What is Depression?
How Do I Get Help for Depression?
Most people have felt sad or depressed at times. Feeling depressed can be a normal reaction to loss, life's struggles, or an injured self-esteem.
But when feelings of intense sadness -- including feeling helpless, hopeless, and worthless -- last for days to weeks and keep you from functioning normally, your depression may be something more than sadness. It may very well be clinical depression -- a treatable medical condition.
What is depression?
According to the DSM-IV, a manual used to diagnose mental disorders, depression occurs when you have at least five of the following nine symptoms at the same time:
a depressed mood during most of the day, particularly in the morning
fatigue or loss of energy almost every day
feelings of worthlessness or guilt almost every day
impaired concentration, indecisiveness
insomnia or hypersomnia (excessive sleeping) almost every day
markedly diminished interest or pleasure in almost all activities nearly every day
recurring thoughts of death or suicide (not just fearing death)
a sense of restlessness -- known as psychomotor agitation -- or being slowed down -- retardation
significant weight loss or gain (a change of more than 5% of body weight in a month)
Causes of Depression
Causes of depression ranges from genetic causes to significant life events. That is if some members of a person's family has suffered from depression, it increases the person's chances of developing depression. And if a person experience a sudden change of events such as losing a loved one or moving to a new area or the person someone is in a relationship with breaks their heart, can lead a person to become depressive.
Other possible causes could be chronic illness or side effects from some types of medicine or infections.
Diagnosing Depression
For an accurate diagnosis see a mental health professional for a detailed clinical evaluation. To qualify for a diagnosis, you should have been experiencing at least 5 of the following symptoms consistently for a period of at least 2 weeks.
These are very common types of depression. Major depression is a very severe type and it is characterized by avloss of appetite, weight changes, feelings of hopelessness and sleep changes. Similarly there are also many other symptoms of this disorder. This type of depressive disorder usually lasts for two to three weeks. Similarly the second important type of depression is Dysthymia and its symptoms are very different from other types. The most common symptom of this type of depressive disorder includes reckless behavior, pain in the different areas of body and loss of energy. The suicidal thoughts and loss of concentration is also possible in this condition. The symptoms of Dysthymia are very common and easy to observe. Similarly manic depression is characterized by loneliness, irritation and sleeping problems. The treatment of each type of depression is easy at early stages but after the appearance of complete symptoms it is difficult to cure.
If you want to treat depression then you should find out the main cause of this disease. This disease result due to several factors and reasons. But some very important causes of depressive disorder are listed below
• Stressful conditions
• Lack of confidence
• Accidental shocks
• Loss of any precious thing
• Severe injury
• Medical problems
• Divorce between life partners
• Loss of money
• Unemployment
• Loss of job
• Consumption of alcohol
• Smoking
• Headache
• Failure in the examination
Stress
Women are by nature more emotional, the reason perhaps hwy they react more to various forms of stress, financial and otherwise. Women have to deal with stress everyday, but unlike men who simply dismiss certain things, women go out of their way to solve or deal with a particular problem right there and then as much as possible
Vitamin Supplementation
In spite of the importance of vitamin supplementation, women often take this for granted as they focus more on things they consider more important than their well being - kids, family, career. They don't realize that vitamins and minerals play a huge role in preventing and controlling depression. In fact, experts have found a link between depression and the lack of certain vitamins, most particularly the B vitamins, and Omega 3 fatty acids.
Outside factors are not the only, or even the primary, causes of stress. In fact, all reputable medical research says that there is not one single cause of depression. Instead, depression seems to come from a wide variety of causes. What follows here are a few of the issues that seem to play a role in causing depression. There are certainly more, but current research indicates that these are more prevalent.
Age. Many studies have shown that elderly people are at more risk than younger folks. The reasons may be because so many of the elderly lack both social and emotional support, and live alone.
Current Health. There is a real cause and effect relation between serious illness and depression (and no wonder). Contracting a serious illnesses like heart problems, cancer, and many more greatly increase a person's likelihood of being depressed as well.
Genetic History. Research shows a definite genetic link for depression. If your family has a history of depression in prior generations, your chances of becoming depressed are much higher. Why this is true is not yet known.
Life Altering Events. Traumatic events such as the passing of a loved one, getting divorced, losing a job, or being the primary caregiver can all result in depression. What is less obvious is that life's major positive events like getting married or having a child can also be causes of depression.
Biological. In studying those with depression it has been determined that certain specific areas of the brain are not working in the same way as they do for folks without depression. There are also strong indications that variations in the amounts of certain chemicals may also be connected with depression.
Drugs. Depression can be a side effect of many prescription medications and drug and/or alcohol abuse is considered common in those who are depressed. If you think a prescription medication may be influencing your mood, see your doctor immediately.
DEPRESSION TIP
Depression emotions are different for everyone. It is important to understand the triggers of depression and why you react the way you do.
What stresses you out in everyday life or makes you feel down?
Depression can be triggered by a combination of events and can also be influenced by a number of factors. Depression is rarely caused by one single event, but rather a combination that trigger the illness. Some of the common factors that contribute to the illness are listed below:
Family history - if you have a family history of depression, you have an increased chance of getting depression yourself. Studies have shown that different versions of the 5-HTT gene can be inherited, which can have an effect on a natural mood-changing chemical in your brain called serotonin. According to the NHS (2009), about 20% of people have got what gene specialists call the 'short' version of the 5-HTT gene, and it is these people who are more likely to develop depression after a stressful life event.
Trauma or stressful events - such as bereavement, financial worries, relationship breakdown can bring on depression. Major changes in your life, like starting a new job, graduating from school, or getting married can also contribute to depression.
Grief - can be one of the triggers of depression, however grief is a natural response to a loss will depression is an illness. If grief becomes a constant state and a person can not find any enjoyment in life, this may be the result of depression.
Pessimistic personality - people who have low self-esteem and a negative outlook are at higher risk of becoming depressed. These traits may actually be caused by the low-level depression condition called dysthymia (Depression.com, 2009)
Physical conditions - serious medical conditions like heart disease and cancer can contribute to depression due to a weakened mental and physical state. Depression can sometimes be caused by the medications used to treat medical conditions.
Drinking excess alcohol or using recreational drugs - is dangerous for your general health and can also contribute towards the negative emotions of depression.
Taking some types of prescription medication - for example, propranolol can sometimes cause depression.
