The Basic Fact About Depression

Welcome back, everyone, this week, I thought we could discuss depression.

I felt it was a good topic seeing that winter is a prime time for many to feel the effects of depression. Seasonal depression is, in fact, a real thing that about 5% of Americans suffer from each year, and out of that 5% of people, 80% are women.

Which, to me, makes this topic extremely relevant to discuss. If you would like to understand depression a little better or would like to know whether you fall within the guidelines of a depression diagnosis, then read on as I break to do the basic facts of depression.

What is Depression?

According to the may clinic, depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest, which is actually what it feels if you have ever struggled with depression.

 What Are The Causes?

According to WebMD: depression is a complex disease. No one knows exactly what causes it, but it can happen for various reasons. Some people have depression during a serious medical illness. 

Others may have depression with life changes such as a move or the death of a loved one. Still, others have a family history of depression. 

Yet, in the most cause, you will find one of the reasons listed below to be involved:

• Abuse
• Age
• Certain medications
• Conflicts ( internal or external )
• Death or loss
• Gender
• Genes
• Major life events
• Substance abuse
• Serious illness
• Hormonal imbalance

What Are The Symptoms?

According to Healthline, many of the causes for depression stream from the list below:

• sadness
• tiredness
• trouble focusing or concentrating
• unhappiness
• anger
• irritability
• frustration
• loss of interest in pleasurable or fun activities
• sleep issues (too much or too little)
• no energy
• craving unhealthy foods
• anxiety
• isolation
• restlessness
• worrying
• trouble thinking clearly or making decisions
• poor performance at work or school
• dropping out of activities
• guilt
• suicidal thoughts or tendencies
• pain, like headaches or muscle aches
• drug or alcohol abuse

If you find that one or more causes fit you, you could very well be struggling with depression and just didn’t realize it. So it might pay to set up an appointment to see what your family physician thinks.

What Are Treatments?

If you feel you have the symptoms of depression and want to know what kind of treatments might work for you, then the mayo clinic has this advice for you. “Medications and psychotherapy are effective for most people with depression. 

Your primary care doctor or psychiatrist can prescribe medications to relieve symptoms. However, many people with depression also benefit from seeing a psychiatrist, psychologist, or other mental health professional. If you have severe depression, you may need a hospital stay, or you may need to participate in an outpatient treatment program until your symptoms improve.”

However, I feel that as good as the mayo clinic’s advice is that it should be mentioned that for minor depressive episodes or seasonal depression that meditation and regular exercise along with a healthy diet can help to reduce the efforts of depression. But I would only suggest people with mild depressive episodes or seasonal depression try this approach.

If your depression is persistent or extreme, you should follow the advice of the mayo clinic and seek professional help.

Other disorders that can cause depression are:

• Bipolar I and II disorders. 
• Cyclothymic disorder.
• Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder.
• Persistent depressive disorder.
• Premenstrual dysphoric disorder.
• Chronic Anxiety.
• Major Depressive Disorder.

If you feel depressed, but it does not feel like a normal kind of sadness, or if you find that your sadness never goes away, you may want to see a psychologist or family physician see if any of these are the cause of it your depressive struggles.

Final Thoughts

Now that I have broken down what depression is, the causes, possible treatments, and other underlining factors, you should have a better understanding of what depression is and what you can do to seek treatment if you find that you or someone you love struggles with depression.

Many people struggle with depression needlessly when they do not have to. There are many skilled professionals out there that would love to help, but they can only help if you take the first step and allow them to.

It is important for people to take depression seriously and seek professional help if they can not climb out of the depression pit with minor fixes such as meditation, diet, regular exercise, or relaxing techniques such as listening to calm music or sitting outside in the sun.

As always, I hope you found this information helpful.  Also, If you would like to share any commits about this article, please share them below in the commit section.

Until next week, Namaste.