Depression

Depression

I believe that depression is a serious problem for some people. Their are many types of depression including Major depression, Psychotic depression, Dysthymic disorder, Bipolar disorder also called Manic depression. All of these depressions have something in common, they all effect people. It can cause a person to self harm and because they are depressed, they might even go to the extent of killing them self(suicide). It is estimated that about 121 million people worldwide have some form of depression. You can not count how many types of depression there is out there, because some can go under the same categories, or some can have the exact symptoms with just one difference because people can experience them differently. The three main points that shall be addressed are the types of depression and their symptoms, the effects of depression including self harm and even suicide and the last point being about the ways on getting help, and how to get through depression.

There are so many different types of depression and symptoms that occur which can all effect people in different ways either by the symptoms or the actual ways in which the depression shows it self in the individual. Here are some types of depression and their symptoms. Major depression, clinical depression, unipolar depression. These depressions usually have symptoms involving low mood and/or loss of interest and pleasure in usual activities, they can also effect the persons thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical being. Melancholia normally shows physical symptoms like the person could move quite slowly, they also might have a depressing mood and lose interest in almost everything.
Psychotic depression can cause people to lose touch with reality, they can also experience hallucinations, they can feel paranoid or even think that they are being watched or followed. Bipolar disorder also known as ‘manic depression’ because the person experiences periods of depression and periods of mania, with periods of normal mood in between. Mania is like the opposite of depression and can have symptoms including a person feeling great, having lots of energy, having racing thoughts and little need for sleep, talking fast, having difficulty focusing on tasks, and feeling frustrated and irritable. This depression can come from family history and stress or conflict. Cyclothymic disorder is often described as a milder form of bipolar disorder. The person experiences chronic fluctuating moods over at least two years, involving periods of hypomania (a mild to moderate level of mania). Dysthymic disorder has similar symptoms to major depression but are less severe. However, in the case of dysthymia, symptoms last longer. A person has to have this milder depression for more than two years to be diagnosed with dysthymia, last of all is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) this is a mood disorder that has a seasonal pattern. The cause of the disorder is unclear; however it is thought to be related to the variation in light exposure in different seasons. It is characterised by mood disturbances (either periods of depression or mania) that begin and end in a particular season.

The types of depression and their symptoms can cause a huge effect on these individuals and can make them do things to themselves. Some are fully aware of what they are doing or sometimes the depression is so intense that they think that to them it is the right thing to hurt them self, that to others is totally unacceptable because they might have hallucinated someone told them to do. Depression can cause behaviours such as drug or alcohol addiction. It also can ruin relationships, cause problems at work, and make it difficult to overcome serious illnesses. Some people can not be fully treated because there could have been a significant reason why they were depressed in the first place. These people may self harm because they think that to them it is the only way to deal with the problem and that there is no other way to get though it apart from hurting themselves. They may even go to the extent of suicide because their depression could be to hard for them to handle.

You can not just get though depression with a snap of the fingers it takes time. But thankfully there is a solution to get though depression. The key is to start small and build up from there. Feeling better takes time, but you can get there if you make positive choices for yourself each day. Just thinking about the things you should do to feel better, like going for a walk or spending time with friends, can be exhausting. There are so many people out there willing to help people in need for closure all they have to do is ask. Many people do not ask for help because they feel ashamed or embarrassed but there is no need because thousands of people go though depression, do you think John Kirwan felt ashamed when he came out on tv with his problem. People that you can talk to or get help from include your family and friends, doctors, consolers, Physiatrist, mental health communities or even your local emergency room can help you. Because remember your not alone no matter how down you feel there is always someone looking out for you. You can also help yourself by socialising with people and going out by doing different activities eg walking around the block or take up a sport. You can also change your diet, because it sometimes can look like a last resort when you are feeling down.

I believe that depression is a serious problem that can effect many people. There are many types of depression including Major depression, Psychotic depression, Dysthymic disorder, which can all have different symptoms and the effects of depression are quite horrific, like for instance suicide. But luckily there are people and places out there to help treat or get though depression, eg. doctors, consolers and physiatrists. Depression needs to stop now.