Depression

There are moments where everyone struggles. Times when we go through a rough patch. Ever wonder what you are going through? Every wonder why you feel down or sad? It is possible that depression could have overcome your thoughts. Now, I’m sure you are wondering what this disorder is and how it can affect your life including the people around you. Here goes our journey through the minds of many we try to understand and cope with depression.

Known as major depression and clinical depression. Feeling as if life isn’t worth living and isn’t a weakness you can just snap out of, may require long-term treatment. A common disorder. Depression causes the persistent feeling of sadness or loss of interest and can lead to a range of behavioral and physical symptoms such as:

· Sleep

· Appetite

· Energy level

· Concentration

· Daily behavior

· Self-esteem

· Thoughts of suicide

A medical diagnosis is required and can be treated by a medical professional. Couple types of treatment are usually medication, talk therapy or a combination of the two. However, it has been proven that some people can benefit from medication and psychotherapy. To have a clear diagnosis the symptoms must be present for at least two weeks and a call to your primary care physician should be made.

Diagnosis depression usually consist of:

· Physical exam

· Lab tests

· Psychiatric evaluation

· DSM-5

Through these simple steps a physician can determine if a patient is suffering from Depression. Don’t wait till it is too late to contact someone for help.

Often goes undiagnosed and untreated. Most will feel reluctant to seek help. Symptoms may be different or less obvious in adults. This is not a normal part of aging. Should never be taken light. May occur only once during your life but typically have multiple episodes. Occur most of the day, nearly everyday and include:

· Sadness

· Tearfulness

· Emptiness or hopelessness

· Angry outbursts

· Irritability or frustration, even over small matters

· Loss of interest or pleasure in most or all normal activities

· Sleep disturbances: insomnia or sleeping too much

· Tiredness and lack of energy

· Reduce appetite and weight loss or increased cravings for food and weight gain

· Anxiety, agitation or restlessness

· Slow thinking, speaking or body movements

· Feelings of worthlessness or guilt, fixating on past failures or self-blame

· Trouble thinking, concentrating, making decisions and remembering things

· Frequent or recurrent thoughts of death, suicidal thoughts or attempts

· Unexplained physical problems such as back pain and headaches

These are a few symptoms someone could experience but for some people it could be severe enough to cause noticeable problems in day to day activities such as:

· Work, school, social or relationships with others

Along with these symptoms, people may generally feel miserable or unhappy without really knowing why. More reason to have speak with a health professional or someone you trust. Common with adults but is common in children as well but there can be some differences such as:

· Younger children: sadness, irritability, clinginess, worry, aches and pains, refusing to go to school or being underweight

· Teens: sadness, irritability, feeling negative and worthlessness, anger, poor performance or attendance, feeling misunderstood and extremely sensitive, using drugs or alcohol, eating or sleeping too much, self-harm, loss of interest in normal activities and avoidance of social interaction

It is all good to know that even though depression is common in adults, it can also be found in young children and adults. Don’t ignore the signs, it doesn’t hurt to be cautious and ask questions.

Once the signs or symptoms are noticed next step would be to see a physician. Steps to take when seeking or refusing help are:

· Make an appointment with your doctor or mental health professional as soon as possible

· If reluctant to seek treatment then talk to a friend or a loved one, any health care professional, faith leader or someone you trust or a suicide hotline

· Attempt at suicide call 911 or your local emergency number immediately. If a witness, stay with the person while calling for help or if possible bring them to the nearest hospital if person is willing

As most diseases and disorders there is no known cause. However, there is a variety of factors that may be involved such as:

· Biological differences: appear to have physical changes in their brains. Significance of these changes is still uncertain but may eventually help pinpoint causes

· Brain chemistry: neurotransmitters are naturally occurring brain chemicals that likely play a role in depression. Recent research indicates changes in the function and effect of theses neurotransmitters and how they interact with neurocircuits involved in maintaining mood stability and may play a significant role in depression and treatment

· Hormones: changes in the body’s balance of hormones may be involved in causing or triggering depression. Changes can result with pregnancy and during the weeks or months after delivery, from thyroid problems, menopause or several other conditions

· Inherited traits: more common in people who have blood relatives with this condition. Researchers are trying to find genes that may be involved in causing depression

Along with the causes comes the risk factors. Some risk factors to be aware of are:

· Often begins in the teens, 20’s or 30’s but can happen at any age. More women then men are diagnosed

· Factors: certain personality traits-low-self-esteem and being too dependent, self-critical or pessimistic

· Traumatic or stressful events: physical or sexual abuse, death or loss of a loved one, difficult relationship or financial problems

· Blood relatives with a history, bipolar disorder, alcoholism or suicide

· Being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender or having variations in the development of genital organs that aren’t clearly male or female in an unsupportive situation

· History of other mental health disorders: anxiety, eating or post-traumatic stress

· Abuse of alcohol or drugs

· Serious or chronic illness: cancer, stroke, chronic pain or heart disease

· Certain medications: high blood pressure or sleeping pills

Progression of depression comes with complications as with any other type of disorder or disease. Should be aware of:

· Can take a terrible toll on you and your family

· Gets worse if isn’t treated, resulting in emotional, behavioral and health problems that affect every are of your life such as: excess weight or obesity which can lead to heart disease, diabetes, pain or physical illness, alcohol or drug misuse, anxiety, pain disorder or social phobia, family conflicts, relationship difficulties, work or school problems, social isolation, suicidal feelings, self-mutilations such as cutting and premature death from medical conditions

Struggling with depression is no joke. Learning what it is and how to cope with it can be a struggle. Complications can be overcome with knowing you aren’t alone and having family/friends around to talk to or a professional you can turn to. To get through the complications, you need to be open to solutions. There is no sure way to prevent depression. However, there are some strategies that may help such as:

· Take steps to control stress-increase your resilience and boost your self-esteem

· Reach out to family and friends

· Get treatment at the earliest sign of a problem or consider getting long-term maintenance treatment to prevent a relapse

Everyone needs a little help sometimes and should never feel like they are alone. Turn to family/friends when you are down. Even a listening ear can help those in pain. As depression continues to grow in our society, something to keep in mind is there are different types of depression. Those types include:

· Anxious distress: unusual restlessness or worry about possible events or loss of control

· Mixed features: simultaneous and mania includes elevated self-esteem, talking too much and increased energy

· Melancholic features: lack of response to something that used to bring pleasure and associated with early morning awakening, worsened mood in the morning, major changes in appetite, feelings of guilt, agitation or sluggishness

· Atypical features: includes the ability to temporarily be cheered by happy events, increased appetite, excessive need for sleep, sensitivity to rejection and a heavy feeling in the arms or legs

· Psychotic features: accompanied by delusions or hallucinations, which may involve person in adequacy or other negative themes

· Catatonia: includes motor activity that involves either uncontrollable and purposeless movement or inflexible posture

· Peripartum onset: occurs during pregnancy or in the weeks or months after delivery

· Seasonal pattern: related to changed in seasons and reduced exposure to sunlight

Some point in our lives everyone goes through a down period. If that down period last longer than two weeks, it is a sign see a physician. One thing to remember is depression can be treated. Treatment options are:

· Primary care doctor or psychiatrist can prescribe medications to relieve symptoms. Many people benefit from seeing a psychiatrist, psychologist or other mental health professional

· Someone with severe depression may need a hospital stay or may need to participate in an outpatient treatment program until symptoms improve

For most patient’s medication and therapy can help them cope. There are several types of medication, but it is important to speak with your physician when picking out a medication or changing a treatment plan. Concerns and questions to keep in mind when on medication are:

· There are many types of antidepressants. Be sure to discuss possible major side effects with your doctor or pharmacist

· Types of antidepressants to ask questions on: Serotonin reuptake inhibitors, Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, Atypical antidepressants, Tricyclic antidepressants and Monoamine oxidase inhibitors

· Other types of medication could be added to an antidepressant to enhance the effects. Physician may recommend combining two antidepressants or adding medications such as mood stabilizers or antipsycholics. Anti-anxiety and stimulant medications may be added for short-term use

· Finding the right medication: may need to try several or a combination of medication before finding one that works unless the person has responded well to a specific antidepressant. This requires patience, as some medications need several weeks or longer to take full effect and for side effects to ease as the body adjust

· Risk of abruptly stopping medication: don’t stop taking an antidepressant without talking to a physician. Physical dependence which is different form addiction can occur. Stopping or missing several doses can cause withdrawal-like symptoms and quitting suddenly may cause a sudden or worsening of depression. Work with the physician to gradually and safely decrease the dose

· Antidepressants and increased suicide risk: should be watched closely for worsening or unusual behavior especially when starting a new medication or with a change in dosage. Contact a doctor or get emergency help if having suicidal thoughts while on antidepressants. Most antidepressants are generally safe, however, some cases with children, teenagers or young adults under age 25 may have an increase in suicidal thoughts or behavior when taking an antidepressant especially in the first few weeks after starting or when the dose is changed

Overall, it is important to reach out to a physician about medication or ways to starts a medication. Don’t ever take it into your own hands and always remember depression is treatable when taken care of properly.

Depression can take over your whole life with just a blink of an eye. Knowing the signs, treatment and knowing the next steps to take in the process help to recover from this disorder/disease. Other options include: psychotherapy, lifestyle and home remedies and coping and support. Each of these could be helpful in your life when struggling with depression. Broken down these steps include:

· Psychotherapy: talking about your condition and related issues with a mental health professional. Known as talk therapy or psychological therapy. Different types- cognitive behavioral therapy and interpersonal therapy. Can help adjust to a crisis or other current difficulties, identify negative beliefs and behaviors and replace them with healthy positive ones, explore relationships and experiences and develop positive interactions with others, find better ways to cope and solve problems, identify issues that contribute to your depression and change behaviors that make it worse, regain a sense of satisfaction and control in your life and help ease depression symptoms such as hopelessness and anger, learn to set realistic goals for your life and develop the ability to tolerate and accept distress using healthier behaviors

· Lifestyle and home remedies: generally, isn’t a disorder that you can treat on your own. In addition to professional treatment, these self-care steps can help-stick to your treatment plan, learn, about depression, pay attention to warning signs, avoid alcohol and drugs and take care of yourself

· Coping and support: talk with a doctor or therapist about improving your coping skills, try these tips: simplify your life: cut back on obligations when possible and set reasonable goals. Give yourself permission to do less when you feel down. Write in a journal, read reputable self-help books and websites, local helpful groups, don’t be isolated, learn ways to relax and manage your stress, structure your time and don’t make important decisions when you’re down

Depression isn’t something you want to play with. Don’t wait till it is too late. Pick up a phone and call someone or call a medical professional. We all need someone to hear us out. Repetition couldn’t be expressed enough when it comes to depression. Questions to be aware of when visiting a physician are:

· When did you or your loved one first start to notice the symptoms?

· How long have you felt depressed?

· Do you generally always feel down or does your mood fluctuate?

· Does your mood ever swing from feeling down to feeling intensely happy and full of energy?

· Do you ever have suicidal thoughts when you’re feeling down?

· Do your symptoms interfere with daily life or relationships?

· Do you have blood relatives with depression or another mood disorder?

· What other mental or physical health conditions do you have?

· Do you drink alcohol or use drugs?

· How much do you sleep at night? Does it change overtime?

· What if anything seems to improve your symptoms?

· What if anything appears to worsen your symptoms?

As someone who has experienced depression, my goal is to help others understand what it is and how they can overcome it. There are going to be times you feel down, feel out of place but know that with the proper help you can come back from this dark hole. Know that you are not alone and remember to reach out for help when you need it. Be strong and hopefully learning more about depression has helped you as much as it has helped me on my journey. Best of luck.