A Guide to Mental Illness - Clinical Depression

DESCRIPTION

Clinical depression is where a person feels periods of extreme sadness. These periods are not short moments, they can last for weeks or even months. The disorder can be life-threatening- there are around 5000 suicides a year in the UK and most of these are linked to a form of depression. ^[1]

CAUSES

There are many things that contribute towards depression. In some cases, there may be a family history of it in which a gene that controls a mood balancing chemical in your brain is different. In many cases, a stressful or upsetting event has occurred which makes the person feel down and be in low spirits most of the time. Some people experience depression because they do not take part in many activites or have many interests. An excess of alcohol, use of recreational drugs and side effects of some medication have also been shown to cause depression. ^[1]

SYMPTOMS

The psychological symptoms of depression include a constantly low mood, a feeling of being useless, lowered self-esteem, feeling tearful, feeling guilty, low social skills, a lack of motivation, indecisiveness, thoughts of suicide or harming other people around you, being worried and low libido. On top of this there are physical and social symptoms such as slowed movement and speech, weight loss or weight gain (there have been links made between depression and eating disorders), irritable digestive system, aches and pains, tiredness and lack of interest in activites that were previously found enjoyable and menstrual cycle changes in women. A person with depression will find a dramatic decerease in social skills and low performance in activities. They may have difficulties with people. ^[1]

PREVALENCE AND SUSCEPTIBILITY

Around 15% of people will suffer from a form of depression in their life time and 2% of teenagers in the UK are affected by it. ^[1]. One in six people become depressed during their life and one in 20 get clinical depression. More women than men appear to become depressed but figures may be distorted as men may not wish to discuss their problems due to social expectations. People of all ages can be affected by depression. ^[2] 9.2% of all people living in Britain suffer from depression which is around 1 in 10 adults. ^[3] For depression statistics on countries outside the UK try the interactive map.

TREATMENT

There are many ways in which depression can be treated. Some people may have talking treatments where they discuss their problems and act in ways in which they can challenge their negative thoughts. There is also counselling where the person talks about their problems and find ways to overcome them. Many people take antidepressants but these can have side effects. ^[1]

SOURCES