Depression is a severe and frequent mental health condition that can affect the way you feel, behave, and act. It and causes a constant feeling of sadness and a loss of interest in everything. People who have depression can feel demotivated and find it difficult to perform even the simplest of everyday activities.
However, depression is more than just a feeling of sadness. More than 16.2 million US adults experience at least one depressive disorder episode once in a year. It affects around 7.1 percent of US adults above age 18 years. It is estimated that more than 300 million people suffer from depression worldwide.
1) THE COMMON DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS
There are different types of depression; many of them have common symptoms along with individual symptoms characterizing each type. If you experience the following symptoms for at least two weeks, then you may be suffering from depression.
The common depression symptoms are:
Continuous feeling of sadness, anxiousness or feeling empty
Having a lack of energy or feeling tired almost every day
Feeling hopelessness or pessimistic
Irritated or frustrated
Weight change or change in appetite
Having recurrent thoughts of death or suicide
Loss of interest in regular activities
Feeling worthless or guilty all the time
Either sleeping too less or too more
Difficulty in focusing on things or remembering things
Difficulty in making decisions
2) THE CAUSES OF DEPRESSION
Although there are particular causes of each depression type, there are several factors that are common to all depression types, which range from biological to circumstantial.
Stressful or traumatic events: Some stressful events can have a severe effect on our mental health, such as the death of a loved one, financial issues, or any abuse.
A person has a high risk of depression if they have someone in their family with a history of depression.
Sometimes hormonal changes such as menstrual cycles, pregnancy can also cause depression.
Change in the physical or chemical structure of the brain.
A person with a history of drug or alcohol misuse has a high risk of depression.
Conditions like chronic illness, chronic pain, or ADHD can also increase the risk of depression.
3) TYPES OF DEPRESSION
Depending upon various symptoms and signs of depression, it can be classified into the following categories:
Postpartum depression: More than Eighty percent of new mothers experience Postpartum depression. It includes feeling sad, fatigue, and having mood swings. These feelings make it difficult for a new mother to perform daily activities and look after their babies. Fourteen percent to 20 percent of new mothers in the US go through postpartum depression.
Persistent depressive disorder: It is also referred to as dysthymia, which is a kind of depressed mood that lasts for more than two years or longer. In this, a person has feelings of extreme sadness or hopelessness, experience low-energy, and indecision. More than 1.5 percent of US adults experience a persistent depressive disorder.
Bipolar Depression: Although it is different from depression, someone who has bipolar depression can also experience extremely low moods and extremely high euphoric moods, which meets the criteria for depression. It affects about 2.8 percent of US adults every year.
Psychotic depression: When a person is suffering from major depression, also experiences delusions or hallucinations, such as seeing or hearing things that do not exist. Then he is suffering from psychotic depression. It affects about 1 in 13 people in the whole world.
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD): In this, a person experiences depression during winters when the sunlight is less. It is accompanied by an increase in sleep, weight gain, and social withdrawal. It affects about 5 percent of US adults every year.
4) TREATMENTS FOR DEPRESSION
Depression is one disorder that can be treated even in extreme cases. The standard treatment for treating depression is antidepressant medications, psychotherapy, or both.
Antidepressants: Brain chemistry, along with several other factors, may be responsible for an individual’s depression. For this, to modify the brain’s chemistry, antidepressants are prescribed. They are not sedatives, “uppers” or tranquilizers. Antidepressant medication has no stimulating effect on people. People may feel some improvement after consuming antidepressants within two or three weeks.
Psychotherapies: Talk therapy can help people with depression. Telling your problems to a therapist can help to reduce the negative feelings and helps in feeling relieved. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is an effective therapy in treating depression.
DEPRESSION CLINICAL TRIALS AT CMB MEDICAL TRIAL
Convincing people to participate in paid clinical trials can be complicated. Several factors can influence the decision to participate in a clinical trial, the most prominent being whether you wish to contribute to the advancement of medications.
Your participation in a clinical trial does not only benefit other patients and prospect treatments for several diseases, but you can also get early access to medicines that are not yet available for the general public. You are also financially compensated for your time and effort.
Your participation in a clinical trial can help in medical advancement, and clinical research studies cannot be conducted without you. If you are someone living with depression, then you can participate in clinical trials at CMB in California.