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Wishing away the blues
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It's time to take depression out of the closet of shame and embarrassment and explore the expanded number of treatment options available, writes noted fitness expert PEG JORDAN.
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Most people who seek treatment for depression show improvement.
WHEN it comes to dealing with depression, it helps to sift the facts from fiction. An estimated one in four people will suffer from mild to severe depression during their lifetime. Clinical depression affects nearly twice as many women as men in most countries. Despite the high incidence, most people don't understand the causes, treatments, and suffer from more than one myth about the condition.
Depression is a serious medical illness, with symptoms varying from person to person, but often including a persistent sad mood, and loss of interest or pleasure in activities that were once enjoyed.
Often there is a significant change in appetite or body weight, difficulty in sleeping or oversleeping, physical slowing down or agitation, loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt and difficulty in concentrating. In severe cases, there are repeated thoughts of death or suicide.
Depression not only takes its toll on its sufferers and their families, but it also costs employers in terms of absenteeism, lost productivity, reduced quality of work and on-the-job-accidents.
Causes and treatment
The multiple causes of depression include biological, cognitive, gender, other diseases, genetic and situational factors. Depression is very treatable, with more than 80 per cent of those who seek treatment showing improvement. The most common form of drug treatment for depression includes a class known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). They restore the brain's chemical balance by increasing the supply of serotonin, a neurotransmitter responsible for mood and appetite, among other things.
Besides drug treatment — which may last anywhere from a few weeks to a few years — there are several behavioural approaches you can try
... Pay close attention to your feelings and moods and don't be afraid to seek help at an early stage.
... Keep a diary and jot down your feelings on a day-to-day basis so that you can look for some triggers of your "down" days.
... Seek a change in your living situation. Sometimes it is better to improve your environment instead of putting up with an intolerable condition.
... Ask your family and friends to help you through this period with encouragement and support. ... Learn to cultivate a positive attitude. This is often easier said than done because it takes practice and commitment. But there is good research indicating that optimism and seeing the "glass half full" instead of "half empty" contributes to a better frame of mind in general.
... See a qualified psychotherapist and establish a therapeutic relationship, with definite goals for your well-being
... . Consider a short course of herbal treatment with Kava Kava or St. John's Wort. Ask your natural health care provider about these well-studied herbs
... . If you do take drug treatment, understand that it may take several weeks before you feel like yourself again.
Separate the facts from fiction
"Snapping" out of it doesn't work. Just as someone does not "snap out" of diabetes or heart disease, you cannot expect a person with depression to snap out of his or her illness. Depression cannot be willed away. Don't believe that depression is just part of a person's personality. More than 80 per cent of those who seek treatment can lift the cloud of depression within a short time. Depression is not caused by a single factor. Many factors contribute to it.
The best approaches for moderate depression combine drug treatment with therapy and behavioural changes. Depression is not a normal part of aging. When an older person is diagnosed with depression, it may sometimes be related to loss of a loved one, certain medications, or due to another medical condition. Women's depression is not just "hormonal". Women's depression is often caused by stress, medication, medical illness, family history, personality traits, unfair treatment, or intolerable conditions.
Watch for side-effects of anti-depressant medication. The most frequent ones reported with the SSRI class are nausea, dry mouth, drowsiness, insomnia, increased sweating, tremor, diarrhoea, and problems with ejaculation.
Discuss any of these symptoms with your doctor immediately. It's time to take depression out of the closet of shame and embarrassment and explore the expanded number of treatment options available to people who are suffering with it.
Website: www.megjordan.com
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