Acquiesce the real you. It is no shame,we care for you. #Depression

Often we have end up with discussions about mental health disorders, finally reaching nowhere around the basic questions that is depression, a common and serious (If not treated)

medical condition that skeptically affects how you feel the way you think and how you act. Depression is a mood disorder, is characterized by sadness of mood and loss of interest / pleasure in almost all activities.

Depression causes feelings of grief, agony or a damage of enthusiasm in activities once enjoyed and admired. It can drive to an array of poignant and physical problems and can decrease a person’s ability to function at work and even at home as well.

We also need to know the difference between situational depression and clinical depression, a mental health disorder that can affect your work, study, sleep, eat, and those activities which gives you the feeling of joy generally.

I'm not here to detail you about the entirety of depression. Of course, everyone now a days is matured and quite well versed enough about depression and its symptoms. At least base line information is known to chunk portion of population.

But still some common and most found types and symptoms of depression are ;

1. Major Depressive Disorder :- Characterized by sadness of mood with melancholic features i.e sleep disturbance usually insomnia and early morning awakening are common

decreased interest and pleasure in most of the activities and loss of motivation, guilt ; patient feels excessive self blame , loss of vigour , cognitive problems like decreased attentiveness , memory disturbance , indecisiveness. Decreased desire for food and sex is common,

although increased appetite and weight gain can occur as well. Decreased psychomotor / physical activity. Preoccupation of mind with death or those thoughts which we often call in clinical psychiatry as self harm.

2. Dysthymic disorder :-  Is a chronic and less severe form of major depression most of the time with no discrete episodes. In some patients with major depressive disorder the residual phase is characterized by dysthymic disorder and is called as double depression.

Diagnosis of dysthymia is not made  until the patient has had symptoms for atleast  2 years.

Sometimes it is characterised by  fluctuating hypomanic and depressive episodes (bipolar disorder)

What causes depression ?

Sustained stress is not only one reason of depressio. There are other reasons as well which determine mental health disorder

Like biological , Social , Psychological. Sudden changes in the hormonal level causes depression.

That is why many mothers experience depression after giving birth called as post partum depression. 

Depression is more common in females with F : M ratio of 2:1. Combination of family history , psychological and even social factors cause depression.

As for treatment is concerned, I think better is to get your doctor and seek his or her help. Treatment plans  vary from individual to individual depending on their respective state of depression.

Though there are some basic approaches we can execute for treating few mild depressions like exercises or travelling,keeping youself busy but again they are short term in reality. Because to get to the base of any depression you need to get hand on roots.

That is why evaluating patients, taking their histories, then clinical examinations are still preferable modes of treating patients suffering from depression.

Additionally, we need to understand some important issues which are equally important as we manage or

administer the depression.

There are some huge false narratives being spread even by educated people about anti-depressants. Anti- depressants are prescribed on a case by case basis, and the general stigma against anti-depressants is completely bizarre and misinformed.

They are just like any other medicine one takes, just like people take medicines for diabetes and other health conditions.

Also anti depressants are neither sleep inducing nor addictive medicines. As patient gets treated and feels actually recovering,

give them feel good moment and hence resulting in calling them sleep inducing pills,which is not clinically appropriate. Patients should not stop or completely quit anti-depressants abruptly as it can aggravate the condition in a more serious ways at times. So don't do that!

Depression is not a choice, most people confuse or mix sadness with depression. Like they say, it is your own decision whether you want be in depression or not. It is completely misinformation. We need to reach out doctors first,

because reaching out to your friends or colleagues may take a time. Then we have other social absurdities and vulnerabilities, which push patients further towards the isolation and deep pit of depression.

So it is always better to consult the doctor as soon as you feel it for yourself, that it is not a mood swing rather anything else. Generally, our granny generations are less sensitive to depression and mental disorders, because they think it is a new disease

which was not apparent earlier. But reality is depression has been around for a long time, we have just learnt to identify it. Just giving the false perception that depression is a disease of modern urban age is nothing but a self attempted bigotry.

When you have long periods of demotivation, social withdrawal and asocial behaviour, sense of low self worth for a lengthy period of time, just get the doctor straight away. Just simply don't believe anyone except a doctor ,

because a psychiatrist is the most appropriate person to deal with this situation.