Depression is a mood disorder that, by a number of estimates, impacts approximately 19 million individuals in the United States (See NIH/NIMH Study). Understanding the causes and signs of this malady are the first steps to seeking help and feeling better.
Causes of Clinical Depression
There are a number of reasons for clinical depression. Depressive disorder can be an episodic illness and happen just one time in a person's lifetime or it can be a chronic and recurrent illness. Yet, if an individual has one experience of depression, the likelihood that they will have clinical depression once again at some period during their life increases incrementally.
Situational depression is a normal response to tough events. If an individual is faced with being fired from a job or losing a roommate and they are feeling upset or bad, they may find themselves feeling dejected. Generally, these feelings of being low and blue pass soon or even after a few weeks and life resumes.
Still, if feelings of depressive disorder continue for several weeks or even months, the depression may be chemical in nature. Chemical depressive disorder takes place when brain chemistry is altered and the person is not able to function normally. Chemical depression often runs in families and can be followed generationally. Another cause of chemical depressive disorder is brain injury. What might start out as a circumstantial depressive disorder may advance into a chemical depression if the circumstances extend over an extended of time.
One of the determinants on chemical depression is an alteration in brain chemistry. This can happen not only from brain injury, but also from illness or in response to stress. The three neurochemicals that determine emotions are serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. These chemical substances rise and fall across the day and can even be determined by lack of rest, lack of exposure to sun and changes in hormonal levels. Currently, it is not known if fluctuations in these neurochemicals result in clinical depression or if continued depressive disorder causes changes in neurochemistry levels. One theory is that lifelong depression is a maladaptive coping reaction to feelings and life circumstances which becomes chronically imprinted on the brain.
Symptoms
Signs of depression include feeling down almost every day, not enjoying activities that used to be pleasurable, weight variations, changes in sleep, feeling discontented or trouble reasoning, trouble with concentration, feeling tired or run down. Depressive disorder can also result in feelings of worthlessness and even suicidal ideation.
To be treated by a doctor, symptoms of depression must cause considerable suffering and impairment and be present for a minimum of two weeks. Also, bereavement due to the recent loss of a loved one is not ordinarily considered depression that is treated with medicine, since it is generally expected that this type of depression will resolve naturally over a period of months.
Once in a while feeling down is a normal part of the human experience. Even so, continued feelings of clinical depression may be signs of a more serious chemical clinical depression and should be assessed by a doctor. If you or someone you know is demonstrating the symptoms of ongoing clinical depression, please search for assistance. There are many treatment options and assistance is accessible and there are even agencies that will provide assistance regardless of ability to pay.
