blood relatives also have the condition.

Psychosis

Psychosis can be caused by various conditions:

Psychiatric disorders: Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, severe depression, and PTSD can lead to psychosis.
Physical illness or injury: Traumatic brain injuries, brain tumors, strokes, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and HIV can cause psychosis.
Substance use: The use of certain drugs, such as marijuana, LSD, amphetamines, and alcohol, can trigger a psychotic episode.

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Treatments

Treatment for these disorders typically involves a combination of medication and therapy. At Redeemed Mental Health, we offer a range of treatment options, including Individual Therapy, a Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP), and Intensive Outpatient Treatment (IOP).

Anxiety

Treatment for anxiety often involves a combination of psychotherapy and medication. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is especially useful in treating anxiety disorders. CBT teaches you different ways of thinking, behaving, and reacting to anxiety-producing and fearful situations. Medications, including antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs, can also be used to manage symptoms.

Depression

Depression is usually treated with medications, psychotherapy, or a combination of the two. If these treatments do not reduce symptoms, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and other brain stimulation therapies may be options to explore. Lifestyle changes, such as improving sleep habits, increasing physical activity, and eating a healthy diet, can also help manage symptoms of depression.

Psychosis

Psychosis is typically treated with a combination of medications (usually antipsychotic medications) and psychotherapy. Early treatment is important, as it can help to manage symptoms and improve the long-term prognosis. In some cases, hospitalization may be needed if the person’s symptoms are severe or if they are at risk of harming themselves or others.

Conclusion

So there you have it, a closer look at anxiety, depression, and psychosis. Remember, mental health is a journey, not a destination. And with the right support and treatment, recovery is possible. So why wait? Take the first step towards reclaiming your mental health today.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the symptoms of anxiety, depression, and psychosis?

Anxiety, depression, and psychosis each have unique symptoms. Anxiety might manifest as excessive worry and restlessness, depression often involves feelings of sadness and loss of interest, and psychosis is characterized by hallucinations and delusions.

What causes these disorders?

What treatments are available for these disorders?

Ready to Take the Next Step?

If you or a loved one are struggling with anxiety, depression, or psychosis and are ready to seek help, don’t hesitate to reach out. Our team of mental health professionals at Redeemed Mental Health is ready to help guide you on your journey towards wellness. Remember, asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, but a strength. So why wait? Take the first step towards reclaiming your mental health today. Contact us to schedule an appointment and let’s explore how our treatments can benefit you. Your journey to redemption starts here.