What is Depression?
Depression is a mental illness or condition which is mainly characterized by low levels of mood and also unwillingness to do any kind of activity. Moreover, this medical condition is classified under mental and behavioral disorders. Furthermore, Depression affects an individual’s thinking and behavioral patterns. It can also lead to health issues and suicidal thoughts or activity.
Your sense of well-being, motivation levels, and feelings gets distorted in several ways due to depression. Depression also reduces the level of excitement and pleasure experienced by an individual or we can say the person goes through anhedonia.
Depression occurs temporarily in many cases. Also, situations that cause grief like the loss of loved ones, falling off from a romantic relationship and failing miserably in exams but if depression stays for a long time then turns into a medical condition. If this condition worsens, depression also starts to exhibit physical symptoms and side effects of certain types of medical drugs or treatments.
Is it a common mental illness?
Depression is globally the most common type of mental illness, especially in America. Moreover, depression is among the major reasons for morbidity levels in the world. It is also said that out of every 15 people, one person suffers from depression in any given year.
What are the signs and symptoms of Depression?
Moreover, here are some signs to know if an individual is going through depression or not as follows:
- You have a hopeless and helpless outlook on life
- You are losing or lost interest in almost everything
- Low sex drive
- You feel very tired
- Sleeping problems like Insomnia
- Feeling irritated or hostile
- Your appetite levels changes
- Weight gain/loss
- Extreme mood swings
- Suicidal thoughts
- Self-harming activities
- Urge to hurt another person
- Clinging on to thoughts related to death
- Unable to concentrate
- Also, you feel a lack of energy
- You also feel uninterested to do anything
- Social isolation
- Moreover, you’re struggling to maintain your self-image and confidence
- Also, you feel empty, lonely, or sad
- Certain areas of your body also start to pain
- Feeling worthless and guilty
What causes a person to fall into Depression?
Moreover, depression primarily stems from genes or psychological issues. Also, side effects from any drug or any kind of other underlying medical condition can cause depression as well. Furthermore, here is a detailed list of reasons that can lead a person to depression as follows:
- Abuses can be on mental, physical, or sexual aspects
- Long term grief
- Emotional neglect
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Childbirth
- Menopause
- Hypogonadism
- Chronic pain
- Brain stroke
- Diabetes
- Stress
- Unemployment
- Financial issues
- Chronic illnesses like cancer or HIV
- Bullying
- Social isolation
- Relationship problem
- Loss of loved ones
- Natural disasters
- Separation
- Jealousy
- Severe body injury
- Peer pressure
- Low extraversion levels
- Having a personality with high levels of neuroticism
- Sleep disruption
- Alcohol addiction
- Substance abuse
- Low levels of serotonin
- Social abuse
- Bipolar disorder
- Borderline personality disorder
- Trauma
- Feeling oppressed
- Being under interferon therapy, electric therapy, and magnetic stimulation of the brain
Consuming drugs which belong to a class of:
- Beta-blockers
- Contraceptives
- Anticonvulsants
- Isotretinoin
- Antimigraine
- Antipsychotics
- Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist
- Sedatives
- Stimulants
- Hallucinogens
- Inhalants
- Opioids
What are the types of Depression?
Here are some major types of depression patients suffer from so that you can seek proper treatment as follows:
- Major depressive disorder (MDD) – Major depressive disorder (MDD)- This type of depression is also known as clinical depression in other words. This type lasts for more than two weeks and the symptoms are very intense and overwhelming
- Bipolar and borderline personality disorder- This depression is characterized by extremely low levels of mood, and also extreme impulsive periods
- Persistent depressive disorder (PDD): Also known as Dysthymia. It is a mild version of clinical depression but this type of depression stays longer than two years
- Psychotic depression: Patients experience severe depressive episodes including hallucinations and delusions
- Seasonal affective disorder (SAD): Also known as seasonal depression and usually starts in early winter or late fall
- Postpartum/perinatal depression- The symptoms exist beyond the lines of baby blues. This type of depression occurs during and after pregnancy stages. It causes minor levels of stress, worry, and sadness
- Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD): It is a severe condition of premenstrual disorder (PMS) and usually affects women days or weeks before/after a menstrual period time.
Is depression curable?
Moreover, the cure for depression is yet to know but depression is curable and there is a variety of effective treatments available to treat it.
How to treat Depression?
Psychotherapy
Also known as talking therapy or psychological therapy. With the help of a therapist, you can learn coping skills to fight depression by managing negative feelings. Psychotherapy is considered an effective treatment therapy for treating depression
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
Furthermore, during the process of CBT, a person finds out several unhealthy patterns, thoughts, harmful behavior, reactions, and beliefs that can cause depression. Moreover, the therapist helps to sort them up by helping you channel your thoughts, reaction, and overall behavior from positive to negative one step by step with the help of activities or tasks.
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
Similar to CBT, the person also learns to accept and validate themselves, their thoughts, and feelings which can be uncomfortable or unhealthy along with behaviors instead of fighting against it. Also, it can gently treat depression effectively by making a recovery plan and bringing possible changes to harmful thoughts or emotions that a patient with depression harbors.
Psychodynamic therapy
Another form of talk therapy believes that the realities we face daily are shaped by our unconsciousness and childhood experiences. However, here the childhood experiences are reflected and examined to understand and cope with current scenarios better.
Light therapy
Moreover, a person is exposed to white light for mood regulation and coping with depression.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
Furthermore, this therapy uses electrical currents to treat severe/clinical depression.
Other therapies/treatment methods include:
- Mediation
- Acupuncture
- Exercise
- Quitting alcohol, smoking, and substance usage
- Maintaining healthy diet
Taking supplements like:
- S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe)
- 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP)
- Omega-3 fatty acids
- Vitamin B-12 and B-6
- Vitamin D
Medications to treat Depression include:
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
- Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs)
- Antidepressants that contain Tricyclic and tetracyclic
- Noradrenaline and dopamine reuptake inhibitors (NDRIs)
- Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)
- N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonists
Conclusion
Moreover, Depression is a mental illness or condition which is mainly characterized by low levels of mood and unwillingness to do any kind of activity. Depression is also globally the most common type of mental illness, especially in America. Additionally, Depression primarily stems from genes or psychological issues. Also, side effects from any drug or any kind of other underlying medical condition can cause depression as well. Additionally, there are various types of depression that people are diagnosed with. Furthermore, the cure for depression is yet to know but depression is curable and there is a variety of effective treatments available to treat it.
Read our other blogs: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) | Anxiety | Asthma | Back Pain | Blood Cancer | Breast Cancer | Breast Pain | Cancer | Chronic Pain | Coronavirus
