What is Depression?

Depression is the most commonly diagnosed emotional problem. Almost one-fourth of all Americans suffer from depression at some point in life, and four percent of the population have symptoms of depression at any given time.

The term "depression" can be confusing, since it's often used to describe a very normal emotion that passes quickly. Everyone feels "blue" or sad occasionally. But if that emotion continues for long periods, and if it is accompanied by feelings of guilt and hopelessness, it could be an indication of depression. The persistence and severity of such emotions distinguishes the mental disorder of depression from normal mood changes.

People who suffer serious depression say they feel their lives are pointless. They feel slowed down, "burned out" and useless. Some even lack the energy to move or to eat. They doubt their own abilities and often look on sleep as an escape from life. Many think about suicide, a form of escape from which there is obviously no return.

Other symptoms that characterize depression are sleeplessness, loss of self-esteem, inability to feel pleasure in formerly interesting activities, loss of sexual drive, social withdrawal, apathy and fatigue.

Depression can be a response to stress from a job change, loss of a loved one, even pressures of everyday living. Sometimes it just happens, with no external cause. The problem can be debilitating, but it is not insurmountable and no one should have to suffer its symptoms. With treatment, people with depression can recover and lead full lives.

Some persons suffer from manic-depressive (bipolar) disorder, an illness in which sufferers' mood may swing from depression to an abnormal elation or mania that is characterized by hyperactivity, scattered ideas, distractibility, and recklessness. Most people suffering from bipolar disorder respond remarkably well to the mineral salt lithium, which seems to even out the disorder's terrible highs and lows.

Psychiatrists have a number of effective treatments for depression -- usually involving a combination of psychotherapy and antidepressant medications. Psychotherapy, a common form of treatment for depression, addresses specific emotional responses that contribute to a person's depression. The discovery of such emotional triggers allows persons to change their environment or their emotional reactions to it, thereby alleviating the symptoms. Psychiatrists have a full range of antidepressant medications which they often use to augment psychotherapy for treating depression.

Almost all depressed patients respond to psychotherapy, medication, or a combination of these treatments. Some depressed patients cannot take antidepressant medications, however, or may experience a depression so profound that it resists medication. Others may be at immediate risk of suicide, and with these patients the medications may not act quickly enough. Fortunately, psychiatrists can help these patients with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), a safe and effective treatment for some serious mental disorders. In this treatment, the patient receives a short-acting general anesthetic and a muscle relaxant followed by a painless electric current administered for less than a second through contacts placed on the head. Many patients report significant improvement in their mood after only a few ECT treatments.

Learn more about depression

continue: Anxiety Disorders: Excessive Fear, Worry and Panic Attacks