Feeling sad is a usual part of life, but when symptoms of emotions, mood or behaviour take hold, you may have depression. Depression is more than just feeling sad. Everyone feels upset or heartlessness from time to time, but depression is more serious. It is different from the mood variations that people experience as a part of life. Being depressed feels like carrying a very heavy burden, but you are not alone in this fight. Millions of people around the world suffer some form of depression every year, making it one of the most common mental disorders in the country.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Depression is the main cause of disability worldwide. It can affect adults, youths, and children. It’s important to understand that feeling down at times is a normal part of life. Sad and distressing events happen to everyone. But, if you’re feeling down or sad on a regular basis, you could be dealing with depression. Gaining deeper understanding of depression can help begin the ride to recovery.
Types of Depression
Depending on various cause depression can take many forms. Understanding about the type of depression may be helpful in managing symptoms and in getting the most effective treatment.
Mild and Moderate Depression– It is the most common type of depression. In this type of depression one can have persistent low mood over a long period of time, even a year or more.
Major Depression– This is the second most common type of depression. In this type people generally experience recurrent episodes throughout their lives.
Atypical Depression– It is a common subtype of major depression with specific symptom pattern. People may suffer from irritability and relationship problems, report heaviness in their limbs, as well as be prone to overeating and oversleeping.
Psychotic Depression– In this episodes can get so severe that hallucinations or delusions are present, the person becomes catatonic, or they feel stuck in bed.
Postpartum Depression– This occurs after or around delivery. Mothers are unable to relate or take care of their child due to this.
Situational Depression– This is triggered by a life-changing event. It could be anything, from broken relationship, losing your job to the death of an immediate family member.
Symptoms of Depression
Depression can be more than a persistent state of sadness. Though there are multiple types of depression, many of them have similar symptoms. The symptoms of depression can include:
- Emotional well-being – feeling sad, anxious or disheartened all of the time
- Mood Swings- Anger, Irritable, Aggressive, Anxious
- Change in Behavior- loss of Interest, feeling tired, drinking excessively, engaging in high-risk activities
- Change in Sleeping Pattern like excessive sleepiness or not sleeping through the night
- Change in apetite
- Difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions
- Headaches, stomach-aches, or back pain
- Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide
- Fatigue and lack of energy
Causes of Depression
While some illnesses have straightforward treatment, depression is far more complicated. But most commonly, depression is caused by a combination of biological, genetic, psychological, environmental and social factors that can vary wildly from one person to another.
- The brain chemistry
- Biological differences
- Inherit traits
- Stressful or traumatic events
- Hormone changes (menstrual cycles, pregnancy)
- Certain medications
Treatment
A healthy diet and a regular sleep schedule should go well hand in hand for the treatment of depression. It may sound simplistic, but the type of treatment may vary from person to person and will depend on type of depression one is going with.
Reach out to other people, Loneliness is much dangerous then depression, so it is better to be with family members and loved ones, even when you feel like being alone or don’t want to be with others. The simple step of talking to the and how are you feeling about can be an enormous help.
Regular Exercise, can be very effective in healing the symptoms of depression. Going for a short walk, jogging, running or dancing can be more effective. Start activities for some minutes and build up from there.
Yoga, is a more recommended and accessible form of exercise, because it doesn’t require much effort and equipments. Meditation is a highly effective way of calming your body.
If all of the above supports and positive lifestyle changes aren’t working, it is time to consult a mental health professional. One can try services of experts like psychiatrists or psychologists. They offer many types of therapy that works to change your thought processes.
Remember that recovery is often like a journey and not a destination. After darkness there is always a ray of sunlight. With well-targeted intervention, you should be able to overcome depression. Consult a mental health professional to discuss your treatment options.
