What is depression?
Depression is a debilitating illness in which the sufferer
experiences extreme lows and feelings of sadness, often coupled
with other symptoms. There are many different types of depression
and some sufferers experience highs as well as lows (which
may be diagnosed as bipolar disorder).
As time goes by the unhappiness can develop into feelings
of numbness or "nothingness". The sufferer may not
necessarily feel sad all the time, but the feeling of unhappiness
is the pre-dominant one.
Depression tends to go hand-in-hand with an eating disorder
because of the low self-esteem and negative feelings associated
with it. Sometimes the depression precedes the eating disorder
and other times it is triggered or made worse by it.
There are many different types of depression:
- Major or clinical depression - the most serious type of
depression which can lead to suicide if untreated
- Bipolar or manic depression - the individual has mood
swings ranging from elation to extreme sadness
- Post natal depression - tends to occur from about 2 weeks
after giving birth and can last years
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) - depression that
generally coincides with the approach of winter
- Dysthymia - a less severe form of depression, sufferers
will still feel run down most of the time
- Cyclothymia - a milder depression with the sufferer alternating
between periods of mania and depression
- Existential depression - brought on by a crisis of meaning/importance
in a person's life
Facts and statistics
According to the Healing From Depression organization,
approximately 15 million people in the United States have
a depressive illness. This is a staggering 6% of the population.
The figures are even higher among specific populations, with
5 to 10% of patients under primary care suffering from clinical
depression and 10 to 14% of hospital inpatients, the chronically
ill and confined elderly also affected.
Each year in the U.S., there are at least 30,000 suicides,
and over 90% of these individuals have diagnosable psychiatric
illnesses; the most common diagnoses are unipolar or bipolar
major depression, seen in about 50% of cases (Simpson &
Jamison, Primary Psychiatry, May 1997). |
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What does depression feel like?
The exact feelings depend on the type of depression involved
and it can feel slightly different for each person. It has
been said that depression is something you are more aware
of once it has gone. It is like a constant weight pressing
down on the sufferer's shoulders and is always there lurking
in the background.
Contrary to popular opinion, many people with depression do
not sit around and cry all day. After a while, when the depression
has long since taken hold, the sufferer may simply feel numb
inside and be unable to cry or express their emotions properly.
Symptoms
The most common symptoms of depression are listed below. Individuals
may suffer from a few of these symptoms but are unlikely to
experience them all.
- Prolonged sadness or unexplained crying spells
- Significant changes in appetite and sleep patterns
- Irritability, anger, worry, agitation, anxiety
- Pessimism, indifference
- Loss of energy, persistent lethargy
- Feelings of guilt, worthlessness
- Inability to concentrate, indecisiveness
- Inability to take pleasure in former interests, social
withdrawal
- Unexplained aches and pains
- Recurring thoughts of death or suicide
What is the treatment?
Depression is very treatable, either through medication (anti-depressants),
therapy, or preferably both.
According to the Depression Alliance, there are three
main classes of anti-depressant drug, and these are Monoamine
Oxidase Inhibitors (M.A.O.I.), Tricyclic Anti-depressants (T.C.A.)
and Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (S.S.R.I.). Anti-depressants
usually take at least a couple of weeks to start working.
There are many different types of therapy available, including
cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy, and problem
solving therapy. |
