What is depression?
Depression is classified as a mood disorder. It may be described as feelings of sadness, loss, or anger that interfere with a person’s everyday activities.
People experience depression in different ways. It may interfere with your daily work, resulting in lost time and lower productivity. It can also influence relationships and some chronic health conditions.
It’s important to realize that feeling down at times is a normal part of life. Sad and upsetting events happen to everyone. But, if you’re feeling down or hopeless on a regular basis, you could be dealing with depression.
Conditions that can get worse due to depression include:
* arthritis
* asthma
* cardiovascular disease
* cancer
* diabetes
*obesity
Depression symptoms;
The symptoms of depression can be experienced differently among men, women, and children differently.
Men may experience symptoms related to their:
* Mood, such as anger, aggressiveness, irritability, anxiousness, restlessness
emotional well-being, such as feeling empty, sad, hopeless.
* Behavior, such as loss of interest, no longer finding pleasure in favorite activities, feeling tired easily, thoughts of suicide, drinking excessively, using drugs, engaging in high-risk activities.
* Sexual interest, such as reduced sexual desire, lack of sexual performance.
* Cognitive abilities, such as inability to concentrate, difficulty completing tasks, delayed responses during conversations.
* Sleep patterns, such as insomnia, restless sleep, excessive sleepiness, not sleeping through the night.
* Physical well-being, such as fatigue, pains, headache, digestive problems.
Women may experience symptoms related to their:
* Mood, such as irritability
emotional well-being, such as feeling sad or empty, anxious or hopeless.
* Behavior, such as loss of interest in activities, withdrawing from social engagements, thoughts of suicide.
* Cognitive abilities, such as thinking or talking more slowly.
* Sleep patterns, such as difficulty sleeping through the night, waking early, sleeping too much.
* Physical well-being, such as decreased energy, greater fatigue, changes in appetite, weight changes, aches, pain, headaches, increased cramps.
Children may experience symptoms related to their:
* Mood, such as irritability, anger, mood swings, crying.
* Emotional well-being, such as feelings of incompetence (e.g. “I can’t do anything right”) or despair, crying, intense sadness
behavior, such as getting into trouble at school or refusing to go to school, avoiding friends or siblings, thoughts of death or suicide.
* Cognitive abilities, such as difficulty concentrating, decline in school performance, changes in grades.
* Sleep patterns, such as difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much.
* Physical well-being, such as loss of energy, digestive problems, changes in appetite, weight loss or gain.
Don’t ignore symptoms of depression. If your mood doesn’t improve or gets worse, seek medical help. Depression is a serious mental health illness with the potential for complications.
There are several possible causes of depression. They can range from biological to circumstantial.
* Family history.
* Early childhood trauma.
* Brain structure.
* Medical conditions.
* Drug use.
Depression test
Your healthcare provider can make a diagnosis based on your symptoms and a psychological evaluation.
In most cases, they’ll ask a series of questions about your:
* moods
* appetite
* sleep pattern
* activity level
* thoughts
If left untreated, complications can include:
* weight gain or loss
* physical pain
* substance use problems
* panic attacks
* relationship problems
* social isolation
* thoughts of suicide
* self-harm
Treatment for depression;
* Exercise
* Alternative therapies
* Light therapy
* Psychotherapy
* Medications
* Essential oils
* Omega-3 fatty acids
* Take care of yourself
* Learn how to say no
* Avoid alcohol and drugs
You may successfully manage symptoms with one form of treatment, or you may find that a combination of treatments works best.
Depression isn’t generally considered to be preventable. It’s hard to recognize what causes it, which means preventing it is more difficult.