Depression- Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Depression is a very real and treatable illness. It is classified as a mood disorder. It may be described as feelings of sadness, loss, or anger that interfere with a person’s everyday activities.

People experience depression in different ways. It may interfere with your daily work, resulting in lost time and lower productivity. It can also influence relationships and some chronic health conditions.

In this article, we will look at the causes, symptoms and treatment of Depression

SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION

The symptoms of depression can be experienced differently among men, women, and children differently.

Men may experience symptoms related to their:

• Mood, such as anger, aggressiveness, irritability, anxiousness, restlessness
• Emotional well-being, such as feeling empty, sad, hopeless
• Behaviour, such as loss of interest, no longer finding pleasure in favourite activities, feeling tired easily, thoughts of suicide, drinking excessively, using drugs, engaging in high-risk activities
• Sexual interest, such as reduced sexual desire, lack of sexual performance
• Cognitive abilities, such as inability to concentrate, difficulty completing tasks, delayed responses during conversations Sleep patterns, such as insomnia, restless sleep, excessive sleepiness, not sleeping through the night

Women may experience symptoms related to their:

• Mood, such as irritability
• Emotional well-being, such as feeling sad or empty, anxious or hopeless
• Behaviour, such as loss of interest in activities, withdrawing from social engagements, thoughts of suicide cognitive abilities, such as thinking or talking more slowly
• Sleep patterns, such as difficulty sleeping through the night, waking early, sleeping too much
• Physical well-being, such as decreased energy, greater fatigue, changes in appetite, weight changes, aches, pain, headaches, increased cramps

Children may experience symptoms related to their:

• Mood, such as irritability, anger, mood swings, crying
• Emotional well-being, such as feelings of incompetence (e.g. “I can’t do anything right”) or despair, crying, intense sadness
• Behaviour, such as getting into trouble at school or refusing to go to school, avoiding friends or siblings, thoughts of death or suicide
• Cognitive abilities, such as difficulty concentrating, a decline in school performance, changes in grades
  sleep patterns, such as difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much
  physical well-being, such as loss of energy, digestive problems, changes in appetite, weight loss or gain

CAUSES OF DEPRESSION

• Stress and Trauma– The loss of a loved one, trauma and abuse, chronic stress and big life changes( such as a divorce or losing a job) can trigger depression.
• Hormones– Any flux in the function/production of hormones like pregnancy, menstruation, menopause or thyroid.
• Brain Structure– There’s a greater risk of depression if the frontal lobe of your brain is less active.
• Drug use-  A history of drug/ alcohol misuse can affect your risk.

TREATMENT FOR DEPRESSION

You may successfully manage symptoms with one form of treatment, or you may find that a combination of treatments works best.

Therapy- The following have been studying proven to treat depression.

1. Behavioural activation
2. Cognitive behavioural therapy
3. Interpersonal therapy
4. Social- Skill therapy
5. Problem-solving therapy

Medications- Each type of medication that is used to treat depression has benefits.

Your healthcare provider may prescribe:

• antidepressants
• antianxiety
• antipsychotic medications