It is common for people to have varying emotions on different days in their lives. That long-waited promotion may make humans feel extremely happy while that painful divorce may leave them devastated and grieving. These mood fluctuations are normal, but it is when they start having an impact on peoples lives that they should get worried one may be suffering from a mood disorder. Serious changes in one’s moods that start disrupting their normal life are the first sign of having a mood disorder. At any given time, around 20 percent of the world's population suffer from mood disorders. Some states of mood disorder include depression and bipolar disorder. For the purpose of this assignment, the research will major in the diagnosis of depression.
Depression is a major medical condition that has a negative effect on a person’s feelings, thinking, and how one acts. Depression makes one feel sad and lose interest in things that one once enjoyed doing. Research shows that depression in estimation affects one in 15 adults in any given year, which translates to around 6.7%. Also, around 16.6 percent will be depressed at some point in their lives, which translates to one in six people. Although depression may affect any person, it is more common in late teens to mid-20s (Parehk, 2017, para 3-5). Women have a higher likeliness to suffer from depression than men. According to Titcomb, the lifetime prevalence rate of depression in Western Europe and the United States is 17% (TitComb, 2015, pg. 1). He notes that individuals with medical conditions and physical illness will have increased levels of depression of 22 to 33 percent and 15 to 20 percent, respectively.
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Depression which is also referred to as major depressive disorder once it gets more serious is characterized by the presence of the key symptoms of lack of pleasure and an irritable mood for a period of 2 straight weeks and if at least four major symptoms are present (TitComb, 2015, pg. 1). The following are some of the key symptoms; suicidal thoughts, agitation, a decreased or increased appetite, a reduced decision-making ability, low energy than normal, excess feelings of worthlessness, lack of pleasure in most things and hypersomnia or insomnia. If a person experiences the above symptoms and criteria for more than two years, that is referred to as chronic depression (TitComb, 2015).
How do doctors treat depressed individuals? Fortunately, depression is a mental disorder with the highest rates of success in treatment. Between 80% and 90% of depressed people improve upon treatment (Parehk, 2017). Since brain chemistry plays a key role in depression disorder, doctors prescribe antidepressants to aid in modifications of a patient's brain chemistry. After a week or two of using an antidepressant, an individual starts showing some improvements, and full recovery may be observed after 2 to 3 months of using them. If a patient shows no improvements after two weeks, a psychiatrist may add a substitute or alter the initial dose. Patients are required to continue taking the dose for six months even after the symptoms disappear. Mild depression is treatable through psychotherapy, which may also include family members (TitComb, 2015). A substantial improvement is observable in a patient after 10 to 15 sessions of psychotherapy (Parehk, 2017). Individuals with major depression and are not able to respond to other treatments may require Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT). It requires the patient to be under anesthesia, where a patient’s brain is electrically stimulated. It is done 2 to 3 times a week for 6 to twelve times (Parehk, 2017).
I selected depression because it is the primary cause of suicide, especially among young people. Most young people die as a result of suicide, which is their second leading cause of death. Therefore, having knowledge about the diagnosis of depression will help save lives for young people, who are the future leaders and parents.
References
Parehk, R., (2017). What is Depression? American Psychiatric Association. Retrieved from https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression
TitComb, C., (2015). Depression- A review, ReCent medical news. Vol.30 n.1, Retrieved from https://www.hannover-re.com/727260/recent-medical-news-depression-a-review-2015.pdf
