The Symptoms and the Treatment of DepressionDepression has been a part of our lives for as long as humans have been on the earth. Everyone has had days when nothing was going right. But it all depends with an individual how to handled this adversity and how depressed that person becomes. Depression is considered to be the “common cold of psychological disorders. ” This is because depression is the most common mood disorder. In fact, depression is becoming more and more widespread and the incidences of depressive disorders are increasing rapidly.
Before we can go any further, we must know what depression is and what causes it. Depression is an emotion that is felt along with a strong physical side effect. There are ways to tell when a person is feeling down depressed. Usually caused from something that has already happened in that person’s life.
There are many sources of these factors that may lead to depression. They can include one or more of the following, unhappy relationships, divorce/separation, financial difficulties, problems at work, children leaving home, old age, illness, etc. These events in a person’s life usually create stress in his or her lives. Depression starts to become a problem when it starts to get out of proportion. Someone might feel a little depressed after a minor disappointment, this is normal. It is not normal though for someone to have depression that becomes severe in nature or it lasts for an extended period of time.
The same is true for someone who has experienced a traumatic experience. For example, a person may become completely broken up with grief after a loved one’s death, after all this fall within a range that is considered normal. But if that depression is still incapacitating months or years afterwards, then the depression has probably gotten out of hand and some sort of help is needed. Depression usually consists of symptoms that we need to learn how to recognize. There is after all several types of symptoms that must be looked for. These symptoms are broken down into two separate groups, the psychological symptoms and the physical symptoms.
It is important to realize that an individual may not show all of these symptoms at the same time. In fact a person may be sadder than anything else may. Or it may just be a loss if energy that distress you the most. But most people that are suffering from a bad depression will most likely experience most of these symptoms during their depression.
There are some people out there that have very few symptoms of depression and they are still feeling very low. And then again there are others who may feel these symptoms and not be suffering from The Symptoms and the Treatment of Depression 3depression at all. That is why it is wise to remember that if a person is suffering from these symptoms, then that person will more then likely need some help. The psychological symptoms consist of (a) sadness – the most common and obvious symptom of depression. (b) Loss of Interest – This is when a person no longer feels like doing many of the things that he or she usually does.
Including their favorite pastimes. (c) Unworthiness – Someone may also have feelings that they are not worthy of help or sympathy and may also loose all self-respect. As with psychological symptoms of depression, a person may show physical symptoms. Also the individual may not show all of the traits at the same time. He or she will usually have just a few showing that they are in need of help.
Types of physical symptoms to watch out for may include; (a) Loss of Appetite – People will often slow down or even quit eating while they are feeling depressed. (b) Loss of sleep – It is not uncommon for someone to begin to loose sleep when they are feeling low. (c) Loss of sex drive – This can happen to both of men and women while they are feeling depressed. This can also increase that person’s feelings of depression. There are other symptoms as well that may also be present such as headaches, backaches, as well as pain in the face and neck.
Now that we know what depression is and how to identify the symptom that may be shown when someone may be suffering from depression, we can now talk about how to treat depression. We know that life is not always as simple as we would like it to be. The thing to remember is that there are solutions to the problems that they are faced with. The difficult thing to distinguish is which of the solutions are the right ones to take. Most people are confronted with a fight or flight type of action to help themselves.
Unfortunately many would rather turn their back to the problem and hope that it just disappears instead of facing the problem head on. Of course, someone may have to walk away from their problems in order to get him or herself back on track. It is entirely possible that someone take a vacation and take time away from everything that could be causing his or her depression. One of the best ways to get help from depression is to get your friends and family involved. These are the people that will always be around for you to talk to and get advice from.
After all a friendly ear to open your feelings up to can many times give you a clear signal of what you may need to do in order to get past what is troubling you. There are times though when a person may not want to see anybody, but it is also important that that person not shut themselves off from other people. Depression is a very common ailment, yet there are many people who are reluctant to go to their family doctor for help. They view these people as body mechanics, used only for treating illnesses like coughs, bruises, and cuts. But if you are unable to overcome your depression on your own, your doctor can help out by giving you a clean bill of health. He will run test and perform a physical to at least there is nothing physically wrong with you.
At this time he may give what help he can or he may also refer you to a specialist who can help you. When you do go to a doctor, it is good to remember that your doctor can only help those who are willing to help themselves. On these visits to she the doctor you must always remember to not hold anything back. A doctor cannot read your mind either.
Remember that he is human as well. You can’t tell him your symptoms and expect him to give you something and make everything better. And chances are also that it will take more than one visit to him or her before they can begin to diagnose your troubles completely. Once you have talked to your doctor and no physical abnormality has been discovered, then can the treatment of your depression begin.
There are a lot of things that your doctor can give you in the mean time while he or she is trying to diagnose your depression. An explanation of what and why you are feeling the way you do is a great start. This way everything is clear and out in front of you. Practical advice is also something that he should give you. He is after all, the expert in how to deal with cases such as yours and he can give you advice on how you may cope with your ailments. And one of the single most comforting things that can be given to you is reassurance.
This can provide an enormous relief, even in the beginning of treatment and can also help into a faster recovery time with your troubles. Holmes, David. , S. (1994). Abnormal Psychology (2nd Ed.
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Papolos, Demitri F. , and Papolos, Janice. (1987). Overcoming Depression. New York, NY. Rosenthal, Norman E.
(1989). Seasons of the Mind. New York, NY. Myers, Irma, and Myers, Arthur. (1982).
Why you feel down and what can you do about it. Charles Scriber’s Sons/ New York. Rush, John. (1983).
Beating Depression. New York, NY. Bugental, James F. T. (1987). The Art of the Psychotherapist.
New York, NY. Burns, David D. (1989). The Feeling Good Handbook. New York, NY.
