In the last thousand years, our lifestyle has changed drastically. Advancements in technology, rise in consumerism and modern-day societal perceptions, have contributed towards a reduced degree of social connection. This has played a key role in rising mental health disorders like depression. A serious mental health condition, depression, can be described as feelings of loss, sadness, or anger that interfere with a person’s everyday activities. If depression is untreated, it can affect your physical health in a way that can ultimately cause death. Let us know more about this depression mental health disorder to create awareness about it.
Types of Depression
Depending on the severity of symptoms, depression can be broken into categories.
Major Depressive Disorder
The most severe form of depression, major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by persistent feelings of hopelessness, sadness, and worthlessness that don’t go away on their own.
Persistent Depressive Disorder
A milder, but chronic form of depression, persistent depressive disorder (PDD) used to be called dysthymia. People with PDD face loss of interest in normal daily activities. Also, they feel hopeless and have low self-esteem.
Postpartum Depression
After childbirth, postpartum depression can develop in parents. They can feel sad, hopeless, or overwhelmed for longer than 2 weeks post-childbirth.
Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
This type of depression causes chronic, intense irritability and frequent anger outbursts in children. Generally, its symptoms begin by the age of 10.
Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD)
With this type of depression disorder, you can have premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms along with mood symptoms, such as anxiety, extreme irritability, or depression. Such symptoms enhance within a few days after your period starts, but they can be severe enough to interfere with your life.
Depression Due To Another Medical Condition
Some medical conditions can create changes in your body that cause depression. Examples include heart diseases, hypothyroidism, Parkinson’s disease and cancer.
Causes Of Depression
Even though researchers don’t know the exact cause of depression, they think that several factors contribute to its development, like:
1.Brain chemistry: If there is an imbalance in neurotransmitters, including serotonin and dopamine, this contributes to the development of depression.
2.Genetics: If your sibling or biological parent has depression, you are about 3 times likely to develop the condition as the general population.
3.Stressful life events: Death of a loved one, trauma, isolation, divorce, and lack of support are the sad and difficult life experiences, which can trigger depression.
4.Medical conditions: Chronic conditions like diabetes can lead to depression.
5.Medication: There are some medications which contain substances like alcohol. Such medications can cause depression or make it worse.
6.Personality: If you have certain personality traits, like low self-esteem or being overly self-critical, you can be more vulnerable to depression. This can be because of your early life experiences, or the genes you’ve inherited from your parents or both.
7.Loneliness: Your feeling of loneliness caused by things such as becoming cut off from your family and friends, can increase your risk of depression.
Symptoms OF Depression
Depending on the type, symptoms of depression can vary. General symptoms of depression include:
- Feeling worried, hopeless, or sad
- No interest in enjoying things that used to bring joy
- Feeling of irritation or frustration
- Eating too little or too much
- Difficulty in sleeping (insomnia) or sleeping too much (hypersomnia)
- Trouble in concentrating, making decisions or remembering things.
- Headache, stomachache or sexual dysfunction
- Thoughts of self-harm or suicide
Treatment For Depression
You can reduce the mental and physical issues associated with depression, with the treatments prescribed by a doctor. Common treatments for depression are as follows:
Psychotherapy
A long-term approach to depression is psychotherapy (talk therapy). It includes talking about your depression and related health issues with a professional. Usually, this therapy is done face-to-face in an office with a psychologist or psychiatrist. Some approaches to psychotherapy are Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT).
Cognitive Behavioral therapy (CBT)
In this therapy, a therapist will work with you to uncover unhealthy thought patterns and identify how they may be causing harmful reactions, behavior’s, and beliefs about yourself. Also, your therapist might assign you some homework to practice replacing negative thoughts with more positive thoughts.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Even though, Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), is similar to CBT, but it emphasizes more on validation, or accepting uncomfortable feelings, thoughts, and behavior’s, instead of fighting them. In this treatment, you come to terms with your harmful thoughts or emotions, where you accept that change is possible and make a recovery plan.
Psychodynamic therapy
A form of talk therapy, Psychodynamic therapy is designed to help you better understand and cope with your day-to-day life. Your therapist will help you in reflecting and examining your childhood and experiences to help you understand and cope with your life.
Medication
Sometimes, therapy isn’t enough to help a person cope with their depression. In such situations, a mental health professional might recommend medication. The main goal of using medication is to ease depression symptoms so that a person can be more receptive to the benefits of therapy.
Common medication of depression include:
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
- Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors
- Tricyclic antidepressants
- Monoamine oxidase inhibitors
Alternative therapies
To cure depression, you can ask your doctor about alternative therapies also. Along with traditional psychotherapy and medication, many people use alternative therapies. Following are the examples of alternative therapies:
Meditation: Anger, anxiety, stress can trigger depression, but meditation can help change the way your brain responds to these emotions.
Acupuncture: A form of traditional Chinese medicine, Acupuncture may help ease symptoms of depression. In this therapy, a practitioner uses needles to stimulate certain areas in the body to treat a range of conditions.
Alternative Therapies
To cure depression, you can ask your doctor about alternative therapies also. Along with traditional psychotherapy and medication, many people use alternative therapies. There are some examples of alternative therapies:
1.Meditation: Anger, anxiety, stress can trigger depression, but meditation can help change the way your brain responds to these emotions.
2.Acupuncture: A form of traditional Chinese medicine, Acupuncture may help ease symptoms of depression. In this therapy, a practitioner uses needles to stimulate certain areas in the body to treat a range of conditions.
Lifestyle Tips And Natural Remedies
1.Exercise
Engage yourself in 30 minutes of physical activity for 3 to 5 days a week. Regular exercise can increase your body’s production of endorphins, which can improve your mood.
Avoid consuming alcohol and misusing substance
Consuming alcohol or misusing substances may make you feel better for a little bit. However, in the long run, these substances can worsen depression
Set boundaries
If you feel overwhelmed, it can worsen anxiety and depression symptoms. So, setting healthy boundaries in your professional and personal life can help you feel better.
VIEW HOME PAGE
