Depression Symptoms

What is Depression?

Depression is the mentally health disorder which affects on the eating or sleeping, thinking about yourself, or thinking about other things.

A depressive disorder includes the mood, body and the thoughts. People who get depressed can not get better. Without giving the treatment, symptoms can be remains for some months or even for some years.

Types of Depression:

Major Depression - Characteristics of major depression is constant sad mood or do not have ability to feel the pleasure. These are the constant symptoms, intrusive with the enjoyable or productive life. If patient don't take any treatment, then major depression lasts for nearly about 6 months.
Atypical Depression - Atypical depression is subtype of the major depression. It contains the typical pattern of symptoms such as changing mood. Patient feel better if he heard any good news or if he is with his friends. Other atypical depression symptoms including increase of weight and appetite, excessive sleeping, feel like heavy in legs and arms and rejection sensitivity.
Dysthymia - Dysthymia or dysthymic disorder is a subtype of low grade. Depression Symptoms may lasts for at least two years. Many people suffering from dysthymia experience the episodes of major depression and the condition known as double depression.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) - Some of the people getting experience of chronic episodes of the depression show a pattern known seasonal affective disorder (SAD). This is major depression which occurs in the winter or fall season when sunlight is very limited. This depression goes away when the season turns.
Postpartum Depression - Some new mothers suffering from this postpartum depression. This is very serious depression and long lasting. It develops just after the delivery and any depression that occurs in 6 months of the birth of the child, it may be postpartum depression.

Depression Symptoms:

Depression symptoms may vary from person to person and also varies over the time. Following are some of the depression symptoms:

Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness
Persistent sad, anxious, or "empty" mood
Feelings of hopelessness, pessimism
Decreased energy, fatigue, being "slowed down"
Loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities that were once enjoyed, including sex
Insomnia, early-morning awakening, or oversleeping
Difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions
Appetite and/or weight loss or overeating and weight gain
Persistent physical symptoms that do not respond to treatment, such as headaches
Thoughts of death or suicide; suicide attempts
Restlessness, irritability
digestive disorders, and chronic pain

Causes of Depression:

Depression in Women:

As compared with the men, women depressed twice. Rate of depression increased in the women because of hormonal factors such as changes in menstrual cycle, pregnancy, postpartum period, miscarriage, pre menopause and the menopause. Women also get stress of tasks of both home and at work, single parent and children caring.

Many women get depressed after the birth of baby. Physical and hormonal changes and responsibility of new work may cause the postpartum depression in few women. A different type of sadness is very common in the new mother.

Depression in Men:

Men are less depressed than the women but 3-4 million of peoples are suffered from the depression in US. Men who are depressed are less likely to get admit and doctor also less like to suspect them. Women attempt the suicide item while men commit the suicide. But after the age of 70, the rate of suicide in men gets increases.

Depression affects on the health of the men. Depression in men covered with drugs and alcohol. Apart from feeling helpless and hopeless, men feels angry, irritable and the discouraged.

Depression in the Elderly:

It is very difficult to the elderly person to face the depression. Depression occurs in the elderly cause needless suffering for the family and also for individual. Depressed persons tell to doctor their physical symptoms but hesitant to bring the emotions.

Depression in the elderly sometimes caused because of side effect of medicines taken on the physical problems or also because of causing illness. Medication treatment or psychological treatment is helpful to the depressed person to recover from that and get happy.

Treatment for Depression:

Numerous treatments for depression are available. Standard depression treatment options include:

Medications
Psychotherapy
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

Emerging and less-studied treatments for depression include:

Brain stimulation
Complementary and alternative treatments

Medications:

Many medicines are available for minimizing the depression. Medicine used for depression which are antidepressants and which are approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA).Antidepressant is having many kinds and they are categorized by depending on how biochemicals affects on the brain and changes occur in your mood.

At the starting of the treatment for depression, following antidepressants are used:

Typical first choices. Most of the doctor prescribes the antidepressants named selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). SSRI contains fluoxetine, paroxetine, sertraline, citalopram and the escitalopram.
Typical second choices. In this case tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) mostly used. But it is prescribed after trying SSRI.
Typical last choices. When other medications are not worked properly then monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI) are prescribed. MAOI is very effective so it has side effect also.

Side effects of antidepressants:

Unwanted side effects are caused because of antidepressants. These side effects are different in different patients. Intensity of these side effects is also different. If your side effect is very mild then you do not have to stop the intake of antidepressants. These side effects also goes lessen after the several weeks of antidepressant.

Precautions when taking antidepressants:

Though antidepressants are normally safe, several precautions are required at the time of taking them. In case of children, young people and adults having age between 18-24 who take the antidepressant, increase the thoughts of suicidal particularly in first few weeks after starting the antidepressant or dose get changed.

Some of the antidepressants cause very serious problems or another health related problems such as failure of liver or risky drop in count of white cells. These are very rare cases but you have to take test of blood.

Psychotherapy:

For the depression, psychotherapy is good treatment. This treatment is used with the medication treatment. Psychotherapy is also called as talk therapy because in treatment for minimizing the treatment doctor talks with patient about their issues and conditions.

For more information on depression symptoms follow below pages