Things you need to know about Depression
Depression is a common mental disorder which can get elevated to reflect a huge negative impact on a person and his personality. Depression is usually defined by mood swings that affect an individual's day to day life. There is a constant feeling of sadness and irritation which affects the everyday activities adversely.
Depression is diagnosed mostly in teenagers and adults depending on the situation they are going through. It influences several chronic health illnesses and turns those into the worst conditions, it can develop into asthma, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and obesity.
Feeling down is normal for any individual as it is a part of life, but when the person feels the same on a regular basis then it may turn into severe depression. There are a variety of symptoms of depression, some people face it every day, and others face it occasionally. The symptoms may also differ depending on gender and age-groups.
- Changes in sleep pattern: A person may sleep a lot or very less in the state of depression. The sad state of mind disturbs the sleep cycle immensely.
- Disturbed diet: A person may have an increased diet or a very low unhealthy diet. As the mind constantly suffers from a lot of thoughts it is hard to have a control over it.
- Low energy level: Feeling dull and tired are common symptoms of depression.
- Loss of interest in daily activities: A depressed person starts to lose interest on his daily activities like studies, work, etc. It’s hard to focus and concentrate on performing even a simple task.
- Excessive irritation or agitation: Carrying a rush of thoughts all the time irritates a person. He might get angry very often and may also feel regretful.
- Restlessness and hopelessness: A person feels hopeless in the state of depression, if the condition gets worse he might also start having suicidal thoughts.
- General discontent and mood swings: Mood swings is a regular symptom of clinical depression, a person may get irritated by even small obstructions in his daily life.
- Manic depression or bipolar disorder: Bipolar depression is further divided into four subtypes depending on the severity of the situation. In this disorder, the individual experiences low mood or would either perform increased level of activities.
- Seasonal depression: It's a type of depression that occurs mainly during certain seasons of the year. SAD episodes can begin during autumn, summers, late winters, or spring.
- Situational depression: It's a type of depression that occurs due to a specific situation. The person starts trembling and sweating a lot in this condition. For example, sudden episodes of depression while attending any social event.
- Psychotic depression: It's a severe type of depression, in which an individual faces psychotic episodes like hallucinations or delusions. The episodes get disturbing to handle and often leads to Suicidal attempts.
- Premenstrual dysphoric disorder: This type of depression occurs mainly 10 days before menstruation and lasts up to a few days of the start of menstrual period. It usually happens due to hormonal changes in the body and leads to constant irritation, sleep problems and anger issues.
As there are many factors influencing depression, the treatments of depression vary too. To improve the quality of life, you need to seek immediate treatment. You can talk to your personal health care provider to find a treatment that would work best.
In severe cases, doctors often use a combination of treatments like medication, psychotherapy and natural treatments too. A person is asked to use antidepressants or anti-psychotic medications, but it has potential risks as well. Through psychotherapies, one can cut off the negative feelings and benefit other areas of life.
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT): Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a sort of psychotherapeutic treatment which is used to help people learn about identifying and changing disturbing thoughts and behavioural patterns that have a negative effect on a person.
- Rational Emotive behavior therapy (REBT): REBT is an effective psychotherapeutic approach to treat depression. This therapy helps to assist individuals in coping up with emotional and behavioural problems and disturbances to lead people towards a better mental health.
- Client centered therapy: Client-centered therapy is a form of psychotherapy developed for a person suffering from depression; this therapy is developed for the growth of a person’s personality by clarifying the ideas to the client for him to observe himself more clearly.
- Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy: MBCT is an altered version of cognitive therapy that includes mindfulness practices like meditation and breathing exercises. This type of therapy can result in a useful way for the people suffering from depression.
- Improving sleep cycle: A person has to get a proper sleeping schedule and must get at least 7-8 hours of sleep for mindfulness and to avoid the condition becoming more complex.
- Improved eating habit: One must take care of the diet and keep it in a proper routine. A person must eat healthy nutritional valued food as well. Eating too much or too less can be harmful.
- Avoid addictive substances: Using addictive substances can increase the chances of severe depression. A person suffering from depression might not have a control over his emotions and can indulge in the consumption of harmful substances or activities.
- Listen to music: Listening to uplifting music can help a lot in the state of depression. This takes away the mind from all the negative thoughts and encourages a person to look ahead for the positive energy.
- Meditation & exercise: A bunch of mindfulness practices and exercise can motivate a person to overcome depression and encourage a person to carry forward with the daily routine.
- Talking: The person suffering from depression must talk his problems out with his closed ones. Talking helps to reduce the pressure that is built in the mind of a person due to lots of emotions and thoughts. One must consider talking to a therapist for a long term treatment.