Depression
Depression is a mood disorder that involves a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest.
It is different from the mood fluctuations that people regularly experience as a part of life.
Signs and symptoms
m The symptoms of depression can include:
- A depressed mood
- Reduced interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed
- Changes in appetite
- Unintentional weight loss or gain
- Sleeping too much or too little
- Agitation, restlessness, and pacing up and down
- Slowed movement and speech
- Fatigue or loss of energy
Causes
The medical community does not fully understand the causes of depression. There are many possible causes, and sometimes, various factors combine to trigger symptoms.
Factors that are likely to play a role include:
- Genetic features
- Changes in the brain’s neurotransmitter levels
- Environmental factors
- Psychological and social factors
- Additional conditions, such as bipolar disorder
Conditions that can get worse due to depression include:
- Arthritis
- Asthma
- Cardiovascular disease
- Cancer
- Diabetes
- Obesity
Risk factors
Depression often begins in the teens, 20s or 30s, but it can happen at any age. More women than men are diagnosed with depression, but this may be due in part because women are more likely to seek treatment.
Factors that seem to increase the risk of developing or triggering depression include:
- Certain personality traits, such as low self-esteem and being too dependent, self-critical or pessimistic
- Traumatic or stressful events, such as physical or sexual abuse, the death or loss of a loved one, a difficult relationship, or financial problems
- Blood relatives with a history of depression, bipolar disorder, alcoholism or suicide
- Being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, or having variations in the development of genital organs that aren't
- clearly male or female (intersex) in an unsupportive situation
- History of other mental health disorders, such as anxiety disorder, eating disorders or post-traumatic stress disorder • Abuse of alcohol or recreational drugs
- Serious or chronic illness, including cancer, stroke, chronic pain or heart disease
- Certain medications, such as some high blood pressure medications or sleeping pills (talk to your doctor before stopping any medication)
Prevention
There's no sure way to prevent depression. However, these strategies may help.
- Take steps to control stress, to increase your resilience and boost your self-esteem.
- Reach out to family and friends, especially in times of crisis, to help you weather rough spells.
- Get treatment at the earliest sign of a problem to help prevent depression from worsening.
- Consider getting long-term maintenance treatment to help prevent a relapse of symptoms.
FINAL WORDS
Mental health is one of the most important but oft-neglected aspects of general well-being. People shy away from discussing depression due to some misplaced sense of embarrassment or shame, which further feeds into the problem.
However, the widespread prevalence of this condition throughout the world has compelled people to acknowledge its significance and normalize the discourse around it.
Depression may affect different people differently. Similarly, different people may have different coping mechanisms to fight depression. But everyone going through this ordeal invariably needs support, which can range from medication to someone to share your feelings with.
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