Depression is another serious mental health condition. This universal disease affects millions of people all over the globe. It is a fact that still people are not aware about the complexity and severity of this mental disease. Medical studies show that mental health diseases are rapidly increasing in recent times. There are actually a lot of factors behind it. In this detailed article we will briefly discuss depression, its symptoms, causes and treatment options. This article is going to be very important and will provide hope to affected people. So without any further delay let’s move forward.
What is Depression?
Depression is actually a disorder of comfort. This medical condition has a direct effect on your feelings, how you think and react. This abnormality leads to a person in that position where he feels sadness on a consistent basis. Besides that, a person in this situation loses interest in performing those activities once he enjoyed before. All these things when combined together create significant disturbance on daily routine matters. Unlike other minor ups and downs in life, depression is a more serious issue that needs professional help urgently.
Symptoms of Depression
The research shows that different individuals have different symptoms in case of depression. But here we will talk about some of the common symptoms that you must know in order to understand it more effectively.
Persistent Sadness
One of the common symptoms in depression is a feeling of persistent sadness. An affected person feels loneliness, gloominess or sadness. This type of condition in most cases remains the whole day or nearly every day.
Loss of Interest
Lack of interest is the most common symptom during depression. People mostly lose their interest quickly to perform those things or activities once they have done.
Appetite Changes
In depression the change in appetite has been observed in most of the people suffering from it. Due to sadness and the feeling of loneliness there are a lot of chances of both weight gain or weight loss. Mental restlessness results in appetite changes.
Disturbance in Sleeping
In case of depression there is a possibility of the disturbance in sleeping. Sleepless or oversleeping are both options that can happen on that particular day or every day.
Fatigue
One of the whole marks in case of depression is feeling tired constantly despite the fact that you have taken a proper rest and sleep.
Feelings of inefficiency or Guilty
Sometimes a person feels like he is responsible for every loss or happenings. So this type of inappropriate feeling is often observed in case of depression.
Difficulty in Concentrating
It becomes very difficult for an affected person in case of depression to concentrate at any activity. The power decision and thinking ability reduces to a greater extent.
Death or Suicide Thinking
In severe type of depression person continuously thinks about death or suicide.
Physical Symptoms
People feel unexplained physical health issues like headache, back pain or similar like this.
Causes of Depression
This is a very crucial part of this comprehensive article. It is really important to know what the actual factors are that are responsible for creating depression. Here in the following we are going to discuss some of those. Let’s have a look.
Biological Factors
Genetics
It is a fact that most of the chronic diseases’ genetic factors are at the top of them and the same is the case with depression. Medical studies show that it is a greater chance to have depression in anyone who has depression issues in their families. If you are a relative of anyone who has depression then there are higher chances to develop it in you.
Brain Chemistry
Another notable reason for depression is the chemistry of the brain. If due to any reason the imbalance in hormones and neurotransmitter occurs, it can create an impact over mood regulation. Consequently it leads to depression.
Medical Conditions
There are certain medical issues that eventually become the reason for depression. Some important ones are as follows: Heart disease, diabetes and cancer are some of them.
Psychological Factors
Personality Characteristics or Psychological factors are also one of the important contributing issues towards depression. One of them is personality characteristics. Those people who have a lack of confidence have a greater chance of becoming the victim of stress. Besides that, those people who always feel hopeless develop depression.
Trauma and Stress
There are several other factors like trauma and stress which can be the reason for depression. You can find many examples of stress and Trauma like financial issues or someone’s death that you really love. Some abuses like emotional, sexual or physical in the past can also lead to depression to anyone.
Environmental Factors
Life Events
Significant change in your life can also lead to depression. Whether these changes are positive or negative they have an overall impact on your mental health. For example if you lose a job or someone’s relationship ends. These types of events are also the major distributing factors.
Lack of Support
For living a happy life it is very important to connect with your friends and family. Sometimes social isolation and a lack of support can also lead you towards depression.
Effective Diagnosis
A Complete evaluation of an affected person in case of depression is pretty much important for proper diagnosis. This diagnostic approach is a combination of multiple things like physical examination, medical history and assessment of psychological issues. So this is actually done by a professional Healthcare provider.
Treatment of Depression
You must be worried after reading this article at this stage. But be happy now because it is good news as treatment is available for depression. There are various treatment options available for you that actually help to reduce symptoms to a greater extent. The treatment plans are arranged according to the condition and symptoms of that affected person. Some of the common and effective approaches are as follows.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is also called talk therapy as well. In this type of treatment the patient talks about their condition and issues to a mental health professional. According to different conditions and characteristics there are actually 3 types of renowned psychotherapies. Let’s talk about one by one.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy CBT
This type of therapy is mostly used to minimize and reduce negative thoughts and behaviors.
Interpersonal Therapy IPT
Interpersonal therapy is mainly used in order to improve interpersonal relationships and their impacts on your quality of life.
Psychodynamic Therapy
In this type of therapy it tries to make it possible to explore those factors that influence your current behavior.
Medication
In most of the cases in order to eliminate symptoms of depression antidepressants or stimulants are mostly prescribed. Some of the common medicines that are used to treat depression are as follows: Selective serotonin Reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin Norepinephrine Reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), tricyclic antidepressants and Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs).
It is very important to know that all the medicines are prescribed in different conditions for a person who is suffering from depression. So it is crucial to keep in touch with your mental health care physician to get necessary guidance.
Lifestyle Changes
The effective modification and your lifestyle is another effective treatment option available for you in case of depression. Some of the important ones are as follows.
Regular Exercise
If you want to live a happy and healthy life then make a habit of taking regular exercise on a daily basis. It will not only reduce your depression but is essential for your overall health. Try to take physical exercise, even just a walk is beneficial for you to boost your mood and reduce stress and tension.
Healthy Diet
Healthy diet is one of the major issues that everyone is facing in today’s life. For the better functionality of your body and preventing any type of disease, a healthy diet is really crucial. Try to include fruits and vegetables in your diet plan. In case of depression there are certain foods that are really very helpful. For example Omega 3 fatty acids are considered to be more effective for your brain health.
Mindfulness Techniques
In order to reduce stress and boost your mental health, some mindfulness exercises are very important. For example yoga, meditation and deep breathing exercises.
Enough Sleep and Rest
It is the need of the human body to sleep enough in order to prepare your body parts to perform functions of your daily routine work. When you are not sleeping properly then this situation creates depression as well.
Social Support
You can reduce depression to a greater extent by keeping in touch with your friends and family and discussing your issues with them. By doing this you can get emotional support that will help you to reduce depression and anxiety.
Prevention
As you know, prevention is better than cure so this is the case with depression. There are certain strategies and methods that are really helpful to reduce the chances of developing depression. Let’s talk about it quickly.
Education and Awareness
The important thing here is to know what depression actually is. Try to educate yourself and other people who have the same issues. By doing this you will also get a lot of motivation and courage.
Develop Courage
In case of depression it is crucial to develop some courage and believe in yourself. With the help of effective strategies and the belief to recover quickly will really help you to minimize the chances of depression.
Early Treatment
It is really important to address your symptoms in their early stages for better treatment. Be careful about any possible symptoms as we have talked about briefly in this comprehensive article and seek treatment options straight away.
Regular Check Ups
It is important to make a habit of going for regular checkups in order to monitor your overall health condition, especially mental health and possible symptoms of depression.
Conclusion
Depression is actually a common and worldwide health issue. Although it is a serious condition but is really treatable and manageable. All you have to do first is to educate yourself what depression actually is. Focus on early symptoms and immediately go for treatment options. For this purpose just visit your healthcare professional and discuss all the situations with him. You will be happy to know that there are millions of people all over the globe who are living their lives happily. You can also do it by implementing and focusing on proper treatment as mentioned above. It is actually your responsibility to look after your beloved ones who are facing some serious issues like depression or mental health issues. If you find any case then must consult your professional health physician for their proper diagnosis and effective treatment.