The REAL Guide to Depression
Depression is a common mental illness which is estimated to affect up to one in five people at some point in their lifetime and have significant cost impact on health services in medication, benefits and lost working days. It can strike at any age and the feelings of hopelessness and helplessness attached to it can make it difficult for people to carry out their normal activities. It can be more or less severe and symptoms are often varied, making it often hard to diagnose. It is thought that some individuals may be more prone to depression, whether because of life experiences, their body chemistry or genetically inherited conditions.Types of Depression
The three main categories of depression are major depression, dysthymia, and bipolar depression (sometimes referred to as manic depression).Major depression affects 15 percent of Americans at one point during their lives, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Its effects can be so intense that things like eating, sleeping, or just getting out of bed become almost impossible.
Major depression "tends to be a chronic, recurring illness," Laughren explains. Although an individual episode may be treatable, "the majority of people who meet criteria for major depression end up having additional episodes in their lifetime."
Unlike major depression, dysthymia doesn't strike in episodes, but is instead characterized by milder, persistent symptoms that may last for years. Although it usually doesn't interfere with everyday tasks, victims rarely feel like they are functioning at their full capacity. According to the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, almost 10 million Americans may experience dysthymia each year.
Finally, bipolar disorder cycles between episodes of major depression and highs known as mania. Bipolar disorder is much less common than the other types, afflicting about 1 percent of the U.S. population. Symptoms of mania include irritability, an abnormally elevated mood with a decreased need for sleep, an exaggerated belief in one's own ability, excessive talking, and impulsive and often dangerous behavior.
The Symptoms of Depression
When depression begins and you feel low, your self esteem falls and you lose your motivation. Procrastination sets in and you feel worse. This is the start of a spiral downwards.The symptoms of depression are:
- Can't make decisions
- Waking in the early morning
- Wanting to cry
- Lack of energy
- Loss of appetite
- Drinking too much
- Eating too much
- Loss of interest in sex
- Not caring about your appearance
- Becoming withdrawn
- Feeling you can't be bothered
- Suffering from poor self esteem
- Can't concentrate
- Lack of self confidence
- Feeling isolated or lonely
- Lacking purpose in your life
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How Is Depression Treated?
The most common treatment for depression includes the combination of antidepressant medicine, including selective-serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and tricyclic antidepressants, and psychotherapy (called "therapy" for short, or "counseling"). Electroconvulsive therapy, also called ECT, may be used when severe depression is unresponsive to other forms of therapy.Y! Health Depression News
- Abortion not seen linked with depression (Reuters)
Reuters - No high-quality study done to date can document that having an abortion causes psychological distress, or a "post-abortion syndrome," and efforts to show it does occur appear to be politically motivated, U.S. researchers said on Thursday. - Depression Linked to Increase in Abdominal Fat (HealthDay)
HealthDay - WEDNESDAY, Dec. 3 (HealthDay News) -- There may be a link between depression and abdominal obesity in older people, according to researchers in Holland who studied almost 2,100 adults in their seventies. - Depression leads to internal fat in 70-somethings (AP)
AP - Older people who are depressed are much more likely to develop a dangerous type of internal body fat — the kind that can lead to diabetes and heart disease — than people who are not depressed, a disturbing new study found. - Treating depression seen important in heart failure (Reuters)
Reuters - Depression increases the risk of death in patients with heart failure, but the risk apparently disappears with antidepressant use, according to a study. - Depression's Behavior Changes Linked to Heart Risks (HealthDay)
HealthDay - TUESDAY, Nov. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Negative changes in health behaviors are a major reason why heart patients with depression have an increased risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack, say U.S. researchers who followed 1,017 outpatients with stable coronary heart disease for an average of 4.8 years. - Inactivity a risk to depressed heart patients: study (Reuters)
Reuters - The main reason depressed heart disease patients are at higher risk for further heart trouble is because they exercise less and adopt other unhealthy habits, researchers said on Tuesday. - Peginterferon-induced depression is reversible (Reuters)
Reuters - Depression related to peginterferon therapy for chronic hepatitis C increases with duration of use, but reverses following treatment cessation, according to members of the Hepatitis C Antiviral Long-term Treatment against Cirrhosis trial. - Elder suicide risk persists in long-term care (Reuters)
Reuters - Suicide has not declined among elderly people living in long-term care facilities as it has among community-living elders, research hints. - Depression linked to poorer diabetes control (Reuters)
Reuters - Depression may make it harder for people with diabetes to keep their blood sugar levels in check, researchers have found. - Japanese mobiles to offer psychotherapy sessions (AFP)
AFP - A Japanese professor on Wednesday launched what he said was the world's first web-based psychotherapy sessions available via mobile phone, as the country grapples with a growing problem of depression.
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