Depression is an emotional disorder that shows its face quite often, with the onset of unexplained or unjustified prolonged emotional periods of sadness, hopelessness and pessimism. It is not certain what causes each case of depression but there is a lot of information indicating that brain chemistry has a roll in changing one’s mood. Medications that are an important part of the treatment of depression are known to increase the amount of neurotransmitters (chemicals transferred through the brain) or increase their transfer rates to thus improve mood.
Common Complaints from Depressed Patients
Most people will exhibit many of the following characteristics for longer than a period of two weeks when clinically diagnosed with depression.
- Feeling sad or down
- Crying
- Lack of pleasure in usually fun activities
- Decrease in appetite
- Increase in appetite
- Decrease sleep quality
- Significant weight loss
- Significant weight gain
- Change in sleeping pattern: inability to sleep or excessive sleeping
- Chronic fatigue
- Regular decrease in energy
- Headaches
Depression in men, women, children,teenagers and the elderly often differs in symptoms, and required treatment. Figure 01-02a outlines some of the relationships between depression, age and gender.
Figure 01-02a: The Faces of Depression – Gender and Age Differences in Depression
| Depression in Relation To Gender and Age | |
| Person | Unique Symptoms |
| Child | A child with depression may become overly clingy, fake being sick, refuse to go to school or think about the death of family members. It can be difficult to tell if a child is suffering from depression or just going through a natural phase. |
|
Teenager |
It wasn’t too long ago that teenage and childhood depressions were thought unlikely. Diagnosis was often delayed until adulthood. What was found is that teens do have their warning signs and symbols that indicate they are depressed. However the effects of teen depression are not the same as in adults.Drug abuse and addiction are common ailments in a depressed teen’s life. They often feel misunderstood amongst their peers and start to self-medicate to combat their feelings. |
|
Man |
Depression symptoms in men are irritability, anger and feeling discouraged. Men are also far more likely to abuse substances and to commit suicide. It is notable that more women attempt suicide then men. This sometimes impedes diagnosis as men do not admit they are sad and that sadness is the underlying cause of their anger. Even when men realize they are depressed they are less likely to seek help. This could be a reason why men are half as likely to be diagnosed with depression. |
| Woman | Hormonal factors are believed to contribute to the increased rate of depression in women. Women are also vulnerable to factors that men are not such as: 1) changes in menstrual cycle 2) pregnancy 3) miscarriage 4) pre-menopause 5) menopause Those factors increase the stress in a woman’s life which can cause severe mood disturbances and lead to a diagnosis of depression such as is post-partum depression. |
| Elderly | Depression is sometimes wrongly considered a normal part of aging. People believe that older people are more likely to experience depression because of their age. Depression in the elderly sometimes remains undiagnosed because the person doesn’t want to discuss the symptoms that they are suffering from. Elderly people are also more likely to have to deal with death of their spouse and peers which may lead to Adjustment Disorder. They are often reluctant to talk to a doctor about their abnormally long grieving periods. When elderly reach out for help their depression is usually further along and taking a toll on their physical health. Most of the symptoms by gender also apply for the elderly. |
A patient that is suicidal suffering from Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, and Psychosis would be termed comorbid. Comorbid illness is more common than people would think and often times the physical ailments are linked to depression as well. For example those who have poor thyroid function often have a unipolar or bipolar disorder.
Depressed patients are far more likely to commit or attempt suicide and to develop additional illnesses because of the depression or vice versa. Depression is one of the warning signs for suicide since far more than half of those who commit suicide are depressed. Thoughts of suicide are red flag signs of major depressive disorder. Depression takes a toll on our mental and physical health and patients are often diagnosed as comorbid. This means they have more than one illness. For example anxiety disorders are often a part of the lives of people withMajor Depressive Disorder. Or their major depressive disorder may also be accompanied with an extreme case of premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder which is a more severe form of premenstrual syndrome accompanied with intense depression, irritation and anger.
Medications and the Treatments of Depression Symptoms
Medications are prescribed to combat the symptoms and causes of depression but also to alleviate possible side effects of mood stabilizers or antidepressants. Sometimes an antidepressant alone is not enough medication. Although a loss of energy and interest could mean a patient might need an amphetamine for fatigue or a pill for sufferers ofdecreased sex drive.Depression may be accompanied with psychosis or psychotic behavior in which case a doctor will prescribe anti-psychotics to these patients and diagnose them as suffering from depression with psychosis.
The most important part of treatment for anyone who is exhibiting signs of depression is support. Without support, diagnosis and treatment is often delayed and patients rarely seek out a mental health professional. When they gain a foothold of support they are often brought in with serious conditions that need immediate intensive treatment.
Disturbances in mood caused daily by depression, can have serious professional and social consequences. Because sufferers have less self-esteem their productivity may be decrease, they may stop meeting new people, or going out with friends, orthey may begin to feel anxious or uncomfortable with our appearance. A patientsenergy levels could be down and could seriously slow down their work. Because of how sufferers may look and act (depressed) others may approach them in ways that make them uncomfortable or irritated. It is important that they address their condition before it severely impedes their regular activities.
There are also causes and risk factors, such as genetics and substance abuse that statistically suggest a patient is more likely to fall ill to major depressive disorder.Sometimes people bottle up their depression and don’t really show people how they feel. At some point the bottled up emotion will show itself and create a problem.
More Primary Care Physicians Diagnosing Depression in their Patients, Despite Barriers
It is becoming more and more common for people to be initially diagnosed with depression by their primary care physician. People with mild depression, often times just need a small amount of one drug that they often select from a number of medication options given to them.Antidepressants can be prescribed by our family doctor to clear up depression before its symptoms greatly affect us. It is important to discuss our feelings with the doctor regularly and as they come up so a professional can assess the illness and create a treatment plan for any illness he finds. There are actually a handful of serious barriers preventing all ages and gender from being diagnosed and receiving treatment. The most obvious one is a lack of good referral programs, stigmatization, or disagreeing with the diagnosis.The closer depressed people grow with a team of health care professionals the easier it will be for everyone to understand the illnesses.
The types of depression that a professional will diagnose patients with are listed in figure 01-02b. The descriptions in that table outline unique points about the symptoms and descriptions of each type of depression.
Figure 01-02b: Types of Depression Symptoms & Signs
| Depression Classifications | |
| Depression Type | Description |
| Adjustment Disorder | Adjustment disorder occurs when people continue to grieve over life circumstances such as death, the loss of a job or losing a possession. If they grieve deeply for periods of longer than two weeks with no letting up a doctor may diagnose them with Adjustment Disorder and insist on immediate treatment. |
| Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) | A case of major depressive disorder has persistent severe common symptoms of depression daily. |
| Seasonal Affective Disorder
(SAD) |
Depression that regularly occurs in the fall and winter season. The time of the year where the sun is further away and we absorb less sunlight. This short termed seasonal disorder doesn’t usually last as long as major depressive disorder. |
| Manic Depression
(Bipolar Disorder) |
Also known as Bipolar Disorder, which is usually depression, accompanied with episodes of mania, often marked by periods of extremely poor decisions due to an over exaggeratedself-esteem. |
| Dysthymia | Dysthymia refers to a moderate level of depression that persists for at least 2 years, and often longer. While the symptoms are not as severe as in major depression, dysthymia can still have a major impact on a person’s quality of life. |
| Depression With Psychosis | Symptoms of Depression coupled with psychotic thoughts or behaviors. Sometimes people diagnosed schizophrenic or bipolar have very similar symptoms. |
| Postpartum Depression | Depression that begins in the first few weeks after giving birth. This state of depression is believed to be directly related to the hormonal changes after giving birth. It is important to distinguish this from “baby blues” that mothers experience 24-72 hours after birth for a short period of time. |
Depression is highly treatable common illness that many people will experience at least once in their lifetime. Don’t be embarrassed to reach out for help if you see the symptoms in this article.