Depression services offered in Houston, TX
Sadness and low mood affect everyone at difficult times, but your depression shouldn’t last. Board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner and Doctor of Nursing Practice Lucas Egebe, PMHNP-BC, DNP, provides expert help and support for people with clinical depression at Houston Medical-Mental Health Clinic in Houston, Texas. Dr. Egebe has extensive experience using medication and talk therapies to relieve the burden of depression. Find out what he can do for you by calling the office today. You can also schedule an in-person or telehealth appointment online.
Depression Q & A
What is depression?
Depression affects your mood and thought processes, so you become deeply unhappy, hopeless, and despairing — feelings that you can’t shake off no matter what you do.
Everyone goes through times when they feel low. Sometimes it’s stress, or serious life events; other times, you might wake up feeling down without knowing why. Normally, these feelings pass, and your mood improves.
When you have depression, the low mood persists for months and even years, often worsening over time. What causes depression?
There’s no single cause of depression.Some people are more likely to get it because they inherit a genetic tendency from their parents. Severe trauma — abuse, bereavement, divorce, and other life-changing experiences
-can also trigger depression.
Having a chronic health condition makes you more likely to get depression. In some cases, depression comes on for no clear reason.
What people with depression have in common is that the levels of chemicals like dopamine and serotonin in their brains are lower than average. These chemicals are neurotransmitters that regulate your mood.
It’s not certain whether low levels of neurotransmitters cause depression or if they result from depression, but it’s likely both are possible.
The primary symptoms of depression are negative emotions: sadness, shame, guilt, self-loathing. Your mind becomes overwhelmed with these feelings. Accompanying them, you may experience a range of other problems, including:
You’re likely to find you have little interest in the activities you used to enjoy, and you might find it increasingly hard to carry out everyday tasks or perform well at work. Eventually, depression can lead to self-harm and thoughts of suicide.
Tragically, many people with depression lose their lives to suicide each year. However, if you have depression, you can recover with help from Houston Medical-Mental Health Clinic. What treatments can help with depression?
Houston Medical-Mental Health Clinic develops a suitable treatment program for you after assessing your condition.
Because the practice manages both physical and mental health problems, they can also check for underlying conditions like hypothyroidism (low thyroid hormone levels) that could influence your mental health.
Antidepressant medication can play an important role in treating your depression by correcting the chemical imbalances in your brain. Alongside medication, it’s vital to undergo counseling or psychotherapy.
If you’re experiencing symptoms of depression, contact Houston Medical-Mental Health Clinic. You can call to schedule an in-person or telehealth appointment or book online today.