What is depression?
Sadness and melancholy are two feelings present at some point in the lives of all people, as well as joy and pleasure. The first two are not pathological itself, but sometimes they can become it for certain people. When the mood of an individual at a certain moment of his life suffers severe and prolonged feelings of sadness or related symptoms that affect his ability to relate to others, working or facing the day, sadness becomes an illness, which It is known as depression.
Causes
The causes of depression are varied, but biochemistry can help explain some cases. Depressed people show very high levels of cortisol (a hormone) and several chemical agents acting in the brain, such as serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline neurotransmitters. These levels can be elevated for hereditary reasons. Explanations given to the family origin of depression are that children receive a sad vision of the world for their parents' behavior, or grow in an environment that is not totally enriching.
Regarding depression that is not caused by family reasons, very deep emotional losses can cause biochemical changes that drive depression. These changes can cause the disease not in an immediate way, but later. Other factors can be the loss of a job, or lack of adaptation capacity to certain changes. Although it is not known exactly what depression causes, there are various factors identified as the imbalances of the brain neurotransmitters. Antidepressant drugs can help solve this problem.
Depression symptoms
- Depressive mood Most of the day as indicated by the subject or the observation performed by others. In children and adolescents the mood can be irritable.
- Decreased decrease of interest or capacity for pleasure in all or almost all activities.
- Important weight loss without regime or weight gain.
- Insomnia or hypersomnia.
- Agitation or Intertainment Psychomotors.
- Fatigue or energy loss almost every day.
- feelings of excessive or inappropriate useless or blame.
- Decrease in the ability to think or concentrate, or indecision.
- Recurrent thoughts of death, recurrent suicide ideation without a specific plan or a suicide attempt or a specific plan to commit suicide.
Prevention
Apart from the pharmacological or psychotherapeutic treatment it is important - once it has made an effect and that the patient feels that it has improved the condition of it, it is important that certain tips or ways of life are followed.
- Have positive thoughts
- Caring for physical health
- Maintain a uniform daily calendar.
- Resume responsibilities Slow and gradual form.
- Accept oneself. Do not compare with other people who consider favored.
- express emotions
- Follow at all times and until the end TREATMENT TAX
- Meet periodically with the therapist
- Eat a balanced diet
- do physical exercise
Types of depression
The major depression is manifested by a combination of symptoms that interfere in the ability of people to work, study, sleep, eat and enjoy activities that, under normal circumstances, should be pleasant. Depression usually occurs once, but it is a disease that usually provoke relapses throughout life.
Distimia is a less serious type of depression. Symptoms are maintained in the long term, but do not avoid the activity of people. It can also be recurrent, that is, appear more than once in life.
Bipolar disorder is the third type. It is also called a maniac-depressive disease. The prevalence of this pathology is not as high as the previous two. It is characterized by mood swings. Very high moods are succeeded by very low. These changes are abrupt at times, but the most frequent is that they are gradual. In the depression cycle, people have some or all of the symptoms of a depressive problem.
In the maniac cycle, they may feel hyperactive, excessively locum and too much energy. Sometimes mania affects the thought, judgment and social behavior of the individual. If the mania is left untreated, it can lead to a psychotic state. If the mania is not treated, it can worsen and cause a psychotic post-delivery depression by about 10 or 15 percent of the new mothers cry constantly, they feel terribly anxious, they can not sleep and, they are not even able to make simple decisions.
Other symptoms are deep sadness, insomnia, lethargy and irritability. It is what is known as post-delivery depression. Post-delivery depression is a severe deformation of Baby Blues, a problem suffered by two thirds of mothers who manifests with a bit of sadness and anxiety. Some mothers suffer a total rupture, called post-delivery psychosis. The reasons why occurs are not very clear. It can be the stress, the hormonal mismatch produced during pregnancy and subsequent delivery (female hormones circulate abundantly during pregnancy and fall sharply afterwards). In addition, during pregnancy, the levels of endorphins go up, a human molecule that makes the body feel good. This molecule also decays after giving birth.
Finally, having suffered a depression increases the risk as well. There are several treatments. One of the most used is group therapy, although sometimes it is also necessary to take antidepressants. Regarding these drugs, there is a certain means that the child can be transmitted through milk. In general, the only drug that gives problems is lithium, which is introduced into milk, so it is necessary to stop breastfeeding.
Diagnostics
Inquiry in patient history is a fundamental weapon so that the professional can diagnose a case of depression. A complete medical history must be included, where you can see when the symptoms began, its duration and you also have to ask questions about the use of drugs, alcohol or if the patient has thought about suicide or death. A diagnostic evaluation should include an examination of mental state to determine if speech, thought or memory patterns have been affected. To diagnose a depressive disorder, some of the aforementioned symptoms must be given in the period of two weeks. One of them must be the change in mood, loss of interest or capacity for pleasure.
Treatments
The environment surrounding a person who suffers depression is essential to achieve their rehabilitation. The understanding and affection of relatives and closeness is important, as patience is, since the lack of desire and motivation of the sick can cause despair. Suggest and not order activities, propose and not impose talks are basic support for therapy imposed by professionals. One of the most important problems that this group presents is the abandonment of therapies, so it is fundamental to induce you to follow the treatment until the end.
Treatment against depression is two types: pharmacological and psychotherapy. Depending on the problem, one or another may be necessary, or a combination of the two. When cases are serious, there is another type: electro-convulsive or electroshock therapy. In general, pharmacological treatment is necessary. In a first phase, the patient is held in an intense way to get the symptoms to disappear and the recovery of the patient can be initiated. In a second phase drugs are supplied to prevent the manifestation of the disease.
- Pharmacological treatment with antidepressants: Antidepressants are used to correct imbalances at the levels of brain chemicals, especially serotonin, a brain chemical transmitting messages in the brain area that controls the Emotions, body temperature, appetite, hormonal levels Sleep and blood pressure. Antidepressants act by increasing serotonin levels in brain cells. Each class of antidepressants does it in a different way. They do not usually cause dependence. They usually have an effect between three and six weeks after starting treatment. If no progress has occurred at this time, the doctor usually chooses to change the treatment, adding more dose or opting for another antidepressant. Among its most common side effects are insomnia, nervousness, sexual dysfunction, nausea, dizziness or weight gain.
- Psychotherapy: Its purpose is to help the patient get to know each other better and change their bad ways to think, feel and act.
- Compulsive electro therapy: is used when the patient can not take medication or does not improve with it; When the risk of committing suicide is high or if there is weakening for another physical illness.
Other data
Families of depressed patients: Good for genetic causes, either because of its continuous relationship with patients, family members of depressed patients have twice as much as possible to suffer pathology
- Women: Women have to face the hormonal effects of the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, childbirth, menopause or contraceptives. On the other hand, women who have had children are less likely to suffer depression than those not, probably due to the intensity of ties with their stems, which makes them stronger against other emotional damage caused by certain losses.
- Men: Men show less clearly the symptoms of depression, but this does not mean that they do not suffer it. Experts consider that they hide it, perhaps due to the cultural habit that makes men less openly their emotions. Therefore, instead of classical symptoms it is common to reveal it through alcoholism or other abuses in certain substances, and through antisocial behavior.
- The generation of the baby-boom: those born after the Second World War have more risks of suffering a depression than the oldest. Many of them show the uprooting problems produced by ruptures in the classic family that occurred during the 50s and 60s, when the rate of divorces, emigrations, etc. increased, which entailed the loss of family and friends. In addition, the large number of people who were born at that time increased the feeling of competition in schools, work etc.
- Elderly: Sometimes depression occurs as a reaction to physical deterioration or loss of friends, family or activities that previously produced pleasure and that you have to abandon at certain ages. The problem of this age is that it tends to consider that the elderly lose part of its vitality and are sad & quot; for the age & quot;, which causes many cases to be not diagnosed.
- Children: Depression is not common in children, although abuses, losses of loved ones or that one of the parents suffer from severe depression, can increase risk. Normally, they do not show typical signs, but they manifest it in problems in behavior. Normally, irritability, aggressiveness and school problems.
- Teens: The suicide of teenagers is becoming one of the main causes of death. Adolescents experience important hormonal changes, and it is a time when family ties are weakened when they have not yet been formed as individuals. Depression in adolescents, as in children, usually manifest with problems at school, sudden changes in humor or in sense behavior, inability to recover after a disappointment, etc.
- Residents in cities: It is not known why, but the inhabitants in cities are depressed more than the people who live in rural areas. This happens in severe depression, not in other forms of depression.
- Chronic sick: It is normal to feel sad when you are sick or has been diagnosed with a chronic or serious disease. However, it is not normal to be depressed.
- Drugs and alcoholism: A high percentage of depressions - especially in men - is caused by the use of depressive drugs, among which is alcohol, narcotics, sedatives and Tranquilizers.
Attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity.
attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a disorder that affects development behavior, attention and learning of children. If it is not recognized, these children may face undue criticism, failure and disappointment, while their parents struggle with what to do.
Children with ADHD are easily distracted and have trouble concentrating. They can be impulsive and seem to act without thinking, touching objects that are out of bounds or run to follow a ball streetpara apparent concern for their own safety. In quiet moments, you may know what to do. They can not cope well with frustration and can have dramatic mood changes. At school they may be restless and be full of energy, finding it difficult to stay still, constantly jumping from his seat, as if they were unable to control their perpetual motion. They often have difficulty with sequencing and organizational skills. Others who can not concentrate can sit quietly, daydreaming and looking & quot; go with the thought & quot ;. Because of their behavior other children and teachers can reject them, in the process, their report cards can be disappointing and self-esteem can suffer, despite the fact that often are as smart as their peers.
Over the years, a variety of labels such as minimal brain dysfunction, hyperkinetic / impulsive disorder, hyperkinesia, hyperactivity disorder, and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, have been used to describe children with some of these behavioral problems. Now, most experts are using the term disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as a diagnosis for children whose behavior tends to be characteristically impulsive, distracted or a combination of both. Because all children have these features at some point, usually diagnosis require that symptoms for at least six months to seven years old, are evident in various situations and more intense are present than usually seen in other children of the same age and gender.
More than six percent of school-age children have ADHD. Boys outnumber girls. Researchers are evaluating multiple causes of the disorder, including heredity, brain chemistry and social factors. Some researchers believe that children with ADHD have abnormally low levels and imbalances of certain neurotransmitters, the chemicals that transmit messages between brain cells. Recent studies suggest that various parts of the brain may be working differently than in most children.
Many children with ADHD also have problems reading and other specific learning problems, which also interfere with their success in school. (Most children with specific learning problems do not have ADHD). Children with language difficulties and memory have homework problems that are exacerbated when the characteristics of ADHD as distraction and impulsivity are present. A child with ADHD can affect your family in many ways. Normal family routines can be difficult to maintain because the behavior of the child has been so disorganized and unpredictable, often for several years. Parents can not plan or other family events rides comfortably, without knowing what the behavior or level of activity likely your child. ADHD children often become & quot; manic & quot; and out of control in stimulating environments. They can also display aggressive and resistant behavior towards parents or have low self-esteem. This may result in exacerbation of the child for failing to meet the expectations of parents or to handle the tasks of everyday life due to symptoms of ADHD.
The school performance suffers and teachers also complain to the parents, who also have to deal with the difficulties of their children conflict with their peers, inappropriate behavior and have few friends. The condition can cause tremendous stress for families, who often seek physicians and others able to provide the care they need.
