Depression
Depression is a psychiatric disorder characterized by feelings of
worthlessness,
guilt, sadness, helplessness, and hopelessness. It is
different then normal
sadness or grief from the loss of a loved one because
it is persistent and
severe. Clinical depression has many related symptoms
trouble sleeping, eating
disorders, withdrawal and inactivity,
self-punishment, and loss of pleasure.
People that are depressed do not
like to do things they may usually like to.
Surveys that have been taken
that show approximately 20 in 100 people suffer
from depression at any one
time. About one if four Americans will suffer from a
depression over the
course of their lifetime. Depression strikes men and women
of all ages, in
all races, but most studies indicate that women are more often
afflicted.
There are two major forms of depression that people get. One form is
called
depressive disorder. It is diagnosed only by episodes of
depression.
Episodes can be short or long but are usually brought about
by an incident in a
persons life. An example of this is if someone close to
them dies. The other
kind is called bipolar or manic depressive illness, it
is recognized by
alternating depressed and manic episodes. This is an actual
brain dysfunction.
In the major depression or the depressed phase of
bipolar illness, a depressed
mood predominates, even though the patient may
not be aware of feeling sad.
Typically, he or she loses all interest in
activities. Symptoms include sleep
disturbances, not able to concentrate or
to make decisions, loss of appetite or
greatly increased appetite, slowed
thinking and decreased energy feelings of
worthlessness, guilt, hopelessness,
diminished sexual interest, and recurrent
thoughts of suicide and death,
sometimes leading a person to actually committing
suicide. In the manic phase
of bipolar disorder the patients behavior is bizarre
and sometimes obnoxious.
Symptoms of this are the person being hyper and have
lots of energy, they
talk a lot, racing thoughts, and a decreased need for
sleep. In this stage it
is very hard to recognize. Both depressive and bipolar
disorders run in
families. Meaning if your father or mother had it you have a
high chance of
getting it yourself. Most people who are depressed are women.
They may be
biologically induced depression. Meaning that there is a lack of or
too much
of a chemical or protein. Or it may be that women learn social roles
that
favor feelings of helplessness. Because women in trouble are more likely
to
seek professional assistance than men, statistics report that more people
who
are depressed are mostly women. The depressive disorders are among the
most
treatable in psychiatry. The usual treatment in modern practice
involves
administration of a drug plus supportive psychotherapy. Basically
going to a
psychiatrist and talking to them. The two major drugs that are
used to treat
depressive disorders are tricyclic/tetracyclic antidepressants
and the monoamine
oxidase (MAO) inhibitors. The last one requires the patient
to follow a special
diet because the drugs react to tryamine. Tryamine is
found in cheeses, beer,
wine, chicken livers, and other foods, and causes
higher blood pressure. The
tricyclic antidepressants require no special diet.
Lithium carbonate is a common
mineral that is used to control the manic phase
of manic-depressive illness. In
small doses it is also used to regulate the
mood fluctuations of this bipolar
disorder. I also found a little amount on
something called electroconvulsive
therapy, or ECT, is considered most
effective for depressions that do not
respond to drug therapy. ECT is not
widely used and is very controversial. It
brings rapid relief from severe
depression and can often prevent suicide. But it
did not tell me how it
works.