What is depression?
Depression is a common and potentially serious psychiatric disorder, characterized by a persistent lowering of mood, loss of interest in usual activities and diminished ability to experience pleasure. Everyone occasionally feels sad, but these feelings are usually fleeting and pass within a couple of days. When a person has a depressive disorder, it interferes with daily life, normal functioning, and causes pain for both the person with the disorder and those who care about him or her. Depression is a common but serious illness, and most who experience it need treatment to get better. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that more than 11.6 million Americans are suffering from depression.

What causes depression?
Depression is a complex disease that can occur as a result of a many reasons. For some, depression occurs due to a loss of a loved one, a change in one's life, or after being diagnosed with a serious medical disease. Other factors, such as stresses at home, work or school, are also important. We know now that people suffering from depression have changes in their brains compared to people who do not suffer from depression. The hippocampus, a small part of the brain that is vital to the storage of memories, is smaller in people with a history of depression than in those who've never been depressed. A smaller hippocampus has fewer serotonin receptors. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, a chemical messenger that allows communication between nerves in the brain and the body.

How does depression affect our health?
It restricts you from doing the normal day-to-day activities and jeopardizes your work, friendships and how you deal with others. Some of the biological underpinnings of the depression-disease relationships have recently come to light. For instance, take depression and heart disease. Depression might play a part in formation of blood clots via serotonin. Depression and serotonin deficiency go hand in hand. When there is less serotonin in the blood, chances of blood clotting increase. An artery-blocking blood clot can have serious consequences for the heart and the brain. . Depressed diabetics are much more likely to develop heart disease, blindness, or nerve damage. Depression makes the body less responsive to insulin via cortisol.

Are there ways to prevent depression?
Some forms of depression that are genetically mediated may not be preventable since current theory suggests that they may be triggered by chemical malfunctioning in the brain. However, there is good evidence that depression may often be alleviated or sometimes prevented with good health habits. Proper diet, exercise, vacations, not overworking, and saving time to do things you enjoys all help keep the blues at bay.

Treating depression
Depression can make your feel exhausted, worthless, helpless, and even hopeless. But it can be a short-term disorder, especially if you are in treatment with a qualified professional.

While negative thoughts and feelings may make you feel like giving up, it's important realizing that negative views are part of the depression and often do not accurately reflect your actual circumstances.

 

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."