I.
IntroductionEveryone gets depressed occasionally, because life does not always go according to one’s plans or because of the inevitable losses and hardships that are interspersed with the joys and triumphs of life. But a normal depressed mood is different from the despair of clinical depression. Major depression includes more symptoms, is more devastating to one’s routine, and lasts longer than normal depression. Causes of major depression may also be different from the causes of normal variations in mood.This paper studies what really depression is and how an individual can overcome it.
II. DiscussionThe primary symptom of major depression is an overwhelming feeling of sadness. Other symptoms include loss of interest in almost all of one’s usual activities; feelings of self-blame, worthlessness, and guilt; fatigue, so that even the smallest task may seem to require too much effort; loss of appetite; disturbances in one’s usual pattern of sleep; difficulty in concentrating and greater distractibility; and suicidal thoughts or attempts (Hirschfeld, 2002).Depression, in medicine, is a mood disorder. Symptoms include marked changes in sleeping and eating patterns, fatigue, headache, irritability, social withdrawal, loss of concentration, and feelings of guilt, hopelessness, and worthlessness.Depression can be a reaction to stressful events, such as the death of a loved one, a severe accident, or loss of employment.
The use of alcohol or certain other drugs, such barbiturates, can often cause or deepen depression. Abnormalities of the neurotransmitters, biochemicals that facilitate communication between brain cells, are thought to cause some forms of depression. Some people have a hereditary predisposition for certain forms of depression; it is believed that a gene on a specific chromosome causes brain cells to produce a substance that makes a person susceptible to depression (Eaves, 2004). Mild depression sometimes occurs before a menstrual period or after childbirth; it usually lasts no longer than two weeks.If depression lasts longer than one month, it is considered major depression. It is usually treatable with a combination of psychotherapy and heterocyclic antidepressants (such as trozadone or alprazolam) or monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors (such as phenelzine or tranylcypromine).
Manic depression, or bipolar disorder, is characterized by periods of severe depression or fluctuations between periods of depression and extreme elation. It can usually be controlled with lithium drugs. In unresponsive cases shock therapy may be recommended (Barnett, 2003).Seasonal affective disorder is characterized by annual episodes of depression that occur only during either the winter or summer months. When a person with no other reason for being depressed develops depression every winter, it is believed that the cause is lack of exposure to sunlight. This form of medication can usually be cured with medication and by exposing the patient to bright banks of artificial light for a few hours each day.
When the depression develops in the summer, it is believed to be due to overexposure to high temperatures (Hirschfeld, 2002). This form of depression can usually be cured if the person stays in shaded or air-conditioned areas for most of the day.III. ConclusionDepression may be triggered by a stressful event in a person’s life, such as the loss of a job or breakup of a marriage. Depression may be especially likely when the stressful event disrupts a role that had been an important basis for a person’s sense of self.
For example, if marriage conveys a sense of self-worth to one of the partners, and the marriage breaks up, then depression may be a likely result. Depressed individuals have experienced more recent stressful events such as family illnesses than non-depressed individuals.
