Depression
Depression is a common but disabling mood disorder. It can cause severe symptoms that affect how someone feels and thinks. It can influence daily activities, such as sleeping, eating, studying or working. Depression is twice as common in women. The lifetime prevalence of depression in men is 5-12% while it’s 10-25% in women. Also, depression is more common in lower socioeconomic populations. Vega Tek Hub has provided this animation video presented on the attached YouTube link.
Symptoms of depression include:
- Difficulty with sleep (typically decrease in time of sleep)
- Loss of Interest in doing things that you used to enjoy
- Feeling of guilt or worthlessness
- Lack of energy
- Loss of Concentration and inability to focus
- Weight changes (typically weight loss because of loss of appetite)
- Slowing down or hampering of your mental or physical activities, and agitation
- Suicidal ideations
- Depressed and low mood
- Pain that is unrelated to any anatomical structures
- Memory difficulties
- Not everyone with depression has all of these symptoms.
There’s are different types of depression disorders:
- Major depressive disorder: includes symptoms of depression for at least 2 week, interfering with activities of life.
- Atypical depression: which is characterized by overeating and extreme sleepiness during the day
- Dysthymia: includes milder symptoms lasting for at least 2 years.
- Seasonal affective disorder: happens typically during fall and winter.
- Perinatal and postpartum depression: is depression that occurs during or after pregnancy.
- Depression with psychosis: is a severe form of depression where a person experiences psychosis symptoms, such as delusions or hallucinations.
- Premenstrual dysphoric disorder: causes severe irritability and depression in the week or two before period starts.
- Also, patients with bipolar disorder experience episodes of depression in addition to their manic or unusually elevated mood episodes.
Depression is associated with changes in biochemicals such as serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. These biochemicals are also the targets for pharmaceutical treatment of depression. Psychotherapy has a pivotal role in treatment of depression and includes cognitive-behavioral therapy or interpersonal psychotherapy. The best treatment for depression typically should include both pharmaceutical as well as psychotherapy. Other treatment options can include Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and Deep brain stimulation (DBS) amongst other treatments. Lifestyle modifications such as regular exercise and optimizing sleep habits may help improve depression symptoms
If you or your loved one experience symptoms of depression, please contact your primary care doctor or your psychiatrist. Remember there are many treatment options available that can help people with depression have a happier and better life.
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