Depressive disorders are a growing public health issue. They immobilize, often lead to chronic illnesses, in addition to being common and widespread.
Depressive disorders also extensively influence the outcome of medical illnesses like cancer, cardiac diseases, and diabetes.
Causes of Depression Disorders
Depression, or depressive disorders, is a common mental health condition — a most unfortunate matter subject to anyone.
In effect, depressive disorders result from a complex interaction of biological, psychological, and/or social factors. Those who have lived through severe losses, abuse, or other unpleasant events are more likely to develop some form of a depressive disorder. Problems at work or school can lead to an individual becoming a subject of depression, as well.
Depressive episodes last most of the day, practically every day, and likely, for two weeks. An individual with a depressive disorder may experience changes to his or her appetite, in addition to interrupted sleep.
In addition, it’s also common for them to be tired quite often, with poor concentration. Feelings of hopelessness about the future, thoughts about dying, and low self-worth are also quite prevalent.
Common Risk Factors
Common risk factors for depressive disorders include feelings such as anxiety, gender, worry, fear, anger, frustration, envy, jealousy, pessimism, guilt, depressed mood, loneliness, unpleasant childhood experiences and traumatic life events.
Individuals with unexplained physical symptoms, numerous medical problems, chronic pain, or the use of medical services that’s more recurrent than expected should be considered as a possible person that might be subject to depressive disorders.
Depression is more frequent among women than men are. Globally, more than 10 percent of pregnant women and women who have just given birth experience some form of depressive disorder.
Depression can cause difficulty in all aspects of one’s life — including relationships with family, friends and community, as well as school performance, and work productivity.
Researchers estimate that 12 billion productive workdays are lost every year to anxiety and depression…at a cost of nearly 1 trillion U.S. dollars.
Moreover, individuals with depression are at increased risk of suicide. Research also shows strong relationships between depression and physical health. The adverse health conditions include respiratory diseases, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.
Caring for Depressive Disorders
To reduce depression, prevention programs are quite useful. Effective medications and psychological treatments are available for individuals suffering from depressive disorders.
However, these are often absent or inaccessible, especially in low- and middle-income countries. It’s estimated that more than 75 percent of people experiencing mental disorders in low- and middle-income countries receive no treatment.
In addition, depressive disorders are not normally recognized or treated in primary care — even with a rather high prevalence.
According to the Mayo Clinic,
“Medications and psychotherapy are effective for most people with depression. Your primary care doctor or psychiatrist can prescribe medications to relieve symptoms. However, many people with depression also benefit from seeing a psychiatrist, psychologist or other mental health professional. If you have severe depression, you may need a hospital stay, or you may need to participate in an outpatient treatment program until your symptoms improve.”
Helpful Steps
In general, depressive disorders may not be disorders that you can treat on your own. However, in addition to professional treatment, the following steps may help:
- Learn about depression — Education about your condition can give you strength and motivate you to continue with your treatment plan. Encourage your family to learn about depression to help them support and understand what you’re going through.
- Stick to your treatment plan — Don’t deviate. Continue with your appointments or psychotherapy sessions. Keep taking your medications — even if you’re feeling well. More than likely, if you stop depression symptoms may come back. Besides, you could experience withdrawal-like symptoms. Be aware that it will take time to feel better.
- Avoid recreational drugs and alcohol — It may feel like alcohol or drugs lessen depression symptoms, but in the end, they usually aggravate symptoms and make depression more difficult to treat. Talk with your physician or therapist if you need help with alcohol or substance use.
- Take care of yourself — Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, and enjoy a healthy diet. Reflect on activities that you may enjoy. For example, swimming, jogging, walking, or gardening. Above all, sleep well. Sleeping is important for both your mental and physical well-being. If you’re having difficulty sleeping, have a discussion with your physician about how to improve your sleeping.
- Pay attention to warning signs — Work with your therapist or physician to learn what might trigger your depression symptoms. Make a plan so that you know what to do if your symptoms get worse. Contact your therapist or doctor if you notice any changes in how you’re feeling or your symptoms. Be aware of warning signs and ask friends or relatives to help in this awareness.
