Treating depression in US
Sadness, hopelessness, despair, loss of interest in life against the backdrop of the deterioration of emotional well-being … Most people are familiar with these feelings – they arise as a normal reaction to an unpleasant event or stressful situation, for example, it is natural to feel lethargic and devastation after the death of a close relative.
However, if these feelings arise without any apparent connection to external events and affect not only mental, but also on the physical condition of the person, they can be considered manifestations of depression.
Depression that occurs for no apparent reason, gradually increasing, and may escalate into more serious mental illness (if one is not one of the symptoms of one of the many mental illnesses and disorders). Some people suffering from depression, later diagnosed with manic-depressive psychosis (also known as bipolar disorder) – a disease characterized by periods of depression alternating with manic bouts (periods of extraordinary activity and excitability, uncontrolled behavior).
Symptoms of depression
Symptoms depend on the severity of depression. The main symptoms of mild depression – anxiety and frequent mood swings, as well as periodic tantrums for no apparent reason. Depression is more severe form causes loss of appetite, sleep disturbances, fatigue, loss of interest in life and others, difficulty concentrating. Slowed mental and motor functions, or vice versa – increases anxiety and the patient commits a lot of unnecessary movements, is in a constant state of excitement. In severe depression have thoughts of suicide, feelings of meaninglessness of life, hopelessness and uselessness. In the most severe cases are not excluded hallucinations and delusions.
Treating depression
Treatment of depression depends on the degree of its severity and stage of occurrence (exacerbation or psychotic episode). There are several medications for depression, which are widely used by many physicians, although some of these drugs have side effects that could lead to more severe psychological state (eg, cause suicidal tendencies).
Medicines for depression are used for a long time, but today their number is an acceptable number of pharmaceuticals, which according to some doctors, are often used unnecessarily. Antidepressive therapy also may include hospitalization, institutionalization, and a number of other activities aimed at relieving the symptoms of the disease. Nevertheless, some patients are forced to hold in the hospital for a long time, despite the complex of therapeutic measures.
Psychotherapy – one of the commonest forms of depression, helping alleviate the patient’s condition without resorting to chemicals that have a very negative effect on the state of many victims of depression. Depression affects many people of different ages at different times of the year, but most cases are assigned to a cold and dark time of year, for example, in the off-season and fall (so-called “seasonal depression”). Most depression medications used for other purposes – for example, mistakenly diagnosed depression in a healthy person, and after taking the medication his mental health deteriorated. Such errors lately is not uncommon, because of the emergence of a large number of available non-prescription anti-depressants, which are often used in the treatment of difficult diagnoses of diseases.