What is Major depressive disorder?

Have you ever felt so sad, empty and hopeless that you can’t even focus on the simplest of things? You should always keep all your cards open, so if you have feelings you don’t understand and want them explained, you’re on the right place.

Depression

Depression is a state of low mood, and it makes an individual avoid their activities; which can affect a person’s behavior, thoughts, feelings and his or her sense of well-being. Individuals that are suffering from depression feel sad, worried, worthless, helpless, hopeless, empty, anxious, hurt, irritable and restless. They often lose interest in activities that were once enjoyable, lose appetite or start having problems concentrating, remembering details, and maybe even overeating. They also have problems with making decisions and may think about, attempt, or in the worst case scenario, commit suicide. Insomnia, fatigue, loss of energy, aches and pains may also be present.

Is depression a disorder?

As I said, depression is a state of low mood, so it needs time to become a disorder. Major depressive disorder, aka major depression, clinical depression, unipolar disorder, unipolar depression or shortened MDD is a mental disorder that is characterized by low self-esteem and by loss of interest and pleasure in normal, daily activities. It was named and classified as one of the mood disorders in 1980 by the American Psychiatric Association. The term “depression” has a double meaning. It is often used to label this syndrome, but it may refer to other mood disorders or to lower mood states that are lacking clinical character. It is pretty much a disabling condition that affects a person’s family, school, work life, eating and sleeping habits and health in general. The diagnosis of major depressive disorder is based on the patient’s self-reported experience, behavior reported by friends or family, and a mental status examination. There is no laboratory test for major depression.

Views on depression and understanding it has evolved through years of researching, although this understanding is not complete and has left many aspects of depression as a subject for research and discussion. Proposed causes can be psychological, psycho-social, evolutionary and biological. Even long term substance abuse can cause depressive symptoms, or make them worse than before. All treatments of this disorder are based on theories of personality, interpersonal communication and learning. Most biological theories focus on neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine, which are natural assistants that help the brain communicate with the body’s nerve cells.

Symptoms and signs

As you know, major depression disorder significantly affects an individual’s general life. Its impact on functioning and well-being has been compared to strong and chronic medical conditions such as diabetes.

A person having a major depressive episode is usually seen in a very low mood, which attacks all aspects of life and with an inability to experience joy and pleasure in activities that were enjoyable before. Depressed individuals can be preoccupied with thoughts and feelings of inappropriate guilt or regret, helplessness, worthlessness, hopelessness and self-hatred. In malignant cases, people who suffer from major depressive disorder may have symptoms of psychosis. These symptoms include delusions and rarely hallucinations that are usually unpleasant. Other symptoms of depression are poor concentration and memory withdrawal from every social situation and activity, reduced sex drive and finally, thoughts of death and suicide. Insomnia is ordinary among the depressed.

Depressed insomnia has a typical pattern — a person wakes up very early and cannot get back to sleep. At least 80% of depressed people are affected with insomnia. Hypersomnia, or oversleeping, can also happen.

A depressed person may report a lot of physical symptoms such as headaches, digestive problems and fatigue. Appetite often decreases, with a result of weight loss, although increased appetite and weight gain sometimes occur. Older depressed people may have cognitive symptoms of recent outbreak, such as forgetfulness and a noticeable slowing of movements.

Depressed children may often show an irritable mood, rather than a depressed mood. Most lose interest in school and show a decline in academic performance. They can be described as demanding, dependent or insecure. Parents miss visiting a professional when symptoms are interpreted as normal moodiness. Depression can coexist with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Management of MDD

There are a lot of ways of managing MDD but the most common are:

• Psychotherapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy currently has the most research evidence for treatment of depression in children and adolescents.

Psychoanalytic techniques are used by some practitioners to treat clients with major depression.

• Electroconvulsive therapy
• Antidepressants

The most commonly used antidepressant is Zoloft (sertraline).

Lithium appears to be effective when lowering the risk of suicide in those with bipolar and unipolar depression.

Something’s not right

MDD is one of the most dangerous and strangest disorders. It can also be referred to as “the sickness of the modern age”. We have to fight mental disorders like this, because it’s nature’s way of showing that something is not right with this place.