ARE YOU DEPRESSED?

Depression is a mood disorder characterized by persistently low mood and a feeling of sadness and loss of interest. It is a persistent problem, not a passing one, lasting on average of six to nine months. It affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. You may have trouble doing normal day-to-day activities, and sometimes you may feel as if life isn't worth living. It is important to seek the help of a health professional to rule out different causes of depression, ensure an accurate differential diagnosis, and secure safe and effective treatment.

Depression is different from the fluctuations in mood that people experience as a part of normal life. Temporary emotional responses to the challenges of everyday life do not constitute depression.

Likewise, even the feeling of grief resulting from the death of someone close is not itself depression if it does not persist. Depression can, however, be related to bereavement - when depression follows a loss, psychologists call it a "complicated bereavement."

SYMPTOMS

Symptoms of depression can include:

• Depressed mood
• Reduced interest or pleasure in activities previously enjoyed, loss of sexual desire
• Unintentional weight loss (without dieting) or low appetite
• Insomnia (difficulty sleeping) or hypersomnia (excessive sleeping)
• Psychomotor agitation, for example, restlessness, pacing up and down
• Delayed psychomotor skills, for example, slowed movement and speech
• Fatigue or loss of energy
• Feelings of worthlessness or guilt
• Impaired ability to think, concentrate, or make decisions
• Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide, or attempt at suicide

CAUSES

The causes of depression are not fully understood and may not be down to a single source. Depression is likely to be due to a complex combination of factors that include:

• Genetics: Depression is more common in people whose blood relatives also have this condition.
• Biological: People with depression appear to have physical changes in their brains. The significance of these changes is still uncertain, but may eventually help pinpoint causes.
• Environmental: This could be as a result of not liking ones environment, people around, faces etc.
• Psychological and social (psychosocial)
• Hormones: Changes in the body's balance of hormones may be involved in causing or triggering depression. Hormone changes can result with pregnancy and during the weeks or months after delivery (postpartum) and from thyroid problems, menopause or a number of other conditions.

Some people are at higher risk of depression than others; risk factors include:

• Life events: These include bereavement, divorce, work issues, relationships with friends and family, financial problems, medical concerns, or acute stress.
• Personality: Those with less successful coping strategies or previous life trauma are more susceptible.
• Genetic factors: Having a first-degree relative with depression increases the risk.
• Childhood trauma.
• Some prescription drugs.
• Abuse of recreational drugs: Abuse of alcohol, amphetamines, and other drugs are strongly linked to depression.
• A past head injury.
• Having had one episode of major depression: This increases the risk of a subsequent one.
• Chronic pain syndromes: These and other chronic conditions, such as diabetes, HIV/AIDS, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cardiovascular disease make depression more likely.

TREATMENT

Depression is a treatable mental illness. There are three components to the management of depression:

• Support: Ranging from discussing practical solutions and contributing stresses, to educating family members.
• Psychotherapy: Psychotherapy is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior and overcome problems in desired ways.
• Drug treatment: Antidepressants are drugs used for the treatment of major depressive disorder and other conditions, including dysthymia, anxiety disorders, obsessive–compulsive disorder, eating disorders

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.

(For counseling, email: richmondmez@gmail.com)