Depression is a brain disorder which makes you
feel down and worthless. It is characterized by mood-swings and hopelessness.
According to the National Institute of mental
health, depression was the most commonly diagnosed mental health disorder in
the United States in 2013 with more than 15.7 million people affected by it.
Further research claims that almost 4.4% of the
global population was suffering from depression in 2015 with an increase of
18.4% from 2005 to 2015. World Health Organization (WHO) ranked depression to
be the most significant contributor (7.5%) for global disability. The ailment
is listed at 6th spot as anxiety trigger and has contributed to around 800,000
suicide deaths per year.
How do you define depression?
It is a mental disorder
caused by chemical imbalance and fluctuations in hormone levels. Depression can
be triggered by external factors including genetic, environmental and social
factors. The condition affects people between the ages typically of 15 to 30.
Depression diagnosis is made over a period of
time after close evaluation of causes and symptoms. Major Depression Disorder is where symptoms are witnessed on
most days of the week. If 5 signs out of obvious symptoms including a feeling
of loss of interest in life are found in someone for more than 2 weeks,
physician might start with major depression treatment.
In some cases, depression can happen only in
winters because of less exposure to sunlight. If this is the case, the patient
is suffering from the Seasonal affective
disorder.
Other
than these two, there are many types of depression:
Major depression, when comes along with
psychotic symptoms is classified as Psychotic Depression. This is
characterized by symptoms such as seeing/hearing things that aren’t there,
false beliefs or wrong belief that others are trying to harm the person.
Persistent
Depressive Disorder lasts for 2 years or longer, which is indicated
by a change in your appetite, too much or too little sleep, fatigue, low
self-esteem, feeling of hopelessness and trouble in decision making.
Bipolar or Manic
Disorder involves mood swings ranging from periods of extremely high
energy and up-mood to low depressive periods. Manic depression treatment is
conducted through medications, treatment programs, substance abuse treatment,
continued treatment, and hospitalization. In some cases, treatment involves
medication and psychological counseling.
SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT
We want to achieve
success in our lives, and we face sadness, loneliness, changes in mood,
survival for life and struggle to overcome losses. All these ups and downs are
part of life which we usually go through; however, when these negative symptoms
exist for a long time, the result is depression or anxiety.
Major symptoms of
depression include:
- · Isolating
oneself from all happenings of life
- · Lack
of concentration
- · Poor
decision making
- · Sense
of frustration, sadness, and failure
- · Sensation
of tiredness all the time
- · Sleeping
and eating disorder
- · Change
in weight
- · Pain,
aches, and cramps
- · Digestive
issue
- · Suicidal
thoughts or attempts
These are common signs
in all depression patients. However, intensity and cause may vary. In all
circumstances and states, physician works for helping the patient to fight and
emerge out of scenario as a winner. Like other diseases; the earlier the treatment
begins, the more are the chances of effective recovery.
For effective treatment,
appropriate diagnosis is necessary. It starts with a physical examination and
includes medication, infection test and thyroid test done by a physician. Once
the diagnosis is completed, depression treatment can be handled in many of the
undermentioned ways.
Medication:
A drug prescribed for depression management is
called antidepressant. It helps control mood and stress by naturally affecting
brain neurotransmitters. The dose and duration of medicine can vary depending
on the cause, duration, and intensity of depression along with the environment,
family support, and patient’s current condition.
Sometimes physicians try several antidepressants
to find the one which may improve symptoms along with manageable side effects.
Statistics show that Xanax is ranked as number one antidepressant used in the
USA.
48Million patients in 2011 were prescribed to
use this medicine (Source: Psych Central). Xanax is useful as frontline treatment
of anxiety, panic disorder, insomnia, premenstrual syndrome, agoraphobia and
depressive disorder. You can buy Xanax online with a prescription or contact a
reputable Xanax supplier. This drug calms electrical activity in the brain,
which helps people to feel a sense of joy and
satisfaction.
An antidepressant is categorized into several
groups out of which Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) are the
primary line of treatment. If SSRI doesn’t improve the condition, other
medicines are prescribed.
Medicines are not suggested for children and are
cautiously advised for adolescents. Different treatment plans are generally
followed for teenage depression treatment including:
· Make
new friends. Teenagers are attracted towards new and relationships with
peers, which increase their self-esteem and provide satisfaction for social
bonding.
· Increase
physical activities, as it is essential to stay busy. Staying busy keeps
your mind focus on a particular thing. Your thoughts are not diverted in a
negative direction.
- Association with organizations
offering programs: Special programs are generally geared to cater the
psychological needs of adolescents. WHO organizes Mental Health Gap Action
Programme (MHGAP), where the aim is to help people with mental conditions?
Support from a trusted
adult. Teens find it challenging to handle issues alone when they think
they are managing more than they deserve. At this stage, they need support from
a trusted adult so they can be confident while dealing with problems.
Adolescence generally needs adult guidance to usually cope with emotional and
physical changes.
During teenage, we face
many changes physically, socially, emotionally and psychologically. We think
that many unrealistic expectations are attached to us from family and friends
which creates a sense of rejection and disappointment.
Psychological
treatments:
These treatments change
your thinking patterns and help you deal with daily life, stress, and
conflicts. It is commonly termed as psychotherapy, clinical depression
treatments, and talking therapies.
The primary goal is to
treat depression by talking about your condition, life and related issues with
a mental health professional. It can help you manage current difficulties,
replace negative beliefs and behaviors, grow positive interaction with others,
find solutions to your problems, regenerate level of satisfaction and control
on life, overcome hopelessness and anxiety to achieve life goals.
Psychotherapy can be
conducted in different ways. You can formulate your depression therapy with the
consultancy of depression treatment centers in the form of face to face
discussion, computer program or online session. Simultaneously, psychotherapy
can be conducted in below-mentioned ways.
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is a
structured treatment which studies our cognitions (way of thinking) and
behavior (our actions). It is the most effective treatment and is useful for
all ages. Contrary to CBT, behavior therapy only encourages activities that
will give us pleasure and satisfaction.
Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) focuses on
personal relationship problems and guides on skills needed to deal with them.
It helps you to recognize patterns in a relationship which will eventually
improve relations and assist in coping with pain. You will also find new ways
of getting along with people to maintain healthy relationships.
Mindfulness-based
cognitive therapy (MBCT) is focused on groups and involves mindfulness
meditation therapies. This eventually helps us our mind overcome unpleasant
thoughts and understand patterns of negative emotions and sadness, so that you
can deal with warning signs at an earlier stage.
Hospital and residential treatment:
It is needed in some
cases due to the severity of the condition or if you start harming yourself.
Other than medication,
hospitalization and psychotherapy, Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can be used for treating depression.
There are many possible options for dealing with depression, but the essential
thing is diagnosis and proper physician consultation
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