Depression Facts
Depression Facts – How it May Affect You
Depression is not just a sad mood, and if you avail yourself of depression facts, it can help you deal with depression more effectively.
• Depression is a serious disease that millions of people are afflicted with each year. It's more than just a bad mood; it's a biologic disorder that can make your daily living stressful and sad.
• Many people think that depression is a weakness in a person, or a condition that you can just push aside. Depression facts tell us a much different story. Depression is caused largely by an interaction among environmental, biochemical, psychosocial and genetic factors. All of these can play a role, but depression can be treated, and with moderate to high success rates.
• Women are twice more likely than men to suffer from major depression, but anyone can be affected by it, and up to thirty-five million Americans will experience depression at some point in their lives.
• Some families seem predisposed to depression, facts point out. So if your family has a history of depression, you may be more likely to be affected, too. Outside of genetics, depression seems to be a result of changing chemical levels in the brain, usually norepinephrin or seratonin.
• Major depression is diagnosed by your doctor or psychiatrist after you have suffered from two or more weeks of steady depressed moods. For an accurate diagnosis to be made, you need to also display four other symptoms of depression.
• The symptoms of depression, facts list as hopelessness, low energy level, weight change of more than a few pounds and loss of interest in activities you used to enjoy. Other symptoms include difficulty concentrating, a feeling of worthlessness or guilt for no reason, irritability and the most generally obvious symptom, constant sadness.
• There are various ways to treat depression, and they have met with varying degrees of success. Many people under treatment still experience some break-through effects of depression. Facts are conclusive that treatments include psychotherapy and prescription medication. Some patients prefer to treat depression with natural remedies; this has been done with mixed results.
• There are several different types and many different brands of anti-depression medications. Each different type of medication affects chemical levels in the brain that are believed to be associated with depression. Prescription medications can take from six to eight weeks to reach their full effect, so if you are prescribed these meds, do not discontinue using them if you don't see immediate results.
• “Talk Therapy” used to be called “psychotherapy”; Depression facts have shown that it can be effective for people with some types of depression, and in some cases it is used along with prescription medications.
• You can help your treatment by living a healthy life, including setting goals you can reach, eating a well-balanced diet, and letting others you trust, such as family and friends, help you.