Major Depressive Disorder

Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest.

Also know as clinical depression and unipolar depression.

It affects how you feel,think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems.

You may have trouble doing normal day to day activities, and sometimes you may feel as if life isn't worth living.

The diagnosis of major depression applies, according to the DSM-IV.

When a person displays either a depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure for a two week period.

Some of the symptoms are:

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• Significant weight change
• Insomnia
• Slow deliberate movement
• Fatigue and loss of energy
• Feeling of worthlessness and guilt
• Diminished ability to think and recurrent thoughts of death.

The symptoms should be severe enough that it interferes with your social and occupational functions and can't be explained away by bereavement.

Although depression may occur only one time during your life, usually people have multiple episodes of depression.

During these episodes symptoms occur most of the day, nearly every day and may include:

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• Feelings of sadness
• Angry outburst
• Loss of interest
• Sleep disturbances
• Tiredness and lack of energy
• Changes in appetite
• Anxiety
• Slowed thinking
• Feeling of worthlessness
• Trouble thinking
• Frequent or recurrent thoughts of death
• Unexplained physical problems

The psychoanalytic explanation is that when a person loses a loved one as a result of separation or death,that person attempts to hold on to the loved one by incorporating the lost persons qualities into his or her own personality(Freud,1917)

Who is likely to be diagnosed:

Children and teens:
In young children symptoms of depression may include sadness, irritability, clinginess, worry, aches and pains, refusing to go to school, or being underweight.

In teens, symptoms may include sadness, irritability, feeling negative and worthlessness,anger,poor performance or poor attendance at school,feeling misunderstood and

And extremely sensitive,using drugs or alcohol,eating or sleeping to much,self harm,loss of interest in normal activities, and avoidance of social interactions.

Children with ADHD can demonstrate irritability without sadness or loss of interest. Major depression can occur with ADHD.

Depression often goes undiagnosed and untreated in older adults,and they might be reluctant to seek help.

Symptoms of depression may be different or less obvious in older adults as: memory difficulties or personality changes,physical aches and pains,fatigue,loss of appetite,sleep problems aches or loss of interest in sex- not caused by a medical condition or medication,often wanting to stay home ,rather than going out socializing or doing new things.

Suicidal thinking or feelings, especially in older men.

One good thing about depression is that it is self-limiting;that is,it will go away by itself if nothing is done. It may last weeks and,rarely,up to six months.

Depression should not go untreated,however.

Up to 15 percent of the people suffering from depression commit suicide(Stohlberg & Bongar,2002) and major depression tends to be recurrent, meaning the probability of another episode goes up with each previous episode.

The lifetime prevalence rate is estimated to be 10-25 percent for women and 5-12 percent for men. This means that as many as 1 out of 4 women could suffer a major depressive episode at some point in their life,and more than 1 out of 10 men may suffer as well.

Some famous people that have major depressive disorder are: Ryan Phillippe,Jon Hamm,J.K. Rowlings,Sheryl Crow, Terry Bradshaw, Ashley Judd, Buzz Aldrin, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tipper Gore, Jim Carrey, Robin Williams,and Abraham Lincoln.

Depression is more than just a bout of the blues, depression isn't a weakness and you can't simply " snap out of it". Depression may require long term treatment. Don't get discouraged. Most people feel better with medication,psychological counseling or both.

Medications and psychological counseling are very effective for most people with depression. Your PCP or psychiatrist can prescribe medications to relieve the symptoms.

Some of the medications used to help with symptoms of depression are:

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• Selective serotonin re uptake inhibitors
• Atypical antidepressants
• Tricyclics antidepressants
• Mono amine oxidase inhibitors
• And others

Psychotherapy is a general term for treating depression by talking about your condition and related issues with a mental health provider. Psychotherapy is also known as talk therapy or psychological therapy.

Different types of psychotherapy can be effective for depression,such as cognitive behavioral therapy or interpersonal therapy. Your mental health provider may recommend other therapies.

For some people,other procedures may be suggested. Such as Electroconvulsive therapy or Transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Alternative medicine is the use of a non conventional approach instead of conventional medicine. Complementary medicine is a nonconventional approach used along with conventional medicine.

Don't replace conventional medical treatment or psychotherapy with alternative medicine. When it comes to depression, alternative treatments aren't a substitute for medical care.

References

• General Psychology third edition Ellyson Steve L. 2008
• Freud S.(1917)
• www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/basics/symptoms/con200329...
• Stohlberg & Bongar,2002