How to Leading Causes and Symptoms of Major Depression
Major depression is a mood condition that causes a continuing feeling of unhappiness and loss of interest. We also know it as depressive disorder or clinical depression, which impacts how you think, feel, and behave and may cause several emotional and physical problems. As a result, you may have trouble performing normal daily activities and sometimes feel that life is not worth living.
More than just a bout of sadness, depression is not a weakness, and you can’t just get rid of it. Major depression may require long-term treatment. But do not be discouraged; most individuals with depression feel better with medication, psychotherapy, or both.
MAJOR DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS
While depression may happen only once in a lifetime, individuals often suffer multiple episodes. Throughout these episodes, symptoms occur most of the day, almost every day, and may include:
- Lack of joy or interest in most or all regular activities, such as hobbies, sports, or sex
- Outbursts of anger, irritability, or frustration, even over unimportant things
- Feelings of unhappiness, tearfulness, emptiness, or hopelessness
- Sleep problems, including insomnia or oversleeping
- Fatigue and lack of energy, so that even small tasks require extra effort
- Increased food cravings and weight gain or reduced appetite and weight loss
- Anxiety, agitation, or restlessness
- Obsession with past failures, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, or self-blame
- Slowed thinking, speech, or body movements
- Suicidal thoughts, recurrent thoughts of death, suicide attempts, or suicide
- Trouble concentrating, making decisions, and remembering things
- Inexplicable physical issues, such as back discomfort or headaches
For many individuals with depression, symptoms are often severe enough to cause apparent problems with everyday activities, such as work, school, social activities, or relationships with others. As a result, some individuals may feel unhappy without knowing why.
SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS
Typical symptoms of depression in children and adolescents are similar to those in adults, but there may be some variations.
- In infants, symptoms of depression may include unhappiness, irritability, clinginess, worry, aches, pains, refusing to go to school, or being underweight.
- In adolescents, symptoms may include sadness, irritability, feeling worthless, anger, underachievement, or poor school attendance. Also, feeling misunderstood and extremely sensitive, using recreational drugs or alcohol, overeating or oversleeping, self-injury, losing interest in regular activities, and avoiding social interaction.
SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION IN SENIORS
Is not a normal part of aging, and one should never take it lightly. Regrettably, depression frequently goes undiagnosed and untreated in seniors, who may be reluctant to seek help. In addition, symptoms of depression may be different or less evident in seniors, such as:
- Memory deficits or personality swings
- Fatigue, loss of appetite, trouble sleeping, or loss of interest in sex, not because of a medical condition or medication
- They frequently want to stay at home instead of going out to socialize or do new things.
- Suicidal thoughts, especially in older men
LEADING CAUSES OF MAJOR DEPRESSION
Still, we do not know the exact causes of depression. However, as with many mental disorders, a variety of factors may be involved, such as:
BIOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES
Individuals suffering from depression seem to have physical changes inside the brain. The significance of these changes is yet uncertain, but they may eventually help identify causes.
BRAIN CHEMISTRY
Neurotransmitters are natural brain chemicals that probably play a role in depression. In addition, recent studies indicate that variations in the function and effect of these neurotransmitters and how they interface with neurocircuits implicated in maintaining mood stability may play an important role in depression and its treatment.
HORMONES
Some causes or triggers for depression may involve changes in the body’s hormone balance. For example, hormonal changes may result with pregnancy and during the weeks or months after childbirth, postpartum, and from thyroid problems, menopause, or other conditions.
LHEREDITARY TRAITS
Major depression is more common in individuals whose blood relatives also have the condition. Researchers are still trying to find the genes that may be part of causing depression.
This frequently begins in adolescence, between the ages of twenty and thirty, but it can happen at any age. Doctors diagnose depression in more women than men, but this may be because women are more likely to seek help.
Situations that seem to increase the risk of developing or causing depression include:
- Low self-esteem, being overly dependent, self-critical, or pessimistic.
- Traumatic or stressful event: physical or sexual abuse, death or loss of a loved one, a complex relationship, or financial troubles
- Family members with a history of depression, bipolar disorder, alcoholism, or suicide
- Being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, or having variations in the development of genitalia in a lack of support situation
- History of other mental health disorders: anxiety disorder, eating disorders, or post-traumatic stress disorder
- Alcohol or recreational drug abuse
- Severe or chronic illness: cancer, chronic pain, stroke, or heart disease
- Some medications: high blood pressure medications or sleeping pills (you should always talk to your physician before stopping any medication)
There is no fail-safe method to prevent depression. However, these strategies may help:
- Manage stress, increase your resilience and boost your self-esteem.
- Contact family and friends to help you get through difficult times.
- Seek treatment at the first sign of a problem to prevent depression from worsening.
- Consider follow-up treatment to help prevent a relapse.
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Finding the correct provider may be straightforward instead of overwhelming in answering questions. The provider should specialize in TMS therapy and have an experienced and trained treatment staff to support you. In addition, they should be able to customize your care to uphold your particular circumstances and coordinate with your referring physician.
Most importantly, you should feel confident about putting your health in their hands after your first consultation. If they do not check all the boxes for you, there is nothing wrong with looking elsewhere. You are the most important and should feel empowered to choose the best TMS provider for your care.