JEDDAH, 27 April 2005 — Feelings of sadness, pessimism and general loss of interest in life, combined with a sense of reduced emotional well-being go unnoticed. In fact, these play the main role. They not only make the lives of these individuals miserable but people around them suffer a lot as well.
It is comforting when our illnesses have clear-cut causes, but like many other serious diseases, depression may strike without any triggering event or condition. Often depression is the result of a complicated process of various genetic, psychological and environmental factors. The biochemistry of depression shows that people who suffer from depression often experience a reduction of certain brain chemicals called neurotransmitters. When these two neurotransmitters, called serotonin and norepinephrine, are unbalanced it is believed to cause depression and anxiety disorders.
Reduction in serotonin and norepinephrine often result in decreased mood and motivation, as well as changes in appetite. Although depression occurs more often in women, it also affects men, and even though both men and women may experience similar symptoms, men may be less likely to seek help and therefore, get treatment. Depressed men feel like they are not measuring up any more, think they are physically weaker than others, have a sense that their lives are no longer meaningful, no longer believe they have outlets for pleasure, have experienced a personal loss, have a physical illness, such as cancer or heart disease.
Genetically, depression, like many other illnesses, tends to run in families. A child with one depressed parent has a 10 to 13 percent increased chance of developing the condition; in identical twins, the statistics are even greater. Some studies suggest adverse events in life such as divorce, serious illness, or multiple misfortunes may cause depression. Everyday stress has unseen negative impacts on our bodies and does in fact contribute to a wide range of diseases, including heart diseases. Some medical conditions and events such as strokes, heart attacks, cancer, diabetes, hormonal disorders often lead to depressive illness too. People who are pessimistic have low self esteem and negative thinking patterns, worry excessively, or feel they have little control over life events are more likely to develop depression.
In general, a person with depression may experience any of the following symptoms:
Persistent sad, anxious or empty mood, difficulty thinking, concentrating and making decision, change in appetite, weight loss or weight gain, sleeping more or less than usual, observably slowed or agitated responses (feeling slowed down or restless) feeling of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness, lacking of energy or feeling tired all the time, thoughts of killing oneself, loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies or activities once enjoyed.
Depression is diagnosed only if the above symptoms are not the results of other complications or illnesses. When depression has been diagnosed, a treatment choice will be made, it may consist of one or a combination of treatments; medications, psychotherapy, alternative medicines, or other treatments.
Antidepressants may be prescribed to correct the imbalance in the levels of neurotransmitters. These should not be confused with sedatives or tranquilizers.
Psychotherapy: Like the process of learning, which involves the formation of new connections between nerve cells in the brain, psychotherapy works by changing the way you view the world around you and how you react to it.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) helps a person to recognize his or her own negative thought patterns and behaviors and to replace them with positive ones.
Psychodynamic therapy helps a person look inside himself or herself to uncover and understand emotional conflicts that may be contributing to the depression, because unresolved problems from childhood may be the cause, this type of therapy could take sometime to work out the problems.