All About Clinical Depression

It is important to understand how depression works and some of the many treatment options available to help and treat this malady. 

While everyone is prone to sad feelings on occasion, these feelings of sadness are typically related to a specific event.  But when feelings of sadness crop up over and over, then you may be suffering from depression, particularly if these feelings of sadness have no specific source.  People diagnosed with clinical depression often feel depressed without a clear reason. Although both women and men can suffer from depression, studies show that women experience depression twice as often as men.         

Feelings of self-loathing and sadness, low-self esteem and a lack of interest in participating in daily activities are general signs of depression. 

Depression may occur in families and is thought to be a heredity issue.  Over half of all sufferers have a genetic disposition to the illness.  Hereditary or not, let’s not forget that specific life events can often certainly trigger a case of depression.

Things that can cause the onset of depression can include the death of someone close to you, a loss of employment, the end of a relationship, moving to a new house or area or even a serious lifestyle change can all contribute to the onset of depression.

Depression is thought to be a result of an inefficient numbers of neurotransmitters in the brain. These chemical agents, called, neurotransmitters are chemical agents that cause us feel specific emotions. So it makes sense that if there is a lower amount of these neurotransmitters, serotonin and norepinephirne, within the brain, then depression can quickly take hold. 

Because of the relationship of neurotransmitters to depression, one of the primary medications used to treat clinical depression is a class of drugs known as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors or SSRIs. These medications cause the brain to be unable to soak up the access serotonin that is present.  With this limitation, there is more serotonin present in the brain, which can be very useful in eliminating the depressed feelings.

While you may not feel like making the call, it is important that if you feel you are sad enough that you feel you may have clinical depression, it’s important to talk with your physician immediately.  There’s no reason to wait.  Depression deserves to be treated and to be treated immediately and effectively.  While depression doesn’t exhibit clear physical symptoms, the consequences of untreated depression can be severe. 

So don’t live another day without making that call and getting the health you need in order to be free from depression. 

See Also: 
A Chemical Imbalance