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Depression

Depression, in today's world is at once a symptom, and at the same time, a disease in its own right.

Its symptoms can range from mild mood disturbances to bouts of gloom and complete prostration. Most suffers will describe depression however, as a feeling of hopelessness.

Fortunately, a great deal of depression sufferers responds favorably to treatment, and their gloomy mood, hopelessness, and other symptoms decrease; so much so they are usually able to resume their normal lives.

Depression can strike a person at any age, and can also be traced to chemo-physical changes to our bodies and brains.

Triggers of depression can really be anything, bur are classically high stages of stress, personal loss (items or people), traumatic experiences, isolation, dysfunctional personal or family relationships, and a host of other triggers that are personal specific.

Types of Depression

Depression has been classified into various categories to help doctors deal with it.

They include post-traumatic stress syndrome, SAD (seasonally adjusted depression), bipolar depressive disorder, psychotic depressive disorder, postpartum depression, pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder, and others which are associated with various other medical and social conditions.

Depression affects one's sexual drive, decreases one's affective responses, and generally causes a loss of interest in normal day to day life.

Depression may evoke over-reaction to many frustrating situations, with a result of the depressed person feeling despair, and other such emotions. Depression can lead one to isolation and withdrawal from social interaction.

Medical Depression

Some medications and illnesses themselves (such as cancer) can cause severe depression.

Many of today's medications are also guilty of causing depression. Aging (where blood vessels in the brain narrow) may also cause depression in older people, regardless of their various situations. Alzheimer's, Huntington 's, and Parkinson's diseases all have as side symptoms, severe depression.

Socially Caused Depression

There are a host also of social and interpersonal situations that end up as depression, and many with life changing results, even with psychiatric disorders as a result.

These include post traumatic stress disorder, loss of a loved one, loss of one economic or social status, failure, and the catastrophic events of life such as war, violence, accidents, and so on,

Major Psychiatric Depressions

There are host of major psychiatric depressions ranging from psychotic depression to major depressive disorder or MDD. MDD can last years and usually carry a high risk of suicide.

Depression and Treatment

Depression is treated today with various anti-depressant medications, psychiatric counseling and therapy, and a host of alternative solutions running from natural medications such as St.John's Wort, yoga, acupuncture-acupressure, massage, religious counseling, and other new age treatments.

People with depression often take to drugs to alleviate their symptoms, often with a reverse result.

Mild drugs such as hashish and marijuana are classic anti-depressants, and may have some validity, except their anti-social and illegal standing negates any study on the subject.

The hard drugs have been used for thousands of years to alleviate depression, but cannot be considered as valid treatment, as their results are only very temporary and transitory.

Depression Left Untreated

Depression left untreated brings with it the high risk of suicide. In a study done in the United States , it was found that almost 50% of all suicide attempts were made by people with high levels of depression and actual suicides are about 15% to 20% of all successful suicides worldwide.

Depression also is a major cause of heart disease and attack, stroke, high blood pressure and other cardiovascular illnesses.