Clinical depression and Its effect are on the brain and typically make it weak and affects judgment making.
A mental health disorder is characterized by continuous and long depressed mood or loss of interest in activities, causing significant impairment in daily life.
Causes of clinical depression
Possible causes of clinical depression include:
- When the stress coming from biological, psychological, and social activities, the combination of these factors causes clinical depression.
- Due to the increase in researches, research suggests that these factors are responsible for the changes in brain function, including the changes in the activity of certain nerve attachments inside the brain. The brain is not capable of thinking logically to the situations and solve the problems accordingly, it becomes very difficult for the brain to make a good decision in certain circumstances, the brain doesn’t know how to overcome the ups and down’s coming.
In India, there are more than 10 million cases of clinical depression per year.
Symptoms of clinical depression
People may experience:
- Mood: hopelessness, anxiety, loss of interest or pleasure in activities, mood swings, sadness, guilt, etc.
- Weight: excessive weight gain or weight loss.
- Sleep: increased sleep, insomnia, or restless sleep, a person may awake early from sleep.
- Cognitive: lack of concentration, showing laziness inactivity, suicidal thoughts may occur.
- Behavior: excessive crying, agitation, irritability, restlessness, and spending time lonely (social isolation).
- Appetite: poor appetite or repeatedly going over thought process.
Requires a medical diagnosis
The prolonged and continuous feeling of sadness and loss of interest that characterizes major depression can make changes in a range of behavioral or physical symptoms.
These may include changes in the sleeping pattern, appetite, energy level, concentration, daily behavior of a person, and self-esteem. Also the thoughts of committing suicide.
Treatment of clinical depression
Treatment consists of antidepressants, the main treatment to cure clinical depression is usually taking medication, talk therapy, or a combination of two.
Increasingly, the research suggests that the changes in the brain associated with depression can be normalized by these treatments.
Medications:
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors(SSRIs)
SSRIs are the commonly prescribed antidepressants for treating depression.
Know how SSRIs will improve your mood and what are its side effects.
How SSRIs work?
SSRIs increase the levels of serotonin in the brain to treat depression.
Serotonin work as the chemical messengers (neurotransmitters) which carry signals between brain nerve cells (neurons).
SSRIs block the reuptake (reabsorption) of serotonin into neurons.
Due to which the serotonin levels increased and they are available to improve the transmission of signals between neurons.
SSRIs called selective because they only affect serotonin, not other neurotransmitters.
SSRIs also treat other conditions like anxiety disorders.
FDA approved SSRIs for depression
The food and drug (FDA) have approved these SSRIs to treat depression:
- Citalopram (Celexa)
- Sertraline (Zoloft)
- Paroxetine (Paxil, Pexeva)
- Escitalopram (Lexapro)
- Fluoxetine (Prozac)
Side effects and prevention of SSRIs
All SSRIs work in a similar way and generally are responsible for causing similar side effects, though some people may not experience any.
Most of the side effects disappear after the first few weeks of treatment, while others don’t and your doctor is asked to suggest a different drug.
Side effects of SSRIs include:
- Insomnia
- Headache
- Diarrhea, nausea, vomiting
- Dry mouth
- Restlessness, nervousness
- Impact on appetite results in weight loss or weight gain
- Some sexual problems like reduction in sexual desire, difficulty in attaining orgasm, or disability to maintain an erection (erectile dysfunction).
- Dizziness
Cope with nausea
Nausea may be reduced by taking the medication with your food, you can also eat brain-boosting foods.
Also as long as your medication doesn’t keep you from sleeping, the impact of nausea can be reduced by taking it at bedtime.
The suitable antidepressant
It’s is probably difficult to find that which antidepressant is beneficial and suitable for you.
It also depends on many issues, like the symptoms you are suffering from and other health disorders you may have.
Ask your doctor and pharmacist about the most common possible side effects for your specific SSRI and read the medication guide for patients that come along with the prescription.
Anxiolytics (Anti-anxiety drugs)
What are anti-anxiety (anxiolytic) drugs?
Anxiolytics are medications that treat the health conditions like anxiety. These are called anti-anxiety or anti-panic drugs.
In generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) the anxiolytics are useful.
This disorder causes excessive tension to the individual and anxiety, significant distress, and does affect the ability of a person to function. Generalized anxiety disorder is treated by psychotherapy and medications.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
After general anesthesia the Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is given to the patient, in which small electric currents are intended to pass through the brain, to intentionally trigger small intensity seizures.
ECT causes changes in the chemistry of the brain that can quickly cure and reverse the impaired symptoms of certain mental conditions.
ECT is given to the patients in which the other treatments failed and they don’t show the desired outcome.
If higher electricity doses were given to the patients without anesthesia in the early stages of treatment then there are chances of memory loss, bone fracture, and other serious side effects.
ECT is a much safer treatment today. It has many benefits over few risk factors.
Specialists in clinical depression
Clinical psychologist- the purpose of a clinical psychologist is to treat the people who are suffering from mental illness or disorders primarily by giving them talk therapy.
Psychiatrist- The psychiatrist is concerned to treat the patients having mental conditions by recommending or prescribing medicines.
Primary care provider (PCP)- A primary care provider is a physician to whom the patient comes into contact at first. The emergency doctor is concerned to provide the immediate initial recognition, evaluation, care, treatment, and discharge of the patient in response to acute illness.
Emergency medicine doctor- They treat the patient in the emergency department. Max Hospital has a team of the best doctors for medical emergencies in Dehradun, UP, India.
The emergency doctor is concerned to provide the immediate initial recognition, evaluation, care, treatment, and discharge of the patient in response to acute illness.
