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Tuesday, 22 May 2018 09:47

Depression

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In this day and age the incidence of this disease has increased significantly and it is interrelated with our society’s modern way of life. Factors that influence the frequency of this disease in the present day are extreme competitiveness, the breakdown between human relations, which goes hand in hand with a concurrent increase in consumption, and the crisis of human values.

In the field of psychiatry, depression is a metal disorder. It is important not to confuse it with depressive feeling, such as a sadness and worry, which is part of the spectrum of emotions that every person experiences throughout the day.
Depression is dominated by a feeling despair, which is usually accompanied by hypersensitivity as well as other symptoms. These may be related to the sphere of thought, such as thoughts of worthlessness, self-loathing, death wishes, even thoughts of suicide. 
Difficulty in paying attention and concentrating is another frequent symptom experienced by a person with depression, a fact that intensifies the feeling of worthlessness. 
On a somatic level the person may experience decreased energy, fatigue and a multitude of other disturbances such as headache, muscular aches or pains, etc. 
A person with depression usually avoids coming into contact with other people experiencing unbelievable isolation as a result; he feels empty and nothing offers him happiness or pleasure.

Loss of appetite, resulting in weight loss, and sleeping disorders are some other symptoms that are regularly noted. 
Anxiety is a disorder that often accompanies depression.

Causes of depression:

Α) Biological factors.
- There may be a family history.
- Chemical imbalance.
- The incidence of endocrine disorders.

Β) Psychological factors .
- The fear of ending a relationship with a loved one.
- The feeling of forthcoming illness.
- Disregarding the need of developing and reinforcing self-esteem by the parental family.

C) Social factors.
- Unemployment.
- A sudden change in living conditions.

It is all too clear that depression is a biopsychosocial disorder. 

Treatment:

  • Antidepressants.
  • Psychotherapy methods.
  • Electroconvulsive therapy under anaesthesia in medication-nonresponsive patients with depression has proven quite useful.

In the case of depression, it is appropriate to use the expression “every cloud has a silver lining”. If a person seeks medical attention from a professional he will not only recover, but through psychotherapy sessions he will develop skills that he did not have prior to ailing. 
He will acquire greater self-awareness and with the appropriate self-estimate, he will learn how to properly evaluate matters, relationships and situations that he is experiencing.

Read 4397 times Last modified on Wednesday, 23 May 2018 13:50