Women are much more likely to suffer from depression than are men. Depression is defined as an illness that affects a person’s mood, thoughts as well as their body. Depression can also show up in other aspects of a person’s life in a way a person eats or sleeps and especially how a person feels about themselves. It also is reflected in the way someone views everyday situations. As far as its effects on appetite, it usually reduces the desire for food but on rare occasions it can actually increase one’s appetite.
Since depression is a complicated illness, the treatment for it is usually multifaceted. Nutrition does seem to play a very important role in the overall treatment. Treatments are based on each individual situation. First the severity of the symptoms are diagnosed and then a plan is developed in order to help find a solution for the patient. So there is not a one-size-fits-all treatment for depression it’s based on a number of different factors.
Some of the more common symptoms of depression are things such as a feeling of loneliness, sadness or unhappiness or general anxiety. The symptoms that one experiences can greatly vary by age. Symptoms also do vary by cultural backgrounds.
For those that are predisposed to this illness stressful situations can trigger incidences of depression. Doctors have been looking at a complex interaction between the availability of the neurotransmitter and the receptor regulation and sensitivity, and how that plays a role in a major depressive disorder.
It is estimated that between 14 and 25% of pregnant women experience symptoms of depression during their pregnancy. And some of these women actually develop exaggerated cases of postpartum depression after their delivery.
If you suspect that someone you know is affected by depression it’s important not to leave the decision to get help up to them. The best thing you can do is to speak with them, and ask if you can help them make an appointment to talk to a health care professional and then offer to go with them if they would like. Getting help for a clinical depressed individual is very confusing to most people because of the stigma that goes along with the illness.
The first that really is to talk to a doctor who most likely will set up a physical exam to find out if there is any underlying physical causes for the symptoms of depression that the patient is experiencing. One thing to note is that the conventional drug treatments that are available not seem to help teenage depression for the long-term.
Understanding that depression is a conflict it deals with the egos difficulty in interacting with everyday situations. This can lead to aggressiveness or extreme passiveness and feelings of depleted self worth. Many people who do not have severe cases of depression do suffer from what’s called S A D otherwise known as seasonal affective depression.
There are different drug therapies that vary in their effectiveness for treating depression. The most common of these is antidepressant medications. These antidepressant medications may produce some improvement within the first couple of weeks of their treatment. Vitamins such as vitamin D can also be a part of the therapy.
Sometimes these drugs are prescribed to help correct imbalances in the chemical levels of the brain. These medications differ greatly from things such as sedatives or tranquilizers. It is important to recognize that depression is a serious illness but in many cases can be treated successfully when diagnosed properly. The key to successful treatment of depression is taking the steps to get qualified medical help.