Depression - Watch Out!

Everyone has felt sad at one time or another. Usually it is due to a disappointment, frustration or losing someone. Such sadness is normal. Time heals, the mood lifts and people continue to get on with their lives.

 In some people, depression can be so severe that it dominates their lives, preventing them from coping as they used to, and losing interest in things that they used to enjoy. Depression of this degree is an illness and needs treatment.

Depression is a medical illness. It is not due to moral weakness or a character flaw. It cannot be willed or wished away.

What are the types of depression?

Major depression is manifested by a combination of symptoms that affect our work, interests and feelings towards family and friends. These disabling episodes can occur twice or several times in a lifetime.

Dysthymia is a less severe type of depression. People with dysthymia have long-term depressive symptoms and it prevents them from functioning at an optimal level.

Symptoms of depression

Certain characteristic symptoms can give you or your family a clue that you are depressed:

• Depressed or low mood
• A loss of interest and enjoyment in life
• A lack of drive or motivation that makes even simple tasks or decisions difficult or impossible
• Feeling tired all the time
• Agitation or restlessness
• Loss or gain in appetite with loss or gain in weight
• Sleeplessness or excessive sleeping
• Loss of self confidence, avoiding people
• Feeling useless, inadequate, helpless or hopeless
• Feeling guilty or worthless
• Thoughts of suicide

What are the causes of depression?

Some types of depression run in families, indicating hereditary or genetic factors in the transmission of depressive disorders. In some families, major depression seems to occur generation after generation.

Studies have also suggested some biological component in depression. It may be associated with having too little or too much chemicals in the brain. Certain medications have mood altering properties. Antidepressant medication act by altering and normalizing the biochemical imbalances in the brain.

Life events such as loss of a job, retirement, divorce, death of a loved one or moving to a new house can precipitate a depressive illness. Social circumstances also play a part. If we are alone, have few or no friends, suffer from a chronic illness, then we may be more vulnerable to depression.

People with life threatening or long-term physical illness such as cancer, stroke, arthritis or heart disease are also more vulnerable to depression. Personality may also play a part in depression. Some of us are more vulnerable than others because of the individual make-up or early life experiences.

Very often, a combination of genetic, psychological and environmental factors is involved in the onset of depression.
The good news is that whatever the cause, depression is treatable.

How is depression treated?

Treatment for depression is well established. 85% of people with major depression have fairly good treatment outcome. Treatment consists of drug (antidepressant medication) and non-drug therapy. Usually, a combined treatment is best: medication to gain relatively quick relief and psychotherapy to learn more effective ways to deal with life stresses.

Source : National Health Promotion Board , Singapore

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