Clinical Depression Symptoms - Physical, Behavioral and Emotional

Clinical depression is also known as major depression and unipolar depression. It is a mental disorder characterized by low mood and low self-esteem. It negatively affects the way you feel, you think and you act. People suffering from depression often lost interest in all activities. Clinical depression doesn't mean feeling sad for a few days. It affects eating habits, feelings, body, mood and even ability to work.

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It is a serious problem which lasts for a long period of time. It may even generate suicidal tendencies. It has no limitation of age and gender. Common symptoms of clinical depression can be divided into three categories-

Physical-

• Changes in appetite

• Sleep disturbances

• Low energy and fatigue

• Digestive problems

Behavioral-

• Loss of pleasure in activities like sex, sports etc.

• Difficulty in concentration

• Difficulty in making decisions

Emotional-

• Irritability

• Hopelessness

• Suicidal tendencies

• Persistent sad mood

Though, depression is very common still the understanding of the many aspects of depression are prone to research and discussion. Depression can be diagnosed and treated. No laboratory test is available for clinical depression. Its diagnosis is based on patient's self-reported experiences and changes noticed by the friends and family. Anti Depression medication, psychotherapy and counseling are good treatment options for depression. Hospitalization becomes must in severe cases. Proper treatment and advice can help people to get back to their normal stage. Sometimes effects can be seen in few weeks. If you or your loved one is feeling some of the symptoms mentioned above then it is a smart idea to find some help.

Click here to discover an easy and non-addictive way to cope with Depression.

Types of Depression

“Mental Depression” has been a scary word for people for a long time. Primarily depression is change in mood. Generally people identify it with insanity. This is really not true. It’s a kind of disease but it doesn’t make anyone insane. It doesn’t make anyone apart from a general crowd. Depression also demands medical attention like the other diseases. Depression is completely curable, if you go for the right treatment. Spotting the symptoms of mental depression is not an easy task. The symptoms may vary according to the type of depression. A number of terms are used to describe different types of depression.

• Bipolar Depression :

This type of depression normally hits in adolescence or early adulthood. It causes mood disorder with manic episodes. It is very serious but can be treated effectively. As the problem develops it results in –

· Alcohol and drug abuse

· Thinking and concentration becomes difficult

· Marital breakups

· Suicide

• Dysthymic Depression :

Dysthymia is a Greek word which means “bad state of mind”. It is almost similar to major depression but lasts longer. It is more common in women than in men. It can be identified with the following symptoms-

· disturbed sleep cycle (increase or decrease in sleeping)

· Poor concentration

· fatigue

· depressed mood

• Major Depression :

It is a serious form of depression. It is more persistent and can affect a person’s behavior, mood, thoughts and even physical health. It is more common in women than in men because of conditions like menstruation, contraceptives, miscarriage, pregnancy, child-birth and menopause.

• Atypical Depression :

This depression is entirely different from others. Its symptoms are opposite to the symptoms of other depressions. Overeating and oversleeping are the very common symptoms of atypical depression. Moods of people with atypical depression change very quickly in reaction to positive or negative events. There is a temporary improvement in mood.

• Psychotic Depression-

It is a very serious and rare form of depression. It can be diagnosed only by a psychiatrist. In this depression patient develops some false beliefs about himself and the people or things around him. Major depressive mood along with hallucinations and delusions are its symptoms.

• Melancholic Depression-

As the name suggests, patient suffering from it lost interest in all activities. His mood doesn’t change even in response to a positive event. It becomes more severe in morning.

• Catatonic Depression-

This type of depression is identified by at least two of the following symptoms

· Odd facial expressions

· Inability to react

· Inappropriate postures or movements

· Unwilling to speak

· Repetition of someone’s words or movements.

• Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)-

This type of depression affects patient during a particular season of the year or some specific time. Some patients may feel depressed and lazy during the winter months while some during the summer months.

• Masked Depression-

Only depressed mood is not the definition of depression. The depression can be expressed in other forms also, which we can’t think about. Sometimes a patient feel depressed because of depression but on the contrary sometimes he doesn’t know that he is suffering from depression. The depression can be concealed or masked behind these problems:

· Headache

· Stomach ache

· Gastrological disorders

· Indigestion

· Muscle pain

• Anxiety Depression-

Anxiety is a very common symptom of depression. In this depression, a patient may also experience panic attacks or disorder and social phobia.

• Single Episode Depression-

In this, patient experiences recurring thoughts of only one episode of depression. It can be any stressful event or accident of his life.

• Recurrent Episodic Depression :

This patient experiences two or more episodes of depression.

Right medication and treatment depends on the type of depression, its symptoms and duration. All these types of depression can be treated through medication and other alternative techniques.

Depression Treatment Options

Prolonged feeling of sadness and dejection is known as depression. Rate of mental depression has become very higher. Most of the people generally don’t go for medical treatment. Reasons may be either fear or lack of health concern. Every disease demands medical attention, then why not the depression?

Even the most serious kind of depression is curable. There are many therapies and treatments available for the treatment of depression. Treatment options as medication, exercise, psychotherapy, acupuncture. Selection of treatment depends on the particular situation and need. The following Treatments will help you to decide which one is better for you.

Knowledge of the different treatment option is the first step of leader. You can’t have the right treatment by listening to your friend or neighbor as depression, affects everybody in a different way. Before the selection of treatment we have some tips for you to follow:

(1) Try to learn more and more about your depression. Without this you would not be able to have the right treatment. Symptoms and severity of depression play an important role in treatment. If depression is caused by any medical attention, it must be treated first.

(2) Be ready for some trials and experiments. You have to experiment different therapies and exercises to choose the best for you. So, don’t be impatient.

(3) Isolation is one of the causes of depression. Having more and more social connections helps you to come out of it. Don’t hesitate to ask for help.

(4) It’s impossible to avoid medication in the cases of severe depression. But in some cases therapies and natural treatment are as effective as medication. The best thing is that they don’t have any side effects. Sometimes a combination of therapy and medication give good results.

(5) Depression treatment is a time taking process. Sometimes therapies become very painful for patient. So, he needs to have a lot of patience.

Lifestyle changes: A way to treat depression

Sometimes irregular life style causes depression. A little change in life style can give a great relief. Medication along with life-style changes is an effective way to overcome depression. Following things can be included in daily routine-

• Good sleep- good sleep is a powerful tool in treating depression. It affects mood a lot.

• Balanced diet- Balanced diet plays an important role in the development of physical and mental health. Stress can be reduced by taking minerals and green vegetables.

• Exercise- Regular exercise provides strength to your body. Brisk walking, jogging or a little yoga can help you.

Exploring medical causes of depression

If life-style changes don’t work and you still feel depressed, then you have to consult your doctor. Your depression can be the result of any health problem. The depression won’t reduce unless the root cause is identified and treated.

Many medical problems like high or low blood-pressure, low level of thyroid hormones, heart attack etc and their medication can cause depression. Sometimes these medications cause fatigue, sadness, dejection, oversleeping etc.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is the most effective depression treatment. Therapy not only helps to treat depression but also prevents it from coming back.

Many types of therapies are used to treat depression such as-

• Interpersonal therapy
• Psychodynamic
• Cognitive behavioral.

These therapies teach you practical techniques to fight with depression and help you to avoid negative thinking. Therapy can also help you to detect and understand the causes of your depression. Therapy can help you in many forms as – making new relationships, building new social connections, improving current relationship a positive way to treat life’s problems etc. All these things help you to make changes in your life.

Individual or group therapy

“Therapy” doesn’t only mean a lot of sessions with a therapist. Both these therapies are very useful in depression treatment. Both last for an hour. In individual therapy, patient makes a strong relationship only with one person and shares his confidential information with him. In this therapy patient gets individual attention.

Sometimes, group therapy can be very helpful in depression treatment. Hearing the people, going through the same problem, helps patient to overcome his problem. Patient also gets motivation tips and ideas from the other group members. Working with other group members also increases their social activities and connections.

When therapy becomes painful

Sometimes therapy becomes very painful and difficult for patient. He feels unable to continue it. Its reason can be the lack of good and strong relationship between patient and therapist. Discussing your problems very openly and honestly with your therapist may help you to move forward. However, it you still feel forced and uncomfortable don’t feel shy to go in to another direction.

Medication for depression

Sometimes medication becomes the last option, which a patient has to choose forcefully. In the cases of sever depression, medication helps to overcome some symptoms of depression. But it’s not a permanent solution. Depression is not only chemical imbalance in the brain. Antidepressant medications can’t cure the all underlying causes of depression. Antidepressants can cause so many side effects and their withdrawal is really very difficult.

All this information can help you to take the right decision. A little medication along with other methods as lifestyle changes and therapy will not only help you to have speed recovery but also prevent recurrence of depression.

If medication is really needed, consult a psychiatrist rather than your family doctor. As a psychiatrist has specialization in depression and advanced knowledge of its treatment and medication.

Other Alternative depression treatment

Vitamins and herbal remedies –

Many depressed people have experimented with supplements, vitamins and herbal remedies. These vitamins and supplements are widely available in the market. Researches are still going on how effective these remedies are. In some cases these herbal remedies can be really promising for example if your depression is caused by nutritional deficiency, vitamins and supplements may be beneficial for you. But this remedy should be taken under the supervision of a professional. As these drugs can have serious side effects on your mind and body.

Acupuncture-

According to some researches, acupuncture is an effective technique for depression treatment. In acupuncture, fine needles are used on some specific point of the body. If you want to try this technique, find a professional.

Other relaxation techniques –

Stress is the root cause of depression. Relaxation techniques like meditation, yoga, swimming, deep breathing etc. can’t remove depression but can help to reduce stress.

Causes of Depression

Depression is a persistent feeling of uselessness, as you are living without any purpose in the world. It feels like everything around you is right and you are completely wrong. Depression is like as you are all alone in this world and have nobody to care and listen.

But scientifically, according to brain imaging technology, we all have neurotransmitters in our brain. These neurotransmitters are responsible for the control of moods and our other activities and behaviors as – sleep, appetite etc. Imbalance of this brain chemistry leads to depression.

Depression can be identified with the following symptoms-

· Constant bad mood

· Everything seems wrong to you

· Disturbance in the sleep-wake cycle (insomnia, sleep full of dreams, oversleeping etc.

· Excessive crying – even on no or insignificant reasons.

· Waking up in the morning feels like a struggle.

· Feeling unable to make even simple decisions.

· You start to hate your own family and friends. They irritate you.

· You feel a partition between you and your family.

· Difficult to concentrate on anything.

· Feelings of guilt and hopelessness.

· Feelings of suffocation

· Feelings of worry and anxiousness.

· Recurring thoughts of death and suicide.

· Your senses stop working- food tastes bad, music doesn’t please you, and beautiful things don’t make you happy.

· Sexual dissatisfaction.

· Unable to carry even a normal conversation.

· Recurring thoughts of every failure or every bad experience.

· Change in appetite – overeating or loss of appetite

Along with the above reasons, here are some more reasons which can lead to depression-

Persistent memory of stressful life events –

Depression can be caused by stressful life events or accidents. A person feels unable to get rid of the memories of these events and sinks deep in the ocean of depression. It can be death of a close family member or friend, death of spouse, divorce, career problems etc.

Persistent disease or illness-

Sometimes person suffering from a chronic disease or illness such as cancer, heart problem, HIV, diabetes etc. leads to depression. It’s really very difficult to adapt the new conditions after the particular illness.

Depression is hereditary-

It’s really unbelievable but it’s true that depression runs in genes. It can run for generations.

Causes of depression in men and women-

Of course, depression affects both men and women. But rate of depression in women is much higher than men. In women the effects of hormones, menstruation, contraceptives, pregnancy, child birth and menopause are the contributing factors of depression.

Generally men suffer from hidden depression. Men are supposed to be emotionally stronger than women. So they try to hide their depression. They express their depression in alcoholism, drugs, tranquilizers or antisocial behavior.

Causes and treatment of depression are different in different people. One type of treatment is not fit for all. To choose the best treatment option, you have to identify the causes of your depression. A combination of lifestyle changes, medication, self help, and therapy may help.

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