Besides a sense of sadness, hopelessness or helplessness, a person can suffer from extreme fatigue, decreased (muscle) motor coordination, appetite changes and weight, and a loss of interest in activities which are generally Nice - just to name a few of the most common symptoms.
Anxiety, fear generally composed without direct cause, is strongly correlated with depression. Anxiety is not just a chemical imbalance in the brain, but the entire nervous system, which is excess to meet the entire body as a physical threat is imminent. Often, this can make the depressed person feel very nervous, and some people undergo another blunder as they go about their day.
Only a doctor can diagnose depression, and if you have what you think is depression, you must make an appointment immediately. (If you need help as soon as possible, please call 9-1-1.) When you talk to a doctor for a formal assessment, he / she will ask you questions such as the following, which are an adaptation of the diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders IV:
1. Are you experiencing depressed mood?
2. Have you lost interest in most or all of their normal activities, including those that are normally enjoyable?
3. Have you experienced a dramatic change in appetite, leading to weight gain or significant weight loss in the last month?
4. Did you change your sleeping habits? Do you sleep much more or much less than normal, or have problems falling asleep or waking up?
5. Do you feel anxious or nervous, or noticed others who are more irritable than usual?
6. Have you had trouble concentrating or thinking clearly?
7. Do you feel unusually tired all day?
8. Do you have overwhelming feelings of worthlessness, guilt or hopelessness that things will not get better?
9. Have you thought about death or more than usual, suicide or attempted suicide?
If you answered "yes" to questions 1 and / or 2, plus any other four questions, and these symptoms have persisted for at least two weeks with little change, you may be suffering from clinical depression.
Your doctor will also ensure that these symptoms are not due to what is considered a normal reaction to a situation of life, such as a death in the family. It is quite normal to feel these things after a traumatic event unless these feelings persist for more than two months without appearing that are easier to handle.
In addition, the doctor will want to know if these symptoms are causing great difficulties in performing normal daily activities. Depression is serious enough, it can cause a person to miss work and unable to fulfill family obligations.
Risk Factors
People suffering from depression are more likely to suffer from other life-threatening diseases, such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease. Much attention is focused on discovering why patients with depression are about four times more likely than their peers to suffer a heart attack within 14 years of their first depressive episode.
Stressing the whole effect of depression is the conclusion of research that depressed patients have lower variability of heart rate (HRV) than normal. HRV is reduced when the parasympathetic branch of the nervous system is not fully operational, and people with low SAR are at high risk of heart attacks.
Dysfunction of the parasympathetic branch can be a key to understanding how mental perception of events leading to depression affects the whole body.
Causes of Depression
Depression can be caused by a number of circumstances. For some, genetics may play a role (this is especially true for bipolar disorder or manic depression, which is not addressed in this article). For others, it could be the result of their life situation, as too stressful period or illness.
Often, depression can be caused by "uncontrollable stress." In this case, a person is having a negative event they perceive their efforts will not affect the result. Caregivers are particularly prone to this. With the arrival of the disease such as Alzheimer's, the patient may need constant attention of a member of the family for years, causing major disruptions in the life of the caregiver.
Under stress, the effects will be repeated on the entire body, not just the mind. The stress may cause excessive cortisol secretion, which in turn can cause tissue damage in the brain and body. Stress hormones can also cause the nervous system to become overworked trying to keep his balance, causing to die due to exhaustion.
Depression Treatment Options
antidepressants
One of the great advances in pharmaceutical medicine was the advent of the SSRI antidepressants. Depression can cause an imbalance in brain chemicals called serotonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps us feel calm and relaxed with a feeling of well-being.
In people who are depressed, serotonin production can be reduced, or can not be used more effectively in the brain.
Neurotransmitters are secreted into the spaces between the cells of the brain. SSRI or inhibitors of serotonin reuptake serotonin avoid being absorbed back into the brain cells so rapidly, and researchers believe that the brain allowing more serotonin in the cell medium has an effect improves mood.
Examples of antidepressants in the SSRI include Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil. It has been proven very effective in relieving depression and anxiety in a wide range of people, although their safety in children has recently been questioned.
advice
In addition to medication, patients are usually also relates to a counselor to what is often referred to as "talk therapy" or more formally as cognitive behavioral therapy. With such advice, the depressed person learns to notice patterns and challenge negative thinking. over time, patients are able to prevent negative mood, speaking of his own to reflect a more positive outlook.
exercise
Research has shown that the coherent target area of aerobic exercise heart has very beneficial effects in the fight against depression, both short and long term.
Although it may be difficult for a person who lives a major depressive episode to gather energy for exercise, most people who live at least some relief from depression in just 10 minutes of departure.
Although not highly publicized, the effects of the exercise has been shown repeatedly to cause a decrease in depression that are on par with the two drugs and therapies advice. For more information on an exercise program that can help relieve the symptoms of depression, please go to http://www.hrh-for-depression.com.
Therapies herbal
The interest in herbal therapies for depression has always been high, and in some countries, such as Germany, the herbal therapies are preferable to drug therapy, according to the National Institute of Health mental. Many people prefer herbal therapies in general, because they believe that the side effects of antidepressants may harm them.
Herbs like ginseng and ginkgo biloba have been used to treat depression, but the only herb to be tested in a large-scale study is the herb St. John. Patients were followed for 26 weeks using St. John's wort experienced a reduction in depression that was almost comparable to sertraline, an SSRI.
The researchers cautioned, however, that St. John's wort can use the same metabolic pathways as other medicines for depression, heart disease, seizures and some types of cancer. Therefore, patients should be sure to consult their physician about the use of St. John's wort with other medications.
Getting Help
Nearly 10% of Americans will experience a depressive illness in a given year. If you feel that you are in the midst of depression, please understand that there are very effective treatments available to you. SSRIs modern drugs that are most commonly prescribed antidepressants can start work in two weeks of taking the first dose. By participating in a bit of moderate exercise, you might even feel a little better by the end of the day.
While doing nothing while suffering from depression is difficult, please make it a priority to seek help. If you need more to intervene on their behalf, please communicate that to them.
If you feel depressed, chances are that people around you have noticed, but you may not want to say something about you. With a small opening for its part, is likely to jump at the chance to help you seek treatment.
For more information on depression, you can go to the National Institute of Mental Health website [http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/depression.cfm]. Unable to download information about depression and research topics related to depression and treatment of depression.
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