Depression: What, How and Why

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Depression What, How, and Why
Depression is a medical condition that affects
your mood and ability to function. Most people
think it is just feeling sad and associate it
with the Monday blues, but depression is genuine
and usually not very short-lived. Its types
include clinical depression, bipolar depression,
dysthymia, seasonal affective disorder, and
others. Some of the treatment options range from
counselling to medications to brain stimulation
as well as complementary therapies. What is
depression? Depression is a medical condition
that affects your mood and ability to function.
Its associated symptoms include feeling sad,
anxious, or hopeless, at first. The condition
can also cause difficulty with thinking, memory,
eating, and sleeping. A diagnosis of major
depressive disorder, namely clinical depression,
means you have felt sad, low, or worthless on
most days, for at least two weeks at a stretch,
while also having other symptoms such as sleep
problems, loss of interest in activities, or
change in appetite. Without treatment,
depression can get worse and last longer. In
severe cases, it can lead to self-harm or death.
Fortunately, treatments can be very effective in
improving symptoms of depression. What are the
types of depression?
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• While there is no evident or definitive cause as
  to why this happens, some symptoms of depression
  simply linger for much longer in select people,
  than in some others for no apparent reason.
• Types of depression are listed as follows
• Major depressive disorder (MDD) Major depression
  (clinical depression) has intense or
  overwhelming symptoms that last longer than two
  weeks. These symptoms interfere with everyday
  life.
• Bipolar depression People with bipolar disorder
  have alternating periods of low mood and
  extremely high-energy (manic) periods. During the
  low period, they may have depression symptoms
  such as feeling sad or hopeless or
• lacking energy.
• Perinatal and postpartum depression Perinatal
  means around birth. Many people refer to this
  type as postpartum depression. Perinatal
  depression can occur during pregnancy and up to
  one year after having a baby. Symptoms go beyond
  the baby blues, which leads to minor sadness,
  worry, or stress.
• Persistent depressive disorder (PDD) Also known
  as dysthymia, symptoms of PDD are less severe
  than major depression. However, people
  experience PDD symptoms for two years or longer.
• Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)
  Premenstrual dysphoric disorder is a severe form
  of premenstrual disorder (PMS). It affects women
  in the days or weeks leading up to their
  menstrual period.
• Psychotic depression People with psychotic
  depression have severe depressive symptoms and
  delusions or hallucinations. Delusions are
  beliefs in things that are not based on reality,
  while hallucinations involve seeing, hearing, or
  feeling touched by things that arent actually
  there.
• Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) Seasonal
  depression, or seasonal affective disorder,
  usually starts in late fall and early winter. It
  often goes away during the spring and summer.
• SYMPTOMS AND CAUSES
• What causes depression?
• Various factors can cause or play a role in
  leading to depression

• Brain chemistry or abnormalities in brain
  chemical levels
• Genetics or family history
• Certain life events like stress, the death of a
  loved one,

upsetting
events, trauma, isolation or lack of support
conditions, physical pain and illnesses
medications, rather than their side effects

• Medical
• Certain
• Recreational drugs or alcohol
• Personality or the trait of being easily
  overwhelmed

What are the symptoms of depression?
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• Depression can affect your emotions, mind, and
  body. Its symptoms include
• Feeling very sad, hopeless, or worried
• Not enjoying things that used to give you joy
• Being easily irritated or frustrated
• Eating too much or too little
• Changes in how much you sleep
• Having a difficult time concentrating or
  remembering things
• Experiencing physical problems like headache,
  stomach-ache or sexual dysfunction
• Thinking about hurting or killing yourself
• DIAGNOSIS
• Everyone may feel sad or down from time to time.
  However, clinical depression has more intense
  symptoms that last two weeks or longer.
• To determine whether you have clinical
  depression, your healthcare provider will ask
  you certain questions. You could be asked to
  complete a questionnaire and provide details of
  your family history. Your healthcare provider may
  also perform an exam or some lab tests to see if
  you have any other medical condition(s).
• MANAGEMENT AND TREATMENT
• Depression might be serious, but its also
  treatable. Some of the treatment options for
  depression include
• Self-help Regular exercise, getting enough
  sleep, and spending time with people you care
  about can improve depression symptoms.

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You can help prevent depression by getting enough
sleep, eating a healthy diet and practising
regular self-care activities such as exercise,
meditation, and yoga. If youve had depression
before, you may be more likely to experience it
again. If you have any of the listed symptoms of
depression, you should seek help. Professional
care can help you to feel better
sooner. PROGNOSIS Depression can be mild or
severe, or brief or long-lasting. Either way,
its important to get help right away. Without
treatment, depression could get worse, increase
your chance of other health conditions like
dementia, and could lead to self-harm or even
death. It is important to remember that it can
also return or relapse, even after you have
started feeling better. To summarise, depression
is a common condition that affects millions of
people every year. Anyone can experience
depression even if there doesnt seem to be a
reason for it. Causes of depression may include
difficulties in life, brain chemistry
abnormalities, certain medications, and physical
conditions, but the good news is that depression
is treatable. If you have symptoms of depression,
call us and well be happy to help. The sooner
you get help, the sooner you will feel better.