Most people feel gloomy or burned out at work from time to time. Short-term mood fluctuations and emotional responses to daily challenges are normal and healthy. These feelings are not the same as major depressive disorder (MDD), a serious mental illness that can have crippling symptoms. In fact, the World Health Organization identifies depression as a leading cause of disability.
Why does depression affect your ability to work? And how can you manage symptoms of depression at work? Once you have the answers to these questions, you can begin looking for an effective treatment for MDD.
Most people think depression only affects mood. While symptoms such as lack of pleasure, negative outlook, and low self-esteem are certainly characteristic of depression, there’s more to it, especially with severe depression.
Major depressive disorder causes significant biological changes, including altered hormone levels, sleep cycles, and brain structure. These changes can stifle your energy levels, affect your ability to focus, make you lose your appetite, and cause you to sleep more or less than usual. This means your whole body, not just your mind, is experiencing symptoms. As a result, MDD can make it virtually impossible to get out of bed some days, much less be productive at work.
It’s important to see major depressive disorder for what it really is—a medical issue that requires treatment, not a weakness or character flaw you can simply snap out of. Here are some steps you can take to get through depressive episodes at work:
If your antidepressants and psychotherapy sessions don’t seem to be helping enough, you have another viable option—Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (Deep TMS™). This non-invasive treatment works by regulating the neural activity of brain structures related to depression. Most importantly, it has been shown to safely and effectively alleviate symptoms in people with treatment-resistant depression. If you’d like to try Deep TMS, BrainsWay has the resources you need.
BrainsWay is a global leader in advanced neurostimulation treatments for mental health disorders, boldly advancing neuroscience with its proprietary Deep TMS technology to improve health and transform lives. BrainsWay is the first and only TMS company to obtain three FDA-cleared indications, including major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and smoking addiction.
For more information about Deep TMS for depression, please visit our online knowledge center or find a provider near you.