What is Depression and How to Manage It?

What is Depression?

Depression is a mood disorder characterised by continual feeling sad and a lack of interest in routine activities. If someone is experiencing drained, with other symptoms such as abnormal appetite, disturbed sleep, anxiety, and restlessness, he/she may be suffering from depression. If left untreated, depression can worsen your health.

Most often, the mental state during depression is mistaken for sadness. However, depression is a serious medical condition that is far from just sadness. It can compel you to commit suicide at its worst. It is the second major reason for deaths in 15-29-year-olds. Hence, identifying the symptoms of depression, addressing those symptoms and getting the required treatment at the initial stage is very important. Here’s your complete guide to depression, its causes, types, treatment, medication, and preventive strategies.

Types of Depression

Depending on the symptoms and their severity, depression is of 8 types:

1. Major depressive disorder: This is the most common type of depression in which you remain depressed most of the time for a maximum of days in a week. It can restrain you from coping with routine activities.
2. Persistent depressive disorder: If your depression lasts for more than 2 years, it is a persistent depressive disorder. It might not be as intense as a major depressive disorder, but still, it can interfere with your daily activities.
3. Atypical depression: This depression can temporarily fade away in response to a positive event, and you may not always seem depressed to others. Besides, its symptoms are similar to major depressivitamin Cve disorder.
4. Perinatal and Postpartum depression: This depression is often experienced by women during and after delivery. Postpartum depression can start 2-3 days after delivery and last for one year.
5. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder: This depression is experienced just after ovulation and eases up when periods start. This depression is associated with hormonal changes during ovulation.
6. Psychotic depression: This depression is marked by experiencing psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions.
7. Seasonal affective disorder: The Symptoms of this depression often begin to appear in the autumn and continue through the winter. The symptoms fade away during spring and summer.
8. Bipolar depression: When you experience alternating high and low emotions. This type of depression is called bipolar disorder.

Causes of Depression

Depression occurs due to an imbalance in certain chemicals in the brain that are responsible for managing mood, thoughts, sleep, appetite, and behaviour. Sometimes excessive alcohol misuse can also lead to depression. The other common causes of depression include:  

• Imbalanced sex Hormones: Changes in hormones, including estrogen and progesterone, during different pregnancies, postpartum issues, thyroid issues, and menopause can lead to depression in women.
• Adverse life events: Adverse life events such as unemployment, bad childhood experiences, childhood trauma, or the sudden death of a near one can also trigger depression.
• Brain structure: Low activity of the frontal lobe of the brain can also cause depression. 
• Medical conditions. Certain medical conditions such as chronic pain, insomnia, stroke, heart attack, and cancer can also cause depression.
• Any ongoing mental disorder: Mental health problems such as anxiety, eating problems, or Post-traumatic stress disorder, can also lead to depression.
• Genetic Inheritance: Depression also runs in families. If you have a family history of depression, you are most likely to experience it.

Symptoms of Depression  

The person experiencing depression is generally sad and anxious most of the day. They feel hopeless, bothered, and annoyed. Most of the time, they will have pessimistic thoughts. They’ll have no interest in performing daily activities. Their concentration is reduced and memory is impaired. They’ll remain lost and will not be able to remember basic things. The other highlighting symptoms of depression include:

• Crying a lot
• Lack of energy
• Difficulty in coping with a normal situation
• Moving and talking more slowly
• Restless nights, early morning awakening, or oversleeping
• Weight changes due to abnormal appetite
• Headaches and pains
• Digestive issues and cramps that are not improving even with medications
• Thoughts of suicide and self-harm

Treatment for Depression

Depression is a treatable mental health condition. However, in India, the barriers to obtaining the required treatment include social stigma, ignorance and lack of primary care for those dealing with mental disorders. Here are the treatment options for depression that you must openly discuss with your doctor before implementing them:

Psychotherapy or talking therapy

Psychotherapy is a very effective first-line treatment therapy used to connect with depression patients. This therapy aims to identify the main cause of emotional stress. It helps to bring out the feelings, emotions, and factors that trigger depression. It is a must for the person dealing with depression to talk openly about your medical issues, relationships, past trauma, grief or losses, and financial problems. This treatment can help diagnose depression in the first place so that treatment can be initiated.

Read Also: Effective yoga postures for mental health

Risk Factors for Depression

Certain risk factors increase your chance of developing depression. These include:

1. Gender: Females are at twice the risk of developing depression than males.
2. Family history: People with a family history of depression or mental illness are at high risk of developing depression.
3. Excessive alcohol: People who consume excessive alcohol are also at high risk of developing depression.
4. Lack of social support: People who are isolated or do not have a social are also at high risk of suffering from depression.
5. Sleep disorder: People dealing with a sleep disorder are also at high risk of suffering from depression.
6. Financial Problems: People who are under stress due to financial problems, jobs, and housing can develop depression easily.
7. Age: Older adults are at high risk of developing depression, which can be mistaken for signs of ageing and left unaddressed.
8. Certain medications: Several medications, such as sleeping pills, pain relievers, sedatives, and steroids, can cause depression in some patients. 
9. Vitamin D deficiency: If you are deficient in vitamin D, your chances of developing depression are high.

Tips for Managing Depression

Improving your sleep, eating a balanced diet, avoiding negative thoughts, and indulging yourself in enjoyable activities can help you get out of depression. If you or someone else near you are suffering from depression, here are some useful tips that can help:

1. Practising stress management activities such as watching your favourite movie, reading a good book, indulging in a hobby, listening to music, and even writing your thoughts can help relieve stress and manage your depression.
2. Practising meditation in routine can make a huge difference if you are in depression. It reduces stress, anxiety, and anger and also helps the brain stay focused.
3. Exercising three times per week for 12–24 weeks can also reduce severe depression. Regular exercising while on antidepressants can help improve brain functioning.
4. If you are dealing with alcohol use disorder, you are at heightened risk for depressive disorders. So it’s good to limit or avoid the use of alcohol if you are taking treatment for depression.
5. Include foods high in proteins, tryptophan, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B, Vitamin B12, folate, Calcium, iodine, chromium, iron, and Zinc. It can improve brain functioning and nervous health during depression. You can also include these nutrients in supplements to improve your brain’s functioning.

Medications Used to Treat Depression

Depending on the severity of your symptoms, your doctor may prescribe the following medicines:

• Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI): SSRIs are the most commonly used antidepressants to treat moderate to severe depression. The commonly prescribed SSRIs are Citalopram, Fluvoxamine, Paroxetine, and Sertraline. 
• Serotonin and Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRI): SNRIs relieve depression symptoms, such as irritability and sadness. The commonly available SNRIs are Desvenlafaxine, Duloxetine, Levomilnacipran, Milnacipran, and Venlafaxine.
• Tricyclic and Tetracyclic Antidepressants: These antidepressants affect brain chemicals to reduce depression symptoms with fewer side effects. Commonly available Tricyclic and Tetracyclic Antidepressants include Amitriptyline, Doxepin, Imipramine, Trimipramine, Desipramine, Nortriptyline, and Protriptyline.
• Atypical Antidepressants: Atypical antidepressants bring about chemical changes in the brain to improve mood and relieve depression. Atypical Antidepressants commonly prescribed for the treatment of depression include Bupropion, Mirtazapine, Nefazodone, Trazodone, Vilazodone, and Vortioxetine. 
• Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs): These medications are used when other treatments are not working to relieve depression. Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs) used to treat depression include Isocarboxazid, Phenelzine, Selegiline, and Tranylcypromine.   
• N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) Antagonist: These medications work by increasing levels of glutamate in the brain that help in proper coordination. 
• Neuroactive Steroid Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA)-A Receptor Positive Modulator: This is used to treat postpartum depression in adults. Brexanolone is an antidepressant used for the treatment of postpartum depression.

Like every medicine, antidepressants also act with several side effects that can make your existing condition worse. Therefore, it’s important to take antidepressants only when prescribed.

Prevention of Depression

The best way to prevent depression is to identify and avoid its root cause. Here are certain preventive measures to avoid depression:

• Exercise 30-40 mins regularly: Exercising in any form will not only boost your mood but also increase your immunity and keep your body parameters in the normal range.
• Cut your screen time: Cutting or limiting your screen time and eliminating the social media apps that bother you can also prevent you from depression.
• Stay socially active: Spend time with your family and friends to build strong relationships that will support you in tough times and help you get through depression.
• Improve your sleep quality: Improve your quality of sleep by reducing screen time, alcohol consumption, and caffeine consumption during the night. 
• Stay away from negative people: It’s better to avoid negative people who make you feel worthless about yourself.
• Eat right: Have a balanced diet that is rich in complex carbs, proteins, fibres, and healthy fats.
• Maintain a healthy weight: Maintain a healthy weight to prevent the risk of chronic conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, asthma, arthritis, thyroid, and cancer.
• Avoid alcohol: Avoiding alcohol use can prevent you from the risk of developing depression.

Conclusion 

Many of us feel sad, lonely, or depressed at some point in our lives. It’s a normal reaction to some huge loss, struggles in life, unemployment, or injured self-esteem. But when intense sadness, including feeling self-loathing, helpless, hopeless, irritable, empty, and worthless, is experienced throughout the day for at least two weeks consecutively. This could indicate that you are dealing with depression and need urgent medical attention. If you or someone else around you is dealing with depression, help them out. Seek help from sychiatrists and psychologists. They can better analyse your condition and guide you on your mental health.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)