DEPRESSION

Depression; a World of Unhappiness Derek C Eichelberger HCA240 June 19, 2011

Depression; A world of unhappiness

Why doesnt anything ever go my way? Does this world hate me? I just cant seem to get out of bed in the morning? Let alone function throughout the day! These questions are some questions a depressed man or woman could be asking themselves on a daily basis. Depression is something that will affect millions of people each and every year. Some will be able to ride through the depression; some will not and need to seek help to be able to cope with life on a daily basis. What is Depression? Developed from the Latin word Deprimere meaning to Press Down, depression in the simplest of terms would be the feeling of sadness, feeling blue or down in the dumps. An overall feeling of unhappiness with life and everything in life would characterize depression ( Lazarou , 2011 ) All of us feel this throughout life from time to time, but there is a difference. Many people can get back to the normal feelings in life without losing a step. There is what is termed Clinical Depression, this is a mood disorder in which the feelings of depression do not go away and stay for extended periods of time (usually from days to an entire lifetime if left untreated). From here we have to progress to minor depression and major depression, to have major depression a person has to have many of the symptoms of depression which include feeling sad, hopelessness, worthlessness, loss of enjoyment of life and pessimistic are among a few of the symptoms (Smith ,2010). A little background on depression

Once known as melancholia, depression dates back to Ancient Greek times. In this time of Ancient Greece, melancholia was thought to be a distinct disease with people being dull and stern, unreasonably dejected or torpid without a true cause for their behavior. From the Greek and Roman texts, the Persians and Muslims put their spin on melancholia stating that a person having this depressive type of mood disorder in which the person may become suspicious in some ways and develop phobias ( ). During the 17th through the 19th centuries many types of melancholia developed, this eventually led to other mood disorders making melancholia the grandfather of the mood disorders. During this time melancholia was the general term, however the term depression started to surface as by the turn of the century depression was synonymous with melancholia. A key psychiatrist during this time was Emil Kraepelin, who will gain more respect in the next couple centuries. The 20th and 21st centuries came about and Kraepelin brought to the table that these mood disorders were either internal or external and this was the beginning to understanding how depression truly worked with the mind and surroundings of the person involved. Other influential people were Sigmund Freud and Adolf Meyer, through the research done through these figures a great deal was learned about depression(Smith, 2010). Treatments for depression The first of the treatments that must be examined are lifestyle changes that can be made in order to lesson or eliminate depression. Such lifestyle changes are exercise, it has been proven that exercise prevents and fights depression through increasing the levels of serotonin, endorphins and other chemicals the body produces to make a person feel good.

Nutrition is the second lifestyle change, eating healthy makes the body feel and be healthier. Sleep is another lifestyle change, getting proper amounts of sleep are essential for a person, no matter if they are suffering from depression or not. Sleep deprivation helps the feelings of sadness, irritability and many other symptoms of depression become worse as the body never fully gets the rest it truly needs. Stress reduction is another lifestyle change, although many people say how can I alleviate stress? They can and will if they truly put their mind to this, stress causes such things as anxiety, which is associated with depression and many other mood disorders. Get social support, have someone you can confine in and let them know how you are feeling, let the cat out of the bag and dont be shy about how you are feeling and you will feel much better in the long run. Other treatments for depression Talk therapy is another common treatment for depression, through talk therapy you could be in a group or one on one with a therapist. There are three therapies from talk therapy, those being cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy and psychodynamic therapy with a blend of the three therapies usually being used to treat depression(Taylor, 2011). There is also medication therapy for depression, since the day and age of so many companies bringing their medication to the table, it would seem that it would be the wise way to go to treat depression. This is disputable with the various people you would speak with . Depression is not always medical and caused by the imbalance in the brain, putting a patient on medication is like putting a Band-Aid on the problem and not actually addressing the problem. Just like taking an aspirin for a headache, the headache is not

cured because of the aspirin, but is still there and will appear once the aspirin wears off. Medication for depression is only that Band-Aid in non medical cases, wear therapy actually goes after the underlying problem. Many of these medications come with side effects that cannot be avoided and usually another medication is prescribed for the side effect (Taylor, 2011). The bottom line is if medication is what you are taking for depression, consider other treatments like talk therapies and lifestyle changes that will actually make you feel good by going after the problem itself, not hiding it. What is happening in the mind of clinical depression? The Limbic system is a system many researchers keep an eye on when studying depression. This area of the brain is responsible for many things including emotions, physical and sexual drives and response to stress. This is where the hypothalamus is located, which controls the pituitary gland and controls many hormones that the body produces. Two other important structures are the amygdale and hippocampus, these two structures are also very important in controlling responses. Three neurotransmitters are the hold the keys in responsibility for depression according to researchers, those being serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. These three transmitters function within the brain to control several responses associated with depression. Researchers have come to this conclusion because these three neurotransmitters are based on how anti- depressants have relieved some depression in patients. Other than this aspect, this is general theory( Smith, 2010). How is depression diagnosed?

There are several criteria in diagnosing depression. Diagnosing depression includes being sad, blue or tearful with things. Losing interest or pleasure in things that were pleasurable before, loss of appetite, sleep apnea or sleeping too much (when different from before), being tired with no energy, loss of sexual drive, feelings of worthlessness or guilt for things that you should not feel guilty, trouble concentrating on things and suicidal thoughts or thought that you would be better off dead. These symptoms have to be severe enough to interrupt you life and your daily routine. It is important to understand that we all go through the ups and downs in life because of such things as loss of a loved one, loss of a job, serious illness, but if these symptoms do not go away then one should be seen by a physician or therapist to work these problems out. Generally checklists are used by many therapists and psychiatrists to diagnose depression, there is not a test that someone can medically take to tell if they are depressed or not(Smith, 2010). Today versus yesterday Treatments of depression in days prior can be seen in that chilling scenario of a person in a psychiatric ward being shocked, these are all too true of treatments of yesterday as there was not the technology to understand that this is not the answer. Today there are medication and talk therapy as stated above, not the shock and put in a padded room of yesterday. There are still extreme cases that someone must be put in a padded room, but generally not for depressive reasons. Another form of treatment is hospitalization for the depression, this is the way many physicians will choose if a person is suicidal and could possibly harm themselves or others.

In Conclusion Throughout this paper, explanation of how depression came to be in medical terms, along with why we are depressed and when depression is the proper diagnosis. There are also many ways to treat depression, through medication, lifestyle changes and talk therapies, however with this day and age of all the pharmeucital companies trying to push their brand of anti-depressant, one must think that far too many people are drugged up way too much, medication is only a Band-Aid and not a cure for depression. Too many therapists and psychiatrists try too hard to put too many people on pills to make them feel better, but this does not cure the underlying problem. Only the patient can cure the underlying problem through talk and changes they make to themselves with the help of others and not a pill or two or three as many physicians like to prescribe. Depression is something that strikes millions of people every year and without proper knowledge will continue to grow and become an epidemic in this world today.

References

Lazarou, C., Kouta, C., Kapsou, M., & Kaite, C. (2011). Overview of depression: epidemiology and implications for community nursing practice. British Journal of Community Nursing, 16(1), 41-47. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Smith, M., Johnson, K., Seydel, L., & Buckwalter, K. (2010). Depression training for nurses: evaluation of an innovative program. Research in Gerontological Nursing, 3(3), 162-175. doi:10.3928/1940492120100527-99

Taylor, P., Gooding, P., Wood, A. M., & Tarrier, N. (2011). The role of defeat and entrapment in depression, anxiety, and suicide. Psychological Bulletin, 137(3), 391-420. doi:10.1037/a0022935