Depression is a psychological disorder, a mental condition. Especially, it is a mood disorder depicted by constantly low mood in which there is a feeling of sadness and loss of interest.
Experiencing depression is more than just feeling unhappy, fed up or sad for a couple of days. Everybody has moments of feeling down the whole day; however, depression is persistent for days or weeks and even months and is a genuine sickness with real symptoms
Depression is different from the variance in mood that we all experience as a part of a normal and healthy life. Temporary emotional reactions or responses to the challenges of everyday life don’t constitute depression.
Similarly, even the feeling of sorrow or grief resulting from the demise of somebody close or other kind of misfortune is not itself depression if it does not persist for a long time says for a month or more. Depression can, however, be related to bereavement – when depression follows a misfortune, psychologists call it a “complicated bereavement.
Similarly, discouraged mood that results from the sadness or disappointments of a life event such as a financial loss, a serious disease, or even involvement in a natural disaster doesn’t necessarily mean depression.
Reasons of Depression
The reasons of depression are not completely understand and might not be down to a solitary or single source. Depression is prone to be caused by a complex combination of factors like:
- Genetic
- Environmental
- Biological – with changes in dopaminergic, noradrenergic and serotonergic neurotransmitter levels speculated
- Psychological and social
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A few individuals are at higher risk of depression than others – risk factors, which play into the above reasons, include:
- Life events – for example, poverty, divorce, unemployment, although these events lead to enduring, severe depression usually only in individuals inclined to it
- Childhood trauma can bring about long – term brain changes affecting reactions to fear and stress. Other history likewise raises the risk, including any form of abuse or a suicide attempt, – physical, sexual or substance
A past head harm or injury - Some prescribed medicines – including interferon, corticosteroids, reserpine and some beta-blockers – can lead to depression.
Symptoms of depression
- Feeling sad or low and depressed mood
- Reduced interest in activities previously enjoyed
- Weight loss without dieting And loss of appetite
- Loss of sexual desire
- Insomnia (difficulty sleeping) or hypersomnia (excessive sleeping)
- Loss of energy or fatigue
- Feelings of guilt or worthlessness
- Worsened ability to concentrate, think or make decisions
- Recurrent thoughts of suicide, or attempt at suicide.
Signs are the features that might be noticed by the doctor and others – as opposed to the symptoms that patients can describe themselves.
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Signs of an individual with depression include:
- Tearful eyes, appearing miserable, furrowed brows, down-turned corners of the mouth
- Lack of eye contact slumped posture and facial expression
- Little body movement, and speech
- Pessimistic, gloomy, passive, humorless, lethargic, introverted, hypercritical of self and others, complaining.
Suggestion to deal with Depression:
- Always think positive and for this, read inspirational books
- Meditation is strongly advise in depression
- Take healthy and nutritive foods
- Exercise regularly and daily