Understanding depression

CEBU, Philippines - Most people would claim to ‘know’ what depression is. But actually all they know of the condition is its outward cloak of sadness or loneliness. True, these observable symptoms are often the obvious signs of depression – but these may also represent things other than depression.

The website www.webmd.com defines depression as a mental health disorder, specifically a mood disorder characterized by persistently low mood in which there is a prevalent feeling of sadness and loss of interest.

While feeling depressed may be a common experience of many, serious or full-blown depression is a persistent emotional state, not a passing one – the average length of a depressive episode being six to eight months. The condition is different from the fluctuations in mood that everyone normally experience every once in a while. Thus, the webmd website states, the temporary emotional responses to the challenges of everyday life do not constitute depression.

Also, sad feelings or feelings of loss that emanate from actual or traceable causes – like death of a loved one, for example – is not necessarily depression, unless the feeling persists for a very long time. If it does, even if the depressed feeling is a result of bereavement from a loss, and goes beyond what psychologists call a “complicated bereavement,” then it is likely to be depression already.

The webmd website distinguishes two main types of depression: unipolar and bipolar. According to the website, if the predominant feature is a depressed mood, it is unipolar depression. But if the depression is characterized by both manic and depressive episodes separated by periods of normal mood, it is bipolar disorder, previously called manic depression, the website states.

Unipolar depression can involve anxiety and other symptoms but no manic episodes, the website adds. However, the website points out, for around 40 percent of the time over a 13-year period, individuals with bipolar disorder are depressed, making the two types of the condition quite difficult to distinguish.

The condition can worsen and become a major depressive disorder with psychotic features. Here, the depression is accompanied by psychosis. Psychosis involves delusions – the person has false beliefs and loses his touch with reality; or hallucinations – the person senses things that do not actually exist.

There is also the so-called postpartum depression, among women experiencing “baby blues” with their newborn. A case of postpartum depression, which hugged the news headlines several months ago, prompted the affected woman to snatch an infant from the maternity ward of a hospital in the city. The woman reportedly had a miscarriage and was having delusions that the infant she saw at the hospital was hers.

In countries where the winters are long and severe, a depressive condition called SAD, for seasonal affective disorder, is experienced. The condition is said to be related to the reduced daylight during winter. It is usually remedied by light therapy or as soon as the environment has brightened up after winter.

One may wonder: Why do some people get depression while others don’t? There’s no definitive answer, except that the condition can be caused by a variety of reasons. According to the webmd website, some people experience depression during a serious medical illness, while others may have depression from major life changes such as a move to another place or job or the death of a loved one. Others, the website adds, come from a family with a history of depression; they are overwhelmed with sadness and loneliness for no known reason.

The webmd website cites a number of other factors that may increase the chance of depression:

Abuse. Past physical, sexual, or emotional abuse can increase one’s vulnerability to depression later in life.

Certain medications. Some drugs, such as isotretinoin (used to treat acne), the antiviral drug interferon-alpha, and corticosteroids, can increase the risk of depression.

Interpersonal conflicts. Depression in someone who has the biological vulnerability to develop depression may result from personal conflicts or disputes with family members or friends.

Genetics. A family history of depression may increase the risk. It’s thought that depression is a complex genetic trait, meaning that there are probably many different genes that each exert small effects, rather than a single gene that contributes to disease risk. The genetics of depression, like most psychiatric disorders, are not as simple or straightforward as in purely genetic diseases such as Huntington’s chorea or cystic fibrosis.

Serious illnesses. Sometimes depression co-exists with a major illness or may be triggered by another medical condition.

Substance abuse. Nearly 30 percent of people with substance abuse problems also have depression.

But then again, many cases of depression have no conceivable causes. For the most part, the condition remains a mystery. To prevent depression or at least alleviate the symptoms of an obtaining depression, experts advise physical exercise, proper diet, substantial exposure to light, (especially sunlight), being around positive-minded people, and meditation or yoga.  (FREEMAN)