Clinical Recovery

Clinical recovery is about reducing the symptoms of depression, especially if those symptoms impair your ability to function. It is one part of recovery, but not the whole picture. Pursuing clinical recovery helps to reduce very dangerous or life-limiting complications of depression.

Develop a better understanding of your illness
Accessing Mental Health Resources in Saskatchewan

Develop a better understanding of your illness

There are four major symptom domains of depression. Someone with depression may experience one or more of these and in varying degrees. The domains are: mood, cognition, vegetative symptoms and psychomotor impairment.

Mood Disturbances

Perhaps the most expected disturbance, depression can alter mood such that one experiences one or more of the following:

emotional pain
hypersensitivity to unpleasant events (eg. negative reaction or feelings out of proportion to the magnitude of a negative event)
insensitivity to unpleasant events (eg. being 'numb' to things that normally would evoke a negative reaction in you)
reduced ability to feel pleasure, look forward to things, or enjoy things like food/entertainment/socializing
reduced range of emotions (ie. you are not experiencing a rich array of emotions, but rather you feel 'one-note')
apathy

These are symptoms a practioner may be trying to investigate when asking you about your mood or loss of interest in things you used to enjoy.

Cognition

Not only can depression affect how you feel, but also how you think. The core feature of cognition in depression is an extremely negative outlook on things: namely, the self, the world, and the future -- this is known as the negative triad.

ideas of deprivation and loss
low self-esteem and self-confidence
self-reproach and pathological guilt
helplessness, hopelessness, and pessimism
recurrent thoughts of death and suicide

The effects of depression on the mind can be so severe that delusions occur, especially ones deriving from the four basic human insecurities: health, financial status, moral worth, and relationship to others.

For example, financial delusions may look like someone incorrectly believing they mismanaged their finances in a way that their children will soon starve beacause of. Delusions of ill health could be beliefs that one has an occult illness such as cancer or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)^*

Severe depression can also include frank psychosis, such as hallucinations or delusions that are bizarre rather than just out of proportion pesisism/catatstrophization.

Vegetative Symptoms

Vegetative symptoms refer to physical changes that often accompany depression, affecting basic bodily functions. These symptoms can be related to disruptions in the body's natural rhythms and can significantly impact daily life.

Anorexia (loss of appetite)
Weight loss or weight gain
Insomnia (difficulty sleeping)
Hypersomnia (excessive sleeping)
Circadian dysregulation (disruption of the body's natural sleep-wake cycle)
Seasonal changes in mood (depression that worsens in specific seasons, especially autumn and winter)
Sexual dysfunction (reduced interest or ability in sexual activity)

Psychomotor Impairment in Depression

Psychomotor impairment in depression refers to disruptions in a person’s ability to move and think, ranging from restlessness to extreme slowing. These changes are linked to brain function disturbances in areas that regulate movement and coordination.

1. Agitation:

Agitation involves heightened physical or mental restlessness. While it's easier to observe, it often coexists with psychomotor slowing.

Restlessness
Pressured speech
Hand wringing, hair pulling
Rapid thoughts and actions

2. Impairment (Slowing):

This refers to the noticeable slowing of both mental and physical activities, making it hard to engage in daily tasks.

Difficulty initiating physical or mental activity
Few spontaneous movements
Slumped posture, downcast gaze
Fatigue (everything feels like an effort)
Slowed speech and response time
Feeling like time has slowed or stopped

3. Pseudo-Dementia:

In older adults, psychomotor slowing can become so severe that it mimics dementia, causing cognitive difficulties.

Severe slowing of mental functions
Memory issues, disorientation, confusion

4. Stupor:

In extreme cases, psychomotor slowing can lead to stupor, where an individual is almost entirely inactive, unable to care for basic needs.

Extreme slowing of movement and thought
Inability to perform basic self-care tasks (e.g., feeding)

Accessing Mental Health Resources in Saskatchewan

If you are looking for a mental health assessment or to connect with treatment options, Saskatchewan offers several ways to get started

Seeking Help in an Emergency or After Hours

If you or someone you know is in immediate crisis, you can access these resources:

Rapid Access Crisis and Emergency Resources
Call 911 for emergencies.

Overview of Mental Health Services

For a comprehensive overview of mental health services available in the province, you can refer to:

Family Medicine Clinics

Family physicians in Saskatchewan can:

Prescribe psychiatric medication
Make referrals to psychiatrists
Connect you to counseling or therapeutic resources

Search for local family medicine clinics and get on a waitlist for mental health services.

Centralized Intake Services

For mental health and addiction services, contact the centralized intake services in your region. They will assess your needs and connect you with the appropriate treatment or resources:

Region	Centralized Intake Phone Numbers
Saskatoon	Call (306) 655-7777
Regina	Call (306) 766-7800
Prince Albert	Call (306) 765-6055
Rural Areas	Find regional contact numbers

Seeking a Therapist

There are options for both free and paid therapy in Saskatchewan:

Counselling Connect SaskatchewanFree, rapid access to therapy.
Psychology TodayDirectory of paid therapists.

Seeking Self-Directed Therapeutic Skills

If you are interested in self-directed therapy tools, these programs can help you manage your mental health independently:

BounceBack A free program offered by the Canadian Mental Health Association that teaches coping skills.
MoodGym A paid program that teaches Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques.
On The Hub Offers a variety of mental health tools and resources (some paid).
Online Therapy Unit Developed in Regina, this resources provicdes Online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for a number of mental health concerns

Seeking Indigenous Mental Health Services

Indigenous peoples in Saskatchewan can access culturally responsive mental health services through the following resources:

First Nations and Métis Health Services
TeleMental Health for Indigenous PatientsOffering consultations for Indigenous peoples across Canada.
Talking Stick Allows First Nations people in Saskatchewan to connect confidentially with a trained peer advocate in Saskatchewan on a text platform that is free and anonymous