The kind of depression that will most likely benefit from treatment with medications is more than just "the blues." It is a condition that is prolonged, lasting two weeks or more, and interferes with a person's ability to carry on daily tasks and to enjoy activities that previously brought pleasure.
The depressed person will seem sad, or "down," or may show a lack of interest in his surroundings. That person may have trouble eating and lose weight (although some people eat more and gain weight when depressed). He may sleep too much or too little, have difficulty going to sleep, sleep restlessly, or awaken very early in the morning. She may speak of feeling guilty, worthless, or hopeless. He may complain that his thinking is slowed down. She may lack energy, feeling "everything's too much," or she might be agitated and jumpy.
A person who is depressed may cry. He may think and talk about killing himself and may even make a suicide attempt. Some people who are depressed have psychotic symptoms, such as delusions (false ideas) that are related to their depression. For instance, a psychotically depressed person might imagine that she is already dead, or "in hell," being punished.
Not everyone who is depressed has all these symptoms, but everyone who is depressed has at least some of them. A depression can range in intensity from mild to severe.
Antidepressants are used most widely for serious depressions, but they can also be helpful for some milder depressions. Antidepressants, although they are not "uppers" or stimulants, take away or reduce the symptoms of depression and help the depressed person feel the way he did before he became depressed.
Antidepressants are also used for disorders characterized principally by anxiety. They can block the symptoms of panic, including rapid heartbeat, terror, dizziness, chest pains, nausea and breathing problems. They can also be used to treat some phobias.
The physician chooses the particular antidepressant to prescribe based on the individual patient's symptoms. When someone begins taking an antidepressant, improvement generally will not begin to show immediately. With most of these medications, it will take from one to three weeks before changes begin to occur.
DrugstoreTM is online drug store that provides a wide range of services such as drug information, health care products and prescription medication online. For depression they offer Fluoxetine A drug used to treat depression. It is a type of antidepressant.
Depression is a serious medical illness that involves the brain. It's more than just a feeling of being "down in the dumps" or "blue" for a few days. If you are one of the more than 20 million people in the United States who have depression, the feelings do not go away. Depression can occur for what seems like no reason at all or can be triggered by a traumatizing life event within a person's life. The cause of depression still remains a mystery among the medicinal world, however many experts say genes may have an effect on the likelihood of depression within a family and a lack of the chemical serotonin in the brain may be linked to depression. Just like all other medical conditions depression has a series of symptoms that can be diagnosed and treated by a medical professional and can be defined as a never ending sad mood or affect as well as a loss of interest in life and life's activities. Although a low mood or state of dejection that does not affect functioning is often colloquially referred to as depression , clinical depression is a clinical diagnosis and may be different from the everyday meaning of "being depressed." Many people identify the feeling of being clinically depressed as "feeling sad for no reason", or "having no motivation to do anything." One suffering from depression may feel tired, sad, irritable, lazy, unmotivated, and apathetic. Clinical depression is generally acknowledged to be more serious than normal depressed feelings. It often leads to constant negative thinking and sometimes substance abuse . Extreme depression can culminate in its sufferers attempting or committing suicide . Without careful assessment, delirium can easily be confused with depression and a number of other psychiatric disorders because many of the signs and symptoms are conditions present in depression , as well as other mental illnesses including dementia and psychosis .
Depression may be described as feeling sad, blue, unhappy, miserable, or down in the dumps. Sometimes this is because of a loss, or a change. The feeling of sadness, though, is appropriate and transitory. When such feelings persist and impair daily life, they may signal an underlying depressive illness. So it is the severity and duration of symptoms, plus the presence of other features, that help distinguish this normal sadness from a depressive disorder. Depression is more than just a mood disorder, it is a real illness that not only affects one's mood and thoughts but also appetite, sleep patterns and one's self esteem. It may also involve physical symptoms, such as stomach pains, headaches and rapid heartbeat. There are several different types of depression, so you will hear terms like major depression, endogenous depression, chronic depression, and so on. These terms tend to describe the predominant symptoms, their severity or their duration.
Causes of Depression
Depression may be triggered by stressful life events, other illnesses, certain drugs or medications, or inherited traits. Although causes of depression are not entirely understood, we know it is linked to an imbalance in brain chemistry. Once the imbalance is corrected, symptoms of depression generally improve. Some researchers feel that severe depressions are caused by a physical defect in the body, such as a biochemical imbalance in the brain or other factors. Other things that have been linked to depression have to do with a person's lifestyle. Things such as; food allergies, prescription drugs, caffeine, alcohol, illicit drugs and even tobacco. If a person has some sort of health problem such as; cancer, aids, hepatitis, diabetes, hypoglycemia, chronic pain, hormonal (glandular) disorders such as those of the thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal glands; malignancies, anemias or other blood problems, or even somethings like nutritional deficiencies, heredity and bad childhood experiences can cause depression.
Symptoms of Depression
1. Difficulty sleeping or oversleeping.
2. Change in weight.
3. Feelings of worthlessness.
4. Loss of identity.
5. Lack of concentration.
6. Feelings of anxiety.
Treatment of Depression
There are many treatments available for depression, including counselling and medicines, but the first step is always to get a physical and psychological assessment to find out whether you have a depressive illness. Anti-depressant medications are often used. There are different types and the doctor will recommend which is the right one under the particular circumstances.
Both Michael Corvin & Juliet Cohen are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Michael Corvin has sinced written about articles on various topics from Lose Weight, Health and Yoga Practice. Michael Corvin, who wrote this article, is a well known writer on Health and Fitness who is an active advocate on the Awareness of Health Consciousness. If you find this article very informative, you can read more articles at. Michael Corvin's top article generates over 12100 views. to your Favourites.
Juliet Cohen has sinced written about articles on various topics from Skin Cream, Alternative Medicine and Abdominal. Juliet Cohen writes articles for . She also writes articles for. Juliet Cohen's top article generates over 3350000 views. to your Favourites.