Depression is a mood disorder where the person persistently feels sadness, loss, and anger. This disorder affects your way of thinking and behaving. Depression can lead to emotional and physical problems. The person seems fine from the outside but he may have trouble performing daily activities. Many people still think depression is a myth. They think it is simple stress and will get better in a few days. But depression is not just sadness that will disappear in a few days. It may require long-term treatment.
Common causes of depression
Several reasons can lead to depression. These reasons can be biological or circumstantial. Some of the common causes behind depression are:
Brain chemistry
People think that only some sort of sadness or trauma can lead to depression. But a person can also get depression due to chemical imbalance in the brain. If the part of the brain that manages mood, appetite, sleep, thoughts, behavior, etc gets chemically imbalanced.
Changes in hormone level
In females, the level of hormones like estrogen and progesterone keeps changing throughout life during the menstrual cycle, postpartum period, menopause, etc. These changes in hormone levels can increase the risk of depression.
Brain structure
People are more prone to get depression if the frontal lobe of the brain is less active. But the exact cause is still unknown.
Family history
People with any other member with depression are prone to get the same problem. If a family has a history of any type of mental disorder, other members can face depression or any other type of mental disorder.
Substance use
Certain medical conditions increase the risk of developing depression such as insomnia, stroke, heart attack, chronic pain, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, etc.
Childhood trauma
Any type of trauma in childhood can cause fear and stress that can lead to depression. If a child has faced any kind of mental and physical abuse, bullying, etc; he can grow anxiety or depression later.
Substance use
Any type of substance use or alcohol abuse can cause depression
Pain
If a person is facing any type of physical pain (chronic pain) for a long time, he may develop depression. Due to the pain, his physical strength reduces and he can’t improve his life. Due to this, he can get into depression.
Risk factors for depression
Several factors can increase the risk of getting depression.
Gender
Gender plays an important role in depression as women face more depression than men.
Socioeconomic status
If a person is unable to maintain his socioeconomic status, he may get depression. A sudden loss in finances causes stress and depression.
Medications
Few medications can also cause depression. Some of those medicines are hormonal birth control, beta-blockers, etc.
Genetics
A person is at higher risk of depression if any of his family members have the same mental disorder.
Gender identity
The risk of depression increases for people who are facing gender identity issues.
Substance abuse
Alcohol abuse or substance use for a long time can cause depression.
Medical illness
If a person has a chronic illness, he is at higher risk of developing depression.
Symptoms of depression
Sadness is a symptom of depression but there are lots of other minor and major symptoms of depression. If a person is facing major depression, he might get lots of other symptoms.
General symptoms of depression
The symptoms of depression vary from person to person. Some symptoms may appear for a long time whereas few may appear sometimes only. There are some general symptoms that often appear in depression:
- Feeling sad and empty
- Crying often
- Feeling hopeless and worthless
- Decreased energy
- Loss of interest and hobbies
- Difficulty in sleeping
- Change in appetite
- Difficulty in concentration
- Self-harm and suicidal thoughts
Symptoms of depression in males
- Anger
- Irritability and anxiousness
- Feeling empty and sad
- Loss of interest and hobby
- Start drinking and taking drugs
- Reduced sexual desire
- Poor sexual performance
- Insomnia or excessive sleepiness
- Pain, headache, fatigue
- Digestion problems
- Self-harm
Symptoms of depression in females
- Irritable mood
- Sad or empty
- Irregular periods
- Loss of interest in any activity
- Poor social engagement
- Suicidal thought
- Poor thinking
- Difficulty in sleeping
- Fatigue
- Waking early
- Increased cramps
- Headache and pain
Symptoms of depression in children
- Crying
- Anger
- Rapid changes in mood
- Despair or intense sadness
- Refuse to go to school
- Start avoiding friends and family members
- Unable to concentrate on studies
- Self-harm
- Weight loss or gain
- Poor performance in school
- Poor grades
- Difficulty in sleeping
- Energy loss
- Digestion problem
Treatment options for depression
Depression can be treated but it can take a lot of time. Certain medications and therapies are available to treat depression.
Medications
SSRIs
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are the prescribed antidepressant medication. It helps in treating depression by increasing the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain. But these medicines often lead to few side effects. These SSRIs can’t be taken with MAOIs and thioridazine.
SNRIs
Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors also increase serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain. People with liver or kidney problems are advised not to take these drugs. Some common SNRIs are duloxetine, desvenlafaxine, milnacipran, venlafaxine, etc.
TCAs
Tricyclic antidepressants and tetracyclic antidepressants increase neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain. But TCAs have more side effects than SSRIs and SNRIs. Some common TCAs to treat depression are amitriptyline, doxepin, desipramine, nortriptyline, etc. Other than these medicines certain atypical antidepressants are also used to treat depression.
Natural medication for depression
You can adopt natural medication to treat depression. Dr Goswami NJ will ask a few questions and prescribe the correct natural medicines for your mental condition. Natural medicines don’t have any side effects and you can take them for a long time. These medicines will help in treating depression and reducing its symptoms.
Psychotherapy
You can talk to a therapist about your mental condition. The therapist will work with you to remove the negative thoughts from your mind. Several therapies are available to treat depression such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), etc.