Signs, Symptoms and Treatment of Depression

What comes through your mind when you hear the word depression? A lot of people have no idea what depression is all about. They have no idea how important is to understand the meaning of depression. We may have the opportunity to save a human’s life, if we understand the meaning of depression, the symptoms, and their treatments that psychologist have to offered. Do you have any idea of how depression can affect a person’s lifestyle? According to the American Psychiatric Association, Depression (major depressive disorder) is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act.

Depression causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease a person’s ability to function at work and at home. Life is not easy we all have ups and downs from time to time, we might have lost our job, failed a class, lost a family member, filed for a divorce etc.

However, if our mind is healthy enough the sad emotions should go away in a few days, but what if it doesn’t happen? What if our sad emotions don’t go away? What if you keep feeling the same way for a couple of weeks or even months.

Will that be ok? No that’s not ok for a person to feel sad, loss of interest, Feeling sad or having a depressed mood, Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed, Change in appetite, weight loss or gain unrelated to dieting, Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much, Loss of energy or increased fatigue, Feeling worthless or guilty, Difficulty thinking, Thoughts of death or suicide, these are some of the symptoms that we need to be aware that you might be suffering from depression.

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Symptoms must last at least two weeks for a diagnosis of depression they can vary from mild to severe, however, not everyone who is experiencing depression will have all of these symptoms.


Psychotherapy has an excellent track record of helping people with depressive disorder. While some psychotherapies have been researched more than others, many types can be helpful and effective. A good relationship with a therapist can help improve outcomes. For most people, psychotherapy and medications give better results together than either alone, but this is something to review with your mental health care provider.

Many clinicians are trained in more than one kind of psychotherapy, so ask your clinician what kind of psychotherapy they practice and how it can help you. A few examples include: Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has a strong research base to show it helps with symptoms of depression. This therapy helps assess and change negative thinking patterns associated with depression. The goal of this structured therapy is to recognize negative thoughts and to teach coping strategies. CBT is often time-limited and may be limited to 8–16 sessions in some instances.

Psychodynamic therapy is a therapeutic approach rooted in recognizing and understanding negative patterns of behavior and feelings that are rooted in past experiences and working to resolve them. Looking at a person’s unconscious processes is another component of this psychotherapy. It can be done in short-term or longer-term modes. Learn more about psychodynamic therapy. Psychoeducation involves teaching individuals about their illness, how to treat it and how to recognize signs of relapse. Family psychoeducation is also helpful for family members who want to understand what their loved one is experiencing.

Support groups, meanwhile, provide participants an opportunity to share experiences and coping strategies. Support groups may be for the person with the mental health condition, for family/friends or a combination of both. Mental health professionals lead some support groups, but groups can also be peer-led. For some people, antidepressants may help reduce or control symptoms. Antidepressants often take 2-4 weeks to begin having an effect and up to 12 weeks to reach full effect. Most people will have to try various doses or medications to find what works for them. Here are some antidepressants commonly used to treat depression:

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) act on serotonin, a brain chemical. They are the most common medications prescribed for depression. Fluoxetine (Prozac), Sertraline (Zoloft), Paroxetine (Paxil), Citalopram (Celexa) Escitalopram (Lexapro)

There are different types of depressive disorders. Symptoms can range from relatively minor (but still disabling) through to very severe, so it’s helpful to be aware of the range of conditions and their specific symptoms. Major depression is sometimes called major depressive disorder, clinical depression, unipolar depression or simply ‘depression’. It involves low mood and/or loss of interest and pleasure in usual activities, as well as other symptoms. The symptoms are experienced most days and last for at least two weeks. Melancholia is the term used to describe a severe form of depression where many of the physical symptoms of depression are present. One of the major changes is that the person starts to move more slowly. They’re also more likely to have a depressed mood that is characterized by complete loss of pleasure in everything, or almost everything.

Psychotic depression Sometimes people with a depressive disorder can lose touch with reality and experience psychosis. This can involve hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that aren’t there) or delusions (false beliefs that aren’t shared by others), such as believing they are bad or evil, or that they’re being watched or followed. They can also be paranoid, feeling as though everyone is against them or that they are the cause of illness or bad events occurring around them.

Antenatal and postnatal depression women are at an increased risk of depression during pregnancy (known as the antenatal or prenatal period) and in the year following childbirth (known as the postnatal period). The causes of depression at this time can be complex and are often the result of a combination of factors. Bipolar disorder used to be 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 vary in intensity – symptoms include feeling great, having lots of energy, having racing thoughts and little need for sleep, talking quickly, having difficulty focusing on tasks, and feeling frustrated and irritable.

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) and periods of depressive symptoms, with very short periods (no more than two months) of normality between. The duration of the symptoms is shorter, less severe and not as regular, and therefore don’t fit the criteria of bipolar disorder or major depression. Dysthymic disorder the symptoms of dysthymia are similar to those of 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.

Stages of recovery is a unique and individual process that everyone goes through differently. However, there are some common emotions that many people may experience. Shock at having to deal with something difficult and scary that you have no prior experience of. Denial or difficulty in accepting having a health problem, particularly one that many people find hard to understand. Despair and anger at having to deal with the condition and its related difficulties. Acceptance of having a condition and the changes it brings, and accepting how others see you and how you see yourself.

It is very important to pay attention to any signs and symptoms of depression, if you or someone you know is suffering from depression help them find some help encourage them to find some help. Depression can go for years and years if left untreated. Good thing we have a few effective treatments available, and also there are a few things that you can do yourself to recover and maintain a good lifestyle. Everybody is different not everybody needs the same treatments, the best thing you can do is speak out and make sure you get some help. the first step is to talk with a professional about your treatment options, be patient recovery usually takes time, just remember you are not alone. They are billions of specialists around the world willing to help you. Everything has arrangement except death. Once you die nothing can be done.

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Signs, Symptoms and Treatment of Depression. (2021, Apr 24). Retrieved from

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