Depression is a type of mood disorder. A person with depression can feel sadness, anger, or loss. In depression, the person’s feelings, behavior, and thinking change. Due to depression, you can see lots of mental and emotional problems. A person also faces problems in performing day-to-day activities. Many people with depression start thinking that life is not worth living. Depression is not an illness that you can treat in a few days. You may need long-term treatment to overcome this problem completely.
What can cause depression?
Lots of factors can cause depression from biological to circumstantial.
Hormonal changes
In females, one of the major causes of depression is the changes in hormones. The level of estrogen and progesterone changes throughout her life during menstrual cycles, pregnancy, perimenopause, and menopause. These changes in the hormonal level can lead to depression.
Brain chemistry
Imbalance in the brain chemical can also cause this mental disorder. These chemicals affect mood, thoughts, appetite, sleep, behavior, etc. But if they get imbalanced, a person may face depression.
Genes
If any of the family members have a history of depression. Other members are at high risk of developing the same or similar mood disorders.
Brain structure
The risk of depression increases when the frontal lobe of the brain is less active.
Childhood trauma
Any bad incident that causes fear and stress can lead to depression.
Substance abuse
People who drink lots of alcohol or any substance can also get depression.
Chronic pain
A person with chronic pain for a long time can develop depression or other mental disorders.
Several medical conditions can lead to a high risk of depression like insomnia, stroke, chronic pain, cancer, heart attack, etc.
Major risk factors for depression
- Genetics
- Gender (Females get more depression than males)
- Poor socioeconomic status
- Several medications
- Vitamin D deficiency
- Substance misuse
- Gender identity. According to some studies, LGBTQ people are more prone to depression.
Common symptoms of depression
The symptoms of depression can change from person to person. Not all people face the same symptoms of depression. These symptoms can change from time to time. However, some common symptoms are faced by many people:
- Feeling extremely sad and anxious
- Feeling of empty
- Loss of interest in hobbies or anything
- Crying a lot
- Always feel annoyed, bothered
- Fatigue
- Can’t make decisions or concentrate
- Unable to sleep or oversleep
- Change in body weight
- Suicidal thoughts
The symptoms of depression can be different in men, women, teens, and children.
Symptoms of depression in men
- Changes in a mood like always feeling anxious, restless, angry, irritated, etc.
- The person starts feeling empty, sad, and hopeless
- Cognitive abilities are reduced like unable to concentrate, delayed responses, issues in completing tasks, etc.
- Poor sexual interest, lack of sexual desire.
- Changes in sleep patterns like insomnia or excessive sleepiness. A person may be unable to sleep properly at night.
- Changes in the physical body like headache, fatigue, digestion, issues, pain, etc.
Symptoms of depression in women
- Changes in a mood like always feeling irritated, crying, angry, etc.
- She may start feeling incompetent like she can’t do anything in her life.
- Facing trouble at school, start avoiding friends or other people.
- Thoughts of self-harm or suicide.
- Difficulty in a sleeping pattern like poor sleep or excessive sleep
Changes in the physical body like digestion problems, irregular menstrual cycle, more painful period cramps, aches, changes in appetite, excessive weight loss or gain.
Symptoms of depression in children
- Change in a mood like anger, crying, irritation.
- Trouble in attending school, refusing to go to school, avoiding friends, etc.
- Unable to concentrate on studies and have poor performance in school
- Excessive sleepiness or insomnia
- Loss of energy, digestion issues, poor appetite, weight loss, etc.
Treatment options for depression
Medications
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
SSRIs are the common antidepressants prescribed for depression. These medicines increase the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain. These medicines must not be taken with certain drugs like MAOIs. These medicines are not recommendable for pregnant women. Common SSRIs are citalopram, fluvoxamine, escitalopram, sertraline, etc. You must visit a doctor before taking SSRIs. These medicines also have some side effects.
Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs)
SNRIs increase the serotonin and norepinephrine transmitters in the brain. These medicines are not recommended for people with liver or kidney issues. Some common SNRIs are desvenlafaxine, duloxetine, etc.
Atypical antidepressants
NDRIs increase dopamine and noradrenaline in the brain. MAOIs increase serotonin, and dopamine levels in the brain. However, these drugs have lots of side effects. Doctors only prescribe these medicines when other drugs are not showing any positive results.
N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonists
NMDA treats depression by increasing the glutamate level in the brain. The doctor suggests NMDA only when other antidepressants are not showing any good results. The patients may face some side effects after taking these drugs.
Natural medicines
Some natural medicines can be very helpful in treating depression. When you get depression treatment New York, the doctor will ask you certain questions about physical health, mental health, surroundings, etc. He will prescribe your medicines depending on your physical and mental conditions. Two people with similar depression cases may have different medications. Natural medicines may take more time to treat but show good results. These medicines do not have any side effects and are fully safe to use.
Psychotherapy
Therapies may work best to treat depression. Several therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), psychodynamic therapy, etc. The main focus of therapy is to remove negative thoughts from the mind. The therapist talks to the person and tries to identify the causes behind the depression. After identifying the causes, the therapist tries to remove the negative thoughts from the mind and then replace them with positive ones. Some therapies help to find ways to cope with depression. In therapies like DBT, the person learns to accept the uncomfortable feelings and behaviors instead of neglecting them. In this therapy, the person tries to accept the changes in his life. Therapies may require some months to years for treating depression. However, therapies provide long-term benefits.
Meditation
Minor depression can be treated with meditation. Things like stress, anger, anxiety, etc can cause depression. Regular meditation helps to reduce stress and anxiety. It helps to enhance positive thoughts in the mind. Daily meditation can treat many mental disorders.