Health - Mental Health

What is Depression? Depression Symptoms and Much More

August 22, 2019 by Mustafa Rangoonwala Leave a Comment

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What is Depression? Depression Symptoms and Much More :

Feeling sad and depressed is a normal part of life’s ups and downs. However, when you have prolonged feelings of helplessness or hopelessness, and you feel sad most of the time; this is not a normal day to day reactions to the ebb and flow of life. If you feel sad most of the time, and you have a feeling of helplessness, you may be suffering from clinical depression.

Well, what is Depression? To be diagnosed with clinical depression, you must have at least 5 of the 9 symptoms listed in the DSM IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th edition). If you are feeling sadness most of the time, feel tired or fatigued, feel a sense of helplessness or hopelessness you may have some of the signs of depression. Other depression symptoms listed in the DSM IV are feeling guilty or have a feeling of unworthiness, trouble sleeping or sleeping too much, diminished interest in doing anything pleasurable, agitation or lethargy, and unexplained weight loss or weight gain.

You may ask, what is depression in the clinical sense of the word. Doctors consider you clinically depressed if you have had depression symptoms for a period of 2 weeks or more. Just feeling in a depressed mood isn’t enough to be diagnosed with clinical depression. Some manifestations of the depression effects are mood changes from elation to inactivity.

Depression symptoms can happen to children, teens, and adults. Child depression and teen depression are characterized by a feeling of sadness, disruptive behavior, and lack of interest in activities that once gave them pleasure. If you have a child who has become sad or has become disruptive in school or at home for a period of 2 weeks or more, your child may be having depression symptoms. If your teenager appears to be unhappy for a period of two weeks or more, he or she may have signs of depression.

What is depression, anyway? Are there different forms of clinical depression?

There are several different types of clinical depression, which include major depression , chronic depression (dysthymia), postpartum depression, bipolar depression, psychotic depression, SAD depression (seasonal affective disorder), double depression, chronic treatment-resistant depression, masked depression and secondary depression. Most everyone has heard of the first four types of depression because they are quite common. The less heard about forms clinical depression are the remaining ones on the list.

Double depression is a mixture of chronic depression and major depression disorders. The people who suffer from double depression often feel isolated, though they isolate themselves. If you have been diagnosed with double depression, you might feel that you are all alone, even though you are among people. You may have a feeling of hopelessness or helplessness. The major symptom of double depression is a sense of hopelessness.

Psychotic depression is characterized by depression symptoms and hallucinations. The hallucinations may be visual and auditory in nature. SAD depression is characterized by depression symptoms at certain parts of the year. For instance, men and women may become depressed in the wintertime, which is thought to be related to decreased exposure to sunlight in the wintertime.

If you feel you or someone in your family might have depression symptoms, consult a physician. It is important to see a physician if you have depression symptoms. People who are depressed are more likely to talk about death and dying. There is also a high risk of suicide in people with clinical depression. Another outward sign of depression is that the person suffering from clinical depression thinks about self-harm. Sometimes depressed people act out on the impulse to hurt themselves. If you have depression symptoms, seek depression help from a mental health professional right away.

Depression is a physical disorder caused by an imbalance of brain chemicals, serotonin and norepinephrine. Sometimes depression does physically hurt because the imbalance of chemicals can cause back pain, joint pain, and gastrointestinal disturbances. If you, family or friends are having depression symptoms seek depression help from a health care provider. If necessary, the health care professional will refer you to a mental health professional for treatment.

10 Types of Depression – Holistic Meaning

August 21, 2019 by Mustafa Rangoonwala 1 Comment

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10 Types of Depression – Holistic Meaning

Types of Depression

Chronic Depression
Chronic depression, or as it is often referred to Dysthymia, is a form of depression that is not as severe and disabling as severe depression but can still affect the patient for periods up to two years or longer. People affected with chronic depression are usually able to cope with day to day living but […]

Clinical Depression

Although most people believe that depression is just sadness there is a lot more to it and it can be serious health becoming a major life issue if not properly diagnoses and treated. People with clinical depression often can not function normally and lack the ability or desire to find joy in people […]

Major Depression

The majority of the medical community agree that of the various forms of depressive disorders major depression should be classified as the most severe of them. The patients who are affected by major depression usually have more of the symptoms of depression and also more severe episodes of them. They are also more frequent […]

Postpartum Depression

Postpartum depression (PPD) what also known as postnatal depression and to mothers sometimes as the “baby blues” is considered by the medical profession as a form of clinical depression following childbirth. This form of depression is fairly common with 5 to 9 per cent of woman who gives birth are affected by it. […]

Depression Disorder

Depression Disorder is often interchanged with Depressive Disorder and Major Depression. Depression Disorder is a mood disorder. Individuals affected by Major Depression Disorder must have uninterrupted symptoms for a period of at least two weeks. Basically, these individuals are depressed, they do not see any joy or excitement in life. […]

Sexual Depression

Sexual problems can occur in people who are already diagnosed with depression thus adding to the already depressed state of the individual. In men the sexual depression symptoms can take the form of erectile dysfunction, while in a woman it can be the inability to have an orgasm or sexual desire, and for both […]

Stress and anxiety

Stress and anxiety do not necessarily mean the same thing. Stress can be associated with a feeling of frustration, anger, and anxiety; it could be the stress of having a heavy workload, or the need to meet a deadline and more. What is stressful for one person may not have to be stressful […]

Bipolar Depression

Alcohol and Drugs

Suicide

Thoughts of suicide are common among depressed people. Though it does not mean that every depressed person will have suicide ideation or worst still attempt suicide, it does put people suffering from depression at a higher risk for suicide than the general population. Usually, sufferers of major depression will not have the energy […]

Types of Depression : Suicide Girls or Suicide Boys

August 21, 2019 by Mustafa Rangoonwala Leave a Comment

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Types of Depression: Suicide Girls or Suicide Boys

Suicide

Types of Depression: Suicide Girls or Suicide Boys

Thoughts of suicide is common among depressed people. Though it does not mean that every depressed person will have suicide ideation or worst still attempt suicide, it does put people suffering from depression at a higher risk for suicide than the general population. Usually, sufferers of major depression will not have the energy to actually commit suicide though they may think about it. Once the symptoms lift and they are experiencing moderate depression, they may carry out their suicidal thoughts because they have more energy. Suicide is not exclusive to severe depression and moderate depression there may be other risks factors involved as well. Fortunately, suicide ideation can be controlled in depressed individuals with proper medication.

According to the statistics, nearly 15 percent of individuals suffering from clinical depression will commit suicide. Suicide was the 8th leading cause of death for American citizens in 1997. Nearly 11 out of every 100,000 individuals die by suicide, which translates to roughly 30,500 individuals who died by taking their own life that year. Not all suicide attempts are successful and in 1996 there were approximately 500,000 failed suicide attempts. The depression facts indicate that four times more women attempt suicide, however, more men are actually successful at carrying it out. For every 25 suicide attempts, one of them will result in death. Men and the elderly as a group will be more successful in committing suicide.

Suicide Methods

It seems that suicide, which was carried out through the use of firearms is the most common method among men and women alike. Firearms are used in 58% of all suicides. Firearms use is most common amongst white males and is the preferred method of suicide for elderly men who are 85 years of age and older. Suicide has become the third leading cause of death for people between 15 to 24 years of age. Even more striking is the fact that 303 young children between 10 and 14 committed suicide in 1997.

Suicide Risk Factors

Suicide

The risk factors depend upon age, gender, and race, but they can change over time. However, individuals suffering from clinical depression are already in a high-risk group. Nearly 90 percent of suicide victims have depression, or substance abuse addiction or another form of mental illness. Suicide attempters like people suffering from major depression have a chemical brain imbalance of the neurotransmitter called serotonin.

When you combine the brain chemistry and terrible life events, you get a lethal combination. There is also the risk factor contributed to people who already have other family members suffering from mental illnesses, and substance abuse. If there is a history of family violence, that too can increase the risk of suicide. Lesser-known risk factors include incarceration, just being exposed to suicide through media coverage, and having firearms in the house which can become temptations for attempted suicides. Having firearms in the house makes it easier to commit the act. Overall, the strongest influence on suicide and suicide attempts, is depression, alcohol abuse, cocaine use, and a separation or a divorce

It is important not to ignore suicide attempts, it is never to be considered just a means for attention. Most suicides are inappropriate reactions to distress. If you know someone who has attempted suicide at least once, direct him or her to a medical professional whenever you can. Education in schools, counseling groups, and even the limitation of access to firearms especially among younger children can help.

Type of Depression : Alcohol & Drugs

August 21, 2019 by Mustafa Rangoonwala 1 Comment

Type of Depression: Alcohol & Drugs

Alcohol & Drugs

Depression is a common complaint about individuals seeking medical attention in the USA. Over 25 million Americans go to a doctor’s office for antidepressants as the treatment of depression. Depression affects people of all ages and depression can lead to some very serious consequences. About 13 per cent of senior citizens has some kind of depression. Often these individuals are alone with no social support of any kind. In this age cohort, about 20 per cent of seniors is prone to suicides. If you compare elder suicide with the general population whereby 11 in every 1,000,000 individuals commit suicide, 20 percent of seniors committing suicide becomes the highest risk group. Furthermore, among the general population, more women are prone to depression than men.

There are many reasons for depression among the general population from major depression to seasonal affected depression. Unfortunately many of these individuals turn to alcohol and drugs to self medicate. When certain individuals are bombarded with too much stress and anxiety they turn to alcohol and drugs to relieve their stress and anxiety.

Alcohol consumption has adverse effects on the brain. Alcohol has been found to lower the normal levels of the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain. These neurotransmitters are responsible for moods, lower levels of these transmitters actually act as a depressant and instead of giving the individual relief from stress and anxiety. alcohol will make the individual even more depressed. Furthermore, many doctors misdiagnose alcohol and drug induced depressions for other forms of depression.

Alcohol Depression

What alcohol does to the body is that it will suppress the natural stress hormones leaving an individual feeling worse than he or she did before consuming this drug. Alcohol suppresses the nervous system as well as the brain, thus disrupting the normal balance of neurotransmitters responsible for healthy moods or emotions. Studies have shown that even a moderate drinker, consuming only one alcohol beverage a day will score higher on the standard depression inventories if he or she stops drinking for a period of three months prior to taking the questionnaire.

Older individuals lose folic acid as they age which increases the risk of various diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Alcohol reduces the levels of folic acid in the brain and since people with depression have lower levels to begin with this situation only serves to make the underlying depression even worse. Alcohol will also speed up the breakdown of antioxidants in the bloodstream and speeds the process of elimination from the body.

Alcohol and drugs like cocaine will go hand in hand, with depression and different mental disorders as well. Studies show that men develop depression after using alcohol, whereas females are reported as having depression first. Take away the alcohol consumption or other drugs and social deviants and the men and women will fare out equally in terms of developing depression. This further shows how alcohol and drugs can disguise or acerbate the symptoms of depression. Drugs and alcohol have also been implicated in suicides. Drugs and alcohol can heighten the depression, numb feelings, impair logic and cognitive functioning and numb the fear of actually taking your own life. Drugs and alcohol can worsen mental depression by creating reckless behaviour. The odds of attempting suicide are doubled among alcohol and drug users.

Types of Depression : Bipolar Depression Test

August 21, 2019 by Mustafa Rangoonwala Leave a Comment

Types of Depression: Bipolar Depression Test

Bipolar Depression

Bipolar Depression is a depression that must include at least one episode of mania. Mania and depression are polar opposites on the range of human moods, which is why they are called bipolar. Most people who have this condition do have more than one episode of mania. On average, a person may experience four episodes of mania in ten years, all of which are never treated. Sufferers of Bipolar Disorder test will have different patterns of severe mood swings from depression to mania and back again, but when that the pattern is identified, it is usually consistent

The onset of Bipolar disorder test usually begins in the teenage years or early adulthood. Unfortunately, it is not often recognized as a mental illness and is left untreated. Adults continue to have the illness and struggle through life, often time losing jobs, relationships, friends, and social life along the way. Over two million people in the USA are said to have this very severe manic-depressive disorder. As a matter of fact, the manic-depressive disorder was the former name for the illness. Just as it is difficult for the bipolar individual to cope with this severe depression or manic episodes, it is just as hard for the family to deal with the changing moods as well. When sufferers are in the manic stage their behavior can be pretty bizarre, even crippling to the family by doing such things as going on extravagant shopping sprees and maxing out all the credit cards in a short period of time. At present, scientists know that bipolar disorder runs in families but they have yet to isolate the gene associated with this debilitating disease.

The mood swings associated with this disease don’t have to jump from depression to mania and back in a sharp mood swing. There is a range of emotion from hypomania to extreme mania and from mild depression to moderate depression and then to severe depression.

Bipolar depression has all the characteristics of depression whereby sufferers feel sad, empty, or anxious. They feel helpless, hopeless worthless, or even guilty for feeling this way. Thoughts are of the pessimistic variety and so sufferers think the worse of every event. People with bipolar depression can be irritable and restless, lose their appetite or increase their appetite, and sleep too much or too little. Their energy is low and they may experience loss of memory and lack concentration. Sufferers of bipolar depression will lose interest in their regular activities. While in the mania stage, persons suffering from a bipolar disorder test will become irrational and hard to deal with. Many marriages have broken up due to the effects of the disorder upon the sufferer and his or her family.

Bipolar disorder is often misdiagnosed, being mistaken for ADHD, drug, and alcohol abuse-related depression and more. Fortunately, there is treatment available for bipolar depression and mania. Counseling will help the sufferer with coping skills, education, therapy, and support. Several medications are used to treat the condition. The most commonly used is lithium, which is effective in treating both the mania and the depression. Newer medications for anticonvulsants such as carbamazepine are used. Though there is treatment available there is no mania or depression cure. Sufferers of bipolar disorder will have to remain on treatment and follow up with therapy for best results, for their entire lifetime.