Kacycarr

Is it Depression? Control Mood Swings & Treat Symptoms Caused By Severe Depression



Posted: Saturday, May 23, 2009

by Kacycarr
http://www.spotthepimple.com

How can a person tell if they or someone close to them are suffering from depression? Depression is determined by symptoms. When making a diagnosis you have to be careful because certain disorders and conditions show similar symptoms therefore making an accurate prognosis difficult. It is vital that a person who thinks they are suffering from depression has a person of medical standing ascertain the illness.

It's shocking the amount of folk who believe that people experiencing sadness/unhappiness are suffering from depression. This is not the case; and you can't fault these people for thinking this. Depression can include both emotions. Depression goes much deeper, lasts longer and much nastier than an episode of unhappiness that people at some will endure. Should you feel down or despondent for long periods of time, and that time feels endless go and see your GP.

It's imperative that a person understands their depression. Depression isn't something that you have, or not have. There's a major difference between feeling down and the full blown clinical illness.

Symptoms

The above symptoms are not usually suffered at the one time by a patient.

What people suffering from depression finds hard to accept is, "why" it has happened to them. They struggle to comprehend why they have depression and not others. In some cases we have people ask have they done something wrong, and could they have prevented their depression. Simply answered, depression does not occur through your own doings, for instance: like doing a bungee jump or going horse riding. As for preventing the disease there are things that can be done to minimize the risk of it developing. Nonetheless this will depend on the reasons for it occurring and how people themselves deal with these reasons. Depression can happen to anyone of us. Most people can point their finger at the cause which triggered their depression which is helpful when looking to get better.

Whether depression stems from the least littlest thing it is called an obvious reason. Size of the matter that causes depression is irrelevant, depression is depression. Many causes can be held accountable for the illness. Because each person differs - so do reasons. Different events that happen in life like divorce, bereavement, losing your job, or even birth of a child are a few to mention of the renowned reasons for being the most obvious for sparking the illness off.

Why does one person suffer depression after losing a loved one and not the next person? Different strengths in people have a lot to do with this. In saying this people with depression are not weak. Men and women built like brick houses can go down with the illness. In fact, it takes a strong person to cope with the "disease."  Much argument goes on about whether depression really equates to a disease or not. At the end of the day people will always refer to their depression in what they see it as (condition, illness, disease or disorder.) Depression means different things to different people.

There is much confusion involved with depression. Some people feel anxious and call it depression. Then there are those that feel sad and see this as depression. Even stress and worry are labeled as depression. Feelings of self-pity, loss of self-worth or self-esteem are not truly related to full bore depression, they are states of mind. Depression rises from depressing your feelings, and one in five people at some point in their lives will know this. There is always going to be those days when we all feel low, but fortunately able to bounce back when good feelings return.

With depression the good emotions don't come and the nasty feelings don't go away. They become so bad they interfere with everyday life. Some people don't even know they have the illness, and for those who do, will try to shrug the low mood off thinking it will blow over. This is not good. When depression begins to defeat the patient they will struggle and try to keep busy. This can make matters worse and they become agitated, stressed and exhausted. As a result of this physical pains, such as constant headaches, or sleeplessness are probable.

Treatment

Treatment for depression has to come from your GP. There is no medication available for treating depression you can purchase over the chemist counter. There are two sorts of treatment (counseling – medication.) Depending on severity of the depression and the patient them self will determine the best option.

Counseling is a great form of therapy. It allows you to talk about your feelings in private with a compassionate expert in this field. Being able to share your feelings with someone who has a clear understanding of the illness and what you are experiencing will help you greatly.

Cognitive behavioral therapy helps people overcome the negative thoughts that come with depression.

If you have socializing difficulties because of your depression then interpersonal and dynamic therapies are helpful for this.

Contact a self-help group who are there to give you support. Help is everywhere you look

Medication

Antidepressants, maybe not a word you want to hear but effective for treating severe depression. Not all medicines give instant results, and this goes for antidepressants. It usually takes at least two to three weeks for to see a change in mood. Some people swear by St John's Wort for treating their depression. These people however only suffered mild to moderate depression. It seems to work similar to particular antidepressants and with fewer side effects

As with all prescription drugs there are the side effects to consider. Thankfully antidepressants are normally mild. The latest antidepressants (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) can for a short period of time cause nausea and anxiety. Past side effects from older antidepressants were dry mouth and constipation. Never at any time take another person's medicine it is extremely dangerous.

Helping others with depression

Depressed people want to be heard so listen. If you recognize the reason for their depression then offer your help to find a solution. Listen to their cries and encourage them to keep going with their everyday activities. There is only so much you can do without becoming depressed yourself if you see no improvement in the patient. When it reaches this stage then do the right thing and get them to see a doctor.

Depression needs to be clearly understood by the bemused, because as figures stand depression affects 1 in 5 people. It is important that any confusion is clarified with true facts about the illness. If this is not done then we look to treat a world full of depressed people.

Don’t let your anxiety get to the stage they call chronic


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