Depression is a type of mood illness. It is defined as feelings of sadness, loss, or rage that interfere with a person's regular activities.
It's also quite common. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 18.5 percent of American adults experienced depression symptoms in any given 2-week period in 2019.
Though depression and grieving share some characteristics, depression is distinct from grief experienced after the death of a loved one or sadness experienced after a painful life event. Depression is frequently characterized by self-loathing or a loss of self-esteem, whereas mourning is not.
Positive emotions and fond memories of the deceased are often partners to bereavement sentiments of emotional grief. Sadness is a continuous symptom of major depressive disorder.
People experience depression in a variety of ways. It may cause disruptions in your everyday work, resulting in lost time and decreased production. It can also have an impact on relationships and certain chronic health conditions.
It's critical to recognize that feeling down from time to time is a normal aspect of life. Everyone experiences sad and disturbing occurrences. However, if you feel melancholy or hopeless on a regular basis, you may be suffering from depression.
Depression is a serious medical condition that can deteriorate if not addressed properly.
TYPES OF DEPRESSION
Depression types are classified by healthcare experts based on their symptoms and causes. These occurrences are frequently without a clear cause. They can persist in some people much longer than others for no obvious reason.
Depression can be classified as follows:
- Major depressive disorder (MDD): Major depression (clinical depression) is characterized by acute or overwhelming symptoms that linger for more than two weeks. These symptoms have an impact on daily living.
- Bipolar depression: Bipolar disorder is characterized by alternating episodes of low mood and exceptionally high energy (manic). During the low period, they may experience depression symptoms such as sadness, hopelessness, or a lack of energy.
- Psychotic depression: Psychotic depression is characterized by severe depressed symptoms as well as delusions or hallucinations. Delusions are unfounded beliefs in things, whereas hallucinations entail seeing, hearing, or being touched by things that aren't truly there.
- Perinatal and postpartum depression: "Perinatal" refers to the period immediately preceding birth. This is sometimes referred to as postpartum depression. Perinatal depression can occur throughout pregnancy and can last for up to a year after the baby is born. Symptoms extend beyond "baby blues," which produce mild melancholy, concern, or stress.
- Persistent depressive disorder (PDD): PDD is often referred to as dysthymia. PDD symptoms are milder than serious depressive symptoms. However, PDD symptoms might last for up to two years.
- Premenstrual dysphoric disorder(PMDD): A severe form of premenstrual disorder is premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMS). It primarily affects women in the days or weeks preceding their menstrual period.
- Seasonal affective disorder (SAD): Seasonal depression, also known as seasonal affective disorder, typically begins in late autumn or early winter. During the spring and summer, it frequently disappears.
SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION
Depression can have an impact on your emotions, thoughts, and body. Symptoms of depression include:
- Changes in the amount of sleep you get.
- Having trouble concentrating or remembering things.
- Having physical issues such as a headache, stomachache, or sexual difficulties.
- Considering injuring or killing yourself.
- Feeling sad, despondent, or concerned.
- Things that used to bring you delight are no longer bringing you joy.
- The tendency to become easily angry or frustrated.
- Eating excessively or insufficiently.
CAUSES OF DEPRESSION
A variety of causes can contribute to depression. They can be biological or situational:
- Chemistry of the brain: In persons who suffer from depression, there may be a chemical imbalance in areas of the brain that control mood, thinking, sleep, hunger, and behavior.
- Pain: People who experience long durations of emotional or chronic physical pain are substantially more prone to develop depression.
- Hormone levels: Changes in female hormones estrogen and progesterone during various stages of life, such as the monthly cycle, postpartum period, perimenopause, or menopause, can all increase a person's risk of depression.
- Abuse of drugs: Your risk may be influenced by a history of substance or alcohol abuse.
- Family history: If you have a family history of depression or another mood disorder, you are more likely to acquire it.
- Medical conditions: Certain illnesses, such as chronic sickness, sleeplessness, chronic pain, Parkinson's disease, stroke, heart attack, and cancer, may increase your risk.
- Childhood trauma: Certain events influence how your body reacts to fear and stressful situations.
- Brain structure: You are more likely to suffer from depression if your frontal lobe of your brain is less active. However, scientists are unsure whether this occurs before or after the beginning of depression symptoms.
RISK FACTORS OF DEPRESSION
Depression risk factors might be physiological, medical, social, genetic, or environmental. The following are common risk factors:
- Sex: Females are twice as likely as guys to suffer from serious depression.
- Medical illness: Depression is linked to a number of chronic medical conditions. Persons with heart disease are roughly twice as likely as those without it to be depressed, and up to one in every four people with cancer may be depressed.
- Genetics: Depression runs in families, so if you have a family history of it, you are more likely to develop it.
- Misuse of drugs: Around 21% of people who have a substance use disorder also have depression.
- Socioeconomic status: Socioeconomic status, such as financial difficulties and a perceived poor social position, can increase your risk of depression.
- Gender identification: According to a 2018 study, the risk of depression for transgender people is roughly four times that of cisgender people.
- Some drugs: Certain medications, such as hormonal birth control, corticosteroids, and beta-blockers, have been linked to an increased risk of depression.
- Lack of vitamin D: Depressive symptoms have been linked to low vitamin D levels in studies.
DEPRESSION DIAGNOSIS
Everyone experiences sadness or depression from time to time. Clinical depression, on the other hand, has more acute symptoms that persist two weeks or longer.
Your healthcare professional will ask you questions to establish whether you have clinical depression. You may be asked to fill out a questionnaire and provide a family history. Your doctor may also perform an exam or order lab tests to determine if you have another medical condition.
TREATMENT FOR DEPRESSION
Depression is a terrible illness, yet it is also curable. Depression treatment comprises the following components:
1. Self-help: Regular exercise, enough sleep, and spending time with people you care about can help alleviate depression symptoms.
2. Brain stimulation therapy: People suffering from severe depression or depression with psychosis may benefit from brain stimulation therapy. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and vagus nerve stimulation are all forms of brain stimulation therapy (VNS).
3. Counselling: Talking with a mental health expert is referred to as counseling or psychotherapy. Your counselor will assist you in addressing your issues and developing coping strategies. Sometimes only a few sessions of counseling are required. Others stay in therapy for a long time.
4. Medication: Antidepressants, which are prescription medications, can help modify the brain chemistry that causes depression. It can take many weeks for antidepressants to take action. Some antidepressants have side effects that usually go away with time. If they don't, contact your service provider. Different drugs may be more effective for you.
5. Complementary therapies: People suffering from mild depression or persistent symptoms can benefit from complementary therapy. Massage, acupuncture, hypnosis, and biofeedback are all forms of therapy.
ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION
Anxiety and depression can coexist in the same person. In fact, studies have revealed that more than 70% of persons with depressive illnesses also have anxiety symptoms.
Though they are assumed to be caused by distinct reasons, sadness and anxiety can produce a number of symptoms that are similar. These symptoms can include; irritability, memory or attention problems, sleep issues.
The two illnesses also have certain therapies in common. Anxiety and depression can both be treated with:
- Therapy, such as cognitive behavioral therapy
- Medication
- Cognitive behavioral therapy
Make an appointment with your healthcare professional if you believe you are experiencing symptoms of either of these conditions, or both. You can collaborate with them to identify coexisting anxiety and depression symptoms and how to treat them.
OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER( OCD) AND DEPRESSION
Anxiety disorders include obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It produces unwanted and recurring thoughts, impulses, and worries (obsessions).
These worries induce you to engage in repetitive activities or routines (compulsions) in the goal of relieving the stress generated by the obsessions.
People with OCD are typically trapped in a cycle of obsessions and compulsions. If you exhibit these tendencies, you may feel isolated as a result of them. This can cause you to retreat from friends and social situations, increasing your chances of developing depression.
It is not unusual for someone suffering from OCD to simultaneously be depressed. Having one anxiety condition increases your chances of developing another. Up to 80% of people with OCD have serious depression episodes.
Children are also affected by this combined diagnosis. Their compulsive behaviors, which may emerge at a young age, can make them feel out of the ordinary. This can cause a youngster to withdraw from peers and raise the likelihood of a child getting depressed.
DEPRESSION AND PREGNANCY
Pregnancy is generally an exciting moment in a person's life. A pregnant lady, on the other hand, can suffer from depression.
Depression symptoms during pregnancy include:
- persistent melancholy
- difficulties concentrating or remembering
- Sleep issues, such as insomnia or sleeping excessively.
- Suicidal or death-related ideas
- alterations in appetite or eating habits
- feeling helpless
- anxiousness.
- no interest in activities and things you used to enjoy.
Talk therapy and other natural treatments may be used primarily to address depression during pregnancy.
While some pregnant women do use antidepressants, it is unclear which ones are the safest. Your healthcare professional may advise you to try an other choice until your baby is born.
Depression concerns can persist after the baby is born. Postpartum depression, also known as major depressive disorder with peripartum start, is a major source of concern for new moms.
ALCOHOL AND DEPRESSION
According to research, there is a link between alcohol use and depression. People suffering from depression are more inclined to abuse alcohol.
Out of the 20.2 million adults in the United States who had a substance use issue, about half had a co-occurring mental condition.
Drinking alcohol on a regular basis can exacerbate depressive symptoms, and those suffering from depression are more likely to abuse or become dependent on alcohol.
PREVENTION OF DEPRESSION
Depression is not typically thought to be avoidable. It's difficult to specify what causes it, making prevention all the more difficult.
If you've already experienced a depressive episode, you may be better prepared to avoid another by knowing which lifestyle modifications and treatments are beneficial.
Techniques that may be useful include:
- regular physical activity
- getting enough sleep
- maintaining treatments
- lowering stress
- establishing strong interpersonal relationships
CONCLUSION
Depression can be a short-term or long-term problem. Treatment does not usually entirely cure depression.
Treatment, on the other hand, frequently makes symptoms more bearable. Managing depression symptoms entails finding the correct combination of drugs and therapy.
If one treatment does not work, consult with your healthcare provider. They can assist you in developing a new treatment plan that may be more effective in helping you manage your illness.