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| Depression, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, Prevention, Complications |
Definition of Depression
Depression is a mood disorder characterized by feelings of deep sadness and loss of interest in things you like. Someone is considered to be depressed if after 2 weeks feeling sad, hopeless, or worthless.
Depression that is allowed to continue and does not receive treatment can cause a decrease in work productivity, disruption of social relations, to the emergence of thoughts of suicide.
Depression can strike anyone, including women and men. Depression in women is often associated with hormonal changes, including menstruation, pregnancy, after childbirth, or menopause. However, until now there has been no research that found the cause of depression more often occurs in women.
Depression Symptoms
Someone who is depressed generally shows certain psychological and physical characteristics. The psychological characteristics of depressed people are excessive anxiety and worry, unstable emotions, and feelings of hopelessness or frustration.
Meanwhile, the physical characteristics of someone who is depressed are always feeling tired and powerless, dizziness and pain for no apparent reason, and decreased appetite.
Causes of Depression
Depression is more common in adults. The cause is thought to be related to genetic factors, hormones, and chemicals in the brain. Some of the trigger factors for depression include:
- traumatic event
- Inner pressure, for example due to financial problems or household problems
- Wrong mindset, such as toxic positivity
Depression Treatment
In treating depression, psychiatrists can do the following:
- Doing psychotherapy or psychological therapy, to help overcome problems caused by depression
- Provide antidepressant drugs, to treat patient depression
- Undergo treatment at the hospital if you have severe depression
Causes of Depression
The exact cause of depression is still unknown, but it is thought to be related to genetic factors, brain chemicals, and hormones. Depression can also strike all age ranges. However, this condition is more common in adults.
Several factors are thought to trigger depression, including:
- Have a chronic or serious illness, for example after suffering from cancer, stroke, or HIV/AIDS or difficulty recognizing faces (prosopagnosia)
- Have a certain personality, for example feeling inferior, too harsh in judging yourself, pessimistic, or too dependent on others
- Experiencing a traumatic event or emotional distress, for example due to torture or harassment, blood relationship, death of a loved one, or economic difficulties
- Experiencing alcohol and drug dependence, for example when trying to escape a problem
- Taking certain medications, such as sleeping pills or drugs for hypertension
- Have a history of mental disorders, for example anxiety disorders or eating disorders
- Have close relatives who also experience depression (hereditary factors)
- Having a poor diet, for example due to an inappropriate diet and lack of vitamins and minerals
Depression Symptoms
The characteristics of depressed people can be seen from two aspects, namely psychology and physical. From a psychological aspect, the characteristics of depression include:
- Always feel guilty and often blame yourself
- Feeling hopeless, low self-esteem, and worthless or have low self-esteem
- Always feeling anxious and worrying excessively
- Continuously bad or sad mood
- Easily angry or sensitive, and easy to cry
- Difficulty concentrating, thinking and making decisions
- Becoming apathetic towards the surrounding environment
- Disinterested and unmotivated (anhedonia)
- Ideas arise to hurt yourself or attempt suicide
Meanwhile, the physical characteristics that arise as a result of depression include:
- Always feeling tired and powerless
- Decreased appetite or no appetite
- Insomnia or even too much sleep
- Dizziness or pain for no apparent reason
- Body movements and speech slower than usual
- No sexual arousal
- Weight loss or even increased drastically
Depression does not always cause the same symptoms, depending on the severity experienced by each sufferer. Mild depression can interfere with daily activities and social relationships.
Whereas in severe depression, sufferers really cannot carry out daily activities and build relationships with other people.
Types of Depression
Depression is divided into several types, according to the severity and cause. The following is an explanation of the types of depression:
1. Major depression
Major depression is characterized by feelings of sadness, loss of interest, or other symptoms of depression. This condition can occur almost any time and lasts 2 weeks or more.
2. Dysthymia
Dysthymia or chronic depressive disorder (persistent depressive disorder) is major depression that has been going on for a long time, for at least 2 years.
3. Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder characterized by drastic changes in mood or emotion over two time periods. When experiencing bipolar, a person can experience episodes of mania (very happy) and episodes of major depression (very sad or down).
4. Postpartum depression
This condition is usually experienced by mothers who have just given birth. Generally, postpartum depression will be marked by the appearance of major depressive symptoms within 1 year after giving birth.
5. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder
In some women, Premenstrual dysphoric disorder complaints and symptoms can appear 1 week before menstruation, then disappear after menstruation. This condition is different from the symptoms of PMS (premenstrual syndrome).
6. Atypical depression
Atypical depression is characterized by the appearance of several depressive symptoms that are sometimes atypical, such as drastic weight gain, sleeping too much, and excessive sadness with rejection. Usually, these symptoms can subside with a positive atmosphere or event.
7. Psychotic depression
Psychotic depression occurs when a person experiences severe depression and is accompanied by psychotic symptoms, such as hallucinations, disturbed thought patterns, or delusions (delusions).
When to See a Doctor
Immediately consult a doctor if you or someone close to you experiences the above symptoms, especially if you have a desire to harm yourself or others. Appropriate treatment early on can help sufferers to be more productive and prevent complications from depression.
Please note, sufferers of major depression are often not aware of their condition. If you see someone who is attempting suicide, immediately take him to the doctor for treatment.
Depression Diagnostics
To diagnose depression, the doctor will first conduct a complete question-and-answer session regarding the symptoms experienced, including medical history, consumption of certain drugs, and whether there were any previous adverse events.
Next, the doctor will carry out a psychiatric evaluation to find out the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of the patient. This is done to determine whether the patient is truly depressed or not.
If needed, the doctor will advise the patient to undergo other tests, such as a blood test. This examination is only done to rule out the possibility of other diseases that can trigger mental disorders.
Depression Treatment
Depression will be easier to cure if it is detected early and treated immediately. Treatment for depression includes psychotherapy, drugs, or electroshock therapy. The doctor will choose from these treatment methods based on the patient's condition. The following is an explanation:
Psychotherapy
Doctors will carry out psychotherapy through interviews with patients. Psychotherapy aims to measure several aspects experienced by sufferers, such as:
- Negative perspective on the situation experienced
- Depressing experience
- Communication and relationships with other people
- Emotion
Antidepressant Drugs
Doctors can also provide antidepressant drugs to help treat symptoms of depression. Antidepressants work by balancing the chemicals in the brain that regulate feelings.
Several types of antidepressant drugs that can be prescribed by doctors are:
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), eg escitalopram and fluoxetine
- Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), for example duloxetine, and venlafaxine
- Tricyclic antidepressants, eg amitriptyline
- Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), such as phenelzine and isocarboxazid
- Atypical antidepressants, such as mirtazapine
- Tetracyclic antidepressants, such as maprotiline
This treatment can also be combined with several types of antipsychotic drugs, such as queitianine and aripiprazole.
Antidepressant medications take about 2–4 weeks to work and relieve symptoms of depression. Generally, this drug should be taken for 6–12 months. It is important to remember, do not add, reduce, or stop taking antidepressant drugs without a doctor's advice.
If necessary, the doctor may consider changing the dose, according to the patient's condition and response to therapy. The reduction in dosage should be done gradually. Stopping taking the drug suddenly can cause depressive symptoms to reappear or even make symptoms worse.
Electric Shock Therapy
If drugs haven't been able to relieve symptoms of depression, then electroshock therapy or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) can be used as a treatment option. In ECT, electric waves will be passed through the patient's body to change the chemicals in the brain. That way, it is hoped that the symptoms of depression can subside.
Apart from the three therapies above, magnetic stimulation therapy (transcranial magnetic stimulation) can also be performed on patients who do not respond to antidepressant drugs. This therapy sends magnetic signals to stimulate the brain's nerve cells that regulate mood thereby reducing symptoms of depression.
Please note, family support is also important in helping cure depression. Improved lifestyle, diet, and stress management are also important to help the recovery process. In addition, carry out routine controls to the doctor so that the development of the patient's condition and response to therapy can be monitored.
People with severe depression or who have suicidal thoughts need to be hospitalized. This is done to monitor the patient's progress, as well as protect the patient until his mood changes for the better.
Depression Complications
Depression is a serious psychiatric illness that can cause emotional, behavioral and health disturbances for sufferers. If left untreated, depression can cause various complications, such as:
- Overweight or obese
- Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and arthritis
- Drug abuse
- Feelings of anxiety, panic, and phobias
- Disruption to family harmony
- Productivity disruption
- Sleep disorders
- Social isolation
- Feelings of wanting to hurt yourself or kill yourself
Depression Prevention
Adopting a healthy lifestyle can help prevent depression from developing, or prevent symptoms from worsening in people who have been diagnosed with depression. Some of the preventive measures that can be taken are:
- Do relaxation to deal with stress, for example yoga or pilates.
- Inadequate sleep needs, at least for 8 hours per day.
- Avoid consuming alcoholic beverages.
- Do regular exercise.
- Be sure to hang out with friends or family at some free time.
- Limit the use of social media if it bothers you.
- Stay away from people who are bad influences.
- Perform routine treatment and control of chronic diseases that are at risk of causing depression.
- Consult a doctor if you feel prolonged sadness, especially after experiencing an unpleasant event.
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