What is Depression ?

Depression is one of the most common and treatable of all mental illnesses. No one is immune from depression - it occurs in people of all social classes, all countries and all cultural settings. People suffering from depression will have persistent feelings physically, mentally and emotionally. 

Types of Depression
There are different types of depression with variable symptoms and severity. 
• Major depression
• Dysthymia
• Biopolar-disorder
• Atypical Depression
• Psychotic Depression
• Postpartum Depression
• Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder
• Catatonic Depression

Depression can occur at any age and is especially very common among children and adolescents, especially among offspring of adults with depression. There is a broad opinion that depression is the illness that creates most suicide cases worldwide.

Major Depression: This is the most severe type of depression, which affects our day-to-day activities. It mainly affects our daily work and domestic activities. The major symptoms of major depression are pessimistic feelings, sadness, feeling hopeless, helpless, loss of memory, Irritability, restlessness, sleep and eating disorders. 

Dysthymia: Dysthymia is a milder form of depression that affects our life. The major symptoms are feelings of hopelessness, lack of concentration, fatigue, sleep and eating disorders. The major causes for Dysthymia were increases life stress, For example, stress due to poverty and unemployment.

Bipolar-Disorder: Bipolar disorder causes drastic changes in a person’s mind, thought and makes some signs of personal weakness. Bipolar disorder can also be referred as manic-depression and manic-depressive illness. The major symptoms are changes in mood swings and anxiety disorders.

Atypical Depression: Atypical depression is most common in women. The major symptoms are excess weight gain and Hypersomnia (excess sleep).

Psychotic Depression: Psychotic Depression is a rare form of depression, which creates hallucinations (imagination of hearing or not hearing voices) to a person. The major symptoms include auditory hallucinations (hearing voices in one’s head), visual hallucinations (having visions of people or things that are not actually there) and illusion thinking.

Postpartum Depression: Postpartum Depression is one of the forms of major depression. This type of depression mainly occurs in women within four weeks after giving childbirth. The depression occurs due to the hormonal changes taking place during childbirth.

Catatonic Depression: Catatonic depression is a rare form of major depression. The major symptoms are extreme negativism, peculiarities in voluntary movement, and repetition of other people's words or actions. 

What are some Signs of Depression?
Some people experience a few symptoms and severity of symptoms varies with individuals and also varies over time.
Some of the signs of depression are
• Feelings of sadness, anxiety 
• Feelings of hopelessness, pessimistic thoughts
• Helpless feelings, guilty feelings
• Lack of concentration, loss of appetite, loss of interest in all the day-to-day activities
• Fatigue, loss of energy, Increase of energy
• Insomnia, Hypersomnia 
• Suicide attempts
• Restlessness, Irritability
• Physical disorders like headaches, digestive disorders and severe pain
• Disturbed thinking
• Improper social behavior

Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder: This is a type of depression mainly occurs in women between the ages of 30 and 40, suffering from irregular menstrual cycles. The major symptoms are deep depression and irritability. 

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that occurs due to seasonal changes. The major symptoms are sense of sadness and tiredness.

Depression Treatments
The effective treatment for depression is a through physical examination by a physician. There are several antidepressants and psychotherapy treatments available for treating depression disorders. People with low-grade depression will be treated well with psychotherapy while people with severe depression will be treated with antidepressants. Person’s whose health cannot support with antidepressant medications will be treated with Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). ECT is very useful when depression is severe.

Some of the antidepressants are
• Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) 
• Tricyclics
• Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs)
• Norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitors (NDRIs)
• Combined reuptake inhibitors and receptor blockers 
• Monamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs): These antidepressants are used to treat depression in early stages. Some of the side effects of SSRIs include dry mouth, nausea, nervousness, insomnia, sexual problems and headache.

Some of SSRIs available in market are
Antidepressant Brandname

Article Contributed By: Priya Ameet

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