Depression: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment Explained

what is depression — (Source: additudemag.com)

Everyone feels happiness and sadness in their life. While happiness can persist for a long time, the feeling of sadness, that too a constant one, can be a concerning matter. This feeling of blue or constant sadness has a medical name: depression.

Depression can affect approximately 350 million people in all age groups. If the constant feeling of sadness has hit you suddenly and compelled you to fill the search bar with questions like what is depression, reasons for it, treatment and more, you have landed on the right page. So, start reading!

What Is Depression?

In psychology, depression is a mood or state that leads to low self-worth or guilt and interferes with a person’s ability to eat, sleep and the way one thinks about oneself or thinks about things.

As per the clinical definition (on the basis of an edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders), a duration of at least two weeks when an individual experience a loss of interest or depression in daily activities and specifically have troubles with sleep, eating, energy, concentration or self-worth.

Depression leads to loss of activities that one once enjoyed. Depression can affect any age group, usually starting from the ages between 15 to 30 years and running in families. Depression can last for several weeks, months or years.

Those who are asking about what is the meaning of depression can now get a clear answer from the above discussion. Now, let’s move on to other important information about this mental illness.

What Are the Symptoms of Depression?

Individuals suffering from depression may not always feel similar types of symptoms. Depending on the type or time of depression stayed, the symptoms can also vary.

Here is a list of some generic symptoms of depression,

Recurring thoughts of suicide, self-harm, suicide attempts, and death
Urge to cry a lot
Feeling angry or annoyed,
Feeling sad or anxious,
Feeling hopeless, worthless, and pessimistic
Trouble in concentrating, remembering, or making decisions
Loss of interest in hobbies and activities that one might have enjoyed once
Reduced energy or fatigue
Slow movement or talking
Changes in appetite or weight
Trouble early morning awakening, sleeping
Oversleeping
Chronic physical pain (headaches, cramps, pains, digestive issues) with no apparent cause, which hardly improves with treatment

From the above, individuals can learn about symptoms of major depressive disorder.

Now, let’s focus on different symptoms on the basis of gender or age group. Following is discussed symptoms of depression in women; read on.

Irritability
Loss of interest in activities, social engagements
Recurrent thoughts of suicide
Slow talking or movement
Decreased energy, extreme tiredness
Changes in appetite and weight changes
Feeling sad or empty, anxious, or hopeless
Difficulty sleeping through the night, waking early or sleeping too much
Aches, headaches, or increased cramps

Next, let’s move on to the symptoms of depression in teens and children; here is a list,

Depression in adolescence may often co-occur with other disorders such as eating disorders, anxiety, or substance abuse.
Teenagers may also develop a risk for suicide.

Children who experience depression at an early age are more likely to have serious health issues later in adulthood. Following is a list of symptoms of anxiety and depression in children,

Children can pretend to be sick
They can refuse to go to school
They can develop a feeling that their parent may die and keep worrying about that
Children can have feelings such as intense sadness, despair or crying
They can avoid other siblings, friends
They can develop thoughts of self-harm, or thoughts of suicide may come into their mind
Children can have difficulty in sleeping, or they tend to sleep more
They can have difficulty in concentrating, their performance in school may downgrade
They can have digestive issues, can start to eat more or significantly less

Lastly, let’s learn about symptoms of depression in men.

Feeling of hopelessness and helpless
Irritability, discouraged
Feeling of angry, aggressiveness, restlessness
Loss of interest
Fatigue, aches,
Digestive issues

From the above discussion, individuals can learn both the generic symptoms as well as gender-specific symptoms. Now, let’s dig out who are at risk of getting depression, cause of depression and anxiety, treatment and many more.

What Causes Depression?

Following is a list of possible causes of depression,

There are certain brain chemicals called ‘neurotransmitters’ that transport signals to the brain, which the body utilizes to regulate mood. Imbalance in these brain chemicals can lead to depression.
Genetic history or cases of mood disorder in the family can act as a contributing factor to depression.
Alternations in hormones such as estrogen and progesterone at different times of life, such as menstruation, postpartum, or menopause, can increase the risk of developing depression.
Individuals who are suffering from chronic pain, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, chronic illness, insomnia, heart attack, and cancer can easily get depressed
There are certain assumptions that depression can occur in individuals whose frontal lobe is less active. However, scientists are yet to confirm if this brain condition occurs before or after suffering from depression-related symptoms.
Childhood trauma can continue as depression in adulthood.
Individuals suffering from chronic physical or emotional pain can develop depression
Substance or alcohol misuse can lead to depression

What Are the Risk Factors of Depression and Who Are at Risk?

As per an established fact, depression is twice as common in women than men.

There are certain other medical, physical, genetic conditions that can increase the risk of developing depression,

Individuals who have a genetic history of depression are more likely to get depression
Socioeconomic status such as financial issues, low-social status can heighten the risk of depression
Vitamin D deficiency can be a contributing factor to depression
Certain medications such as corticosteroids, hormonal birth control, and beta-blockers may increase the chances of depression
As per a report, around 21% of individuals who have substance use disorder can get depression
The risk of getting depression is four times more with transgender people than cisgender
Certain medical illnesses such as heart disease or cancer can increase the chances of depression.

Individuals searching for a definite answer to what is depression can get tons of information from the above-mentioned piece.

Now, let’s focus on treatment methods for depression.

How to Treat Depression?

For the treatment for depression and anxiety, doctors usually opt for the following methods,

Medication
Psychotherapy
Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Light Therapy
Psychodynamic Therapy
Electroconvulsive Therapy

Apart from these, individuals suffering from depression can opt for alternative therapies. Wondering how to overcome depression? Follow these alternative therapies,

Meditation
Acupuncture

What Are the Natural Tips to Prevent Depression?

Individuals willing to prevent depression or to think about how to come out of depression can follow the below-mentioned home remedies or natural tips,

Individuals suffering from depression must get enough sleep, take a balanced diet, and deliberately participate in delightful activities.
Questions like how to deal with depression are common phrases these days. Individuals can drive this mental illness easily by exercising for 30 minutes for 3 to 5 days a week. Wondering how? Exercise can increase endorphins which can enhance mood.
They must avoid negative people.
Individuals must avoid drinking alcohol or taking substances. Though drinking alcohol and misusing substances may relieve mental or health issues associated with depression, these have negative effects in the long run.
Individuals may take several supplements such as S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe), Omega-3 fatty acids, 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) to treat depression.
Taking vitamin B, vitamin D can efficiently ease symptoms of depression.

Still, browsing the internet with what is depression? Read the above-mentioned piece and get all the answers.

Frequently Asked Questions

✓ What are the different types of depression?

There are different types of depression such as Dysthymia or chronic depression (less severe depression), Seasonal depression (which can occur at a certain time of the year, especially in winter and is also known as winter blues), Psychotic depression (a severe form of depression).

✓ How do doctors diagnose depression?

Doctors can ask a series of questions to check depression symptoms. Further, they can conduct physical symptoms (height and weight measurement) and test blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature. Additionally, they can take laboratory tests (like blood tests to screen alcohol and drugs in the blood) and psychological evaluations.