Depression is a serious mood disorder that can severely impact one's life. It causes prolonged symptoms like sadness, loss of interest, and feelings of worthlessness. While the exact causes are unclear, it involves chemical changes in the brain and can be triggered by stressful life events or genetic factors. Effective treatments include antidepressant medications, psychotherapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy. With treatment, the vast majority of people with depression can experience relief from their symptoms.

1. Depression
Facts/Statistics
What is Depression?

2. • Depression in a true clinical sense is a mood disorder and is a very serious
medical condition. Depression can severely affect ones life as it can worsen
ones physical health, negatively affect ones feelings, moods, and behavior.
Most people in reaction to a loss or the normal struggles in life have at least
once in their lives experienced a quickly passing period of sadness or of
feeling blue. This short experience of sadness or depression is different from
true clinical depression.
• In true clinical depression there are greater and prolonged symptoms of a
mental disturbance. Periods of intense sadness, decreased energy, feelings
of worthlessness and a loss of interest in life are usually experienced.
• With clinical depression these symptoms can at times occur for apparently
no reason, last for years and interfere severely with ones attempts at
functioning normally in day-to-day life. Some before experiencing clinical
depression were at very happy points in their lives with no reason to feel
sad or depressed.

3. What Causes Depression?
• An exact answer to what causes depression is still not known.
Based on many years of observance and research, doctors
believe that depression is caused by chemical changes in the
brain. Biologically the brain of people with depression is
different from those who have never experienced depression.
A smaller hippocampus, lower levels of serotonin and excess
amounts of the stress hormone cortisol are evident in the
brain of depression sufferers.
• What causes these changes in one's brain that then inflicts
them with depression? This could be caused by many of
reasons, it could be triggered by stressful events in one's life,
it may be due to a problem with a persons genes, or a
combination of both.

4. Other possible causes, triggers, or
role players in depression:
• Stressful Event: A relationship breakup, loss of a loved one, job loss,
abuse, bullying, or unwanted social isolation.
• Medical Conditions: Under-active thyroid, diabetes, Alzheimer's,
stroke, cancer, Parkinson's, and heart disease.
• Sleeping Problems: Sleep is important as it revitalizes the mind and
body. When sleep is inadequate it can effect ones mood, can cause
one to be irritable and very tense.
• Medication: Certain blood pressure medication, steroids, antibiotics,
sleeping pills and birth control pills.
• Abuse of Drugs or Alcohol: Often people who are stressed or
depressed are known to drink or use drugs trying to make the
emotional pain go away. However the other is true as well, abuse of
alcohol and drugs could trigger depression.
• Hormone Level Changes: Pregnancy and childbirth can create major
hormonal changes in a woman and major levels of stress.
• Hereditary: Some types of depression can run in the family although
this is not always the case.

5. Effects of Depression:
• Very fatigued almost everyday
• Irritability or restlessness
• Avoiding social events, isolating oneself.
• Dramatic change in appetite, often with weight gain or loss
• Persistently feeling sad, hopeless, helpless, and worthless.
• Suicidal thoughts
• Loss of interest in activities that were once enjoyed.
• Concentration and decision-making difficulties.
• Effect on a person's work performance.
• Depressive Illnesses can have very severe effects on people's lives.
However, not every person with depression will experience the exact
symptoms or severity of symptoms. There are varying types and
severity of depression.

6. Types of Depression:
• Major depression or major depressive disorder: This type of depression is abnormal because of its
severity and persistence without reasonable environmental cause. It is often disabling as ones
ability to function satisfactorily in normal day-to-day activities are severely effected.
• Situational or reactive depression: This type of depression is triggered by a stressful life event and
usually does not persist long after the event which triggered the depression has ended.
• Dysthymia or chronic depression: This type of depressive illness is not of the same severity but is
generally a more chronic form of major depression. The low moods can persist in a person for
over a year yet the condition is usually not severe enough that it becomes disabling.
• Seasonal affective disorder: The depression associated with this disorder originates from ones
sensitivity to the lessening of natural sunlight that occurs in winter climates. The depression
symptoms with (SAD) tend to be mild and end with winters passing.
• Manic Depression: This type of depressive illness often includes severe major depression with a
cycling in of mania which can cause delusions or hallucinations during the alternate periods of
mania. The severity of this type of depression is often disabling.
• Postpartum depression: This depressive illness can cause a mother to disconnect from the needs
of their newborn and to have an extreme fear that they will harm the baby. Severe sadness and
suicidal thoughts are also often present.

7. Facts about Depression:
• Approximately 15 million adults in the U.S. has a major depressive disorder.
• Approximately 3.5 million adults in the U.S. has dysthymia.
• Globally more than 350 million people of all ages suffer from depression. (WHO)
• For the age group 15-44 major depression is the leading cause of disability in the
U.S.
• It is estimated that between 80-90% of people with major depression can be
effectively treated. (NAMI)
• Women are nearly twice as likely to suffer from a major depressive disorder than
men are.
• Depression can occur in anyone even children.
• With age the symptoms of depression become even more severe.
• About thirty percent of people with depressive illnesses attempt suicide.
• An untreated depressed person will on average die 25 years sooner than they
otherwise would have.
• Heart failure patients with moderate to severe depression have 4 times the risk
of dying compared to those without depression. (American Heart Association)
• Depression is one of the most treatable of all mental disorders.

8. Treatment for Depression:
• Most commonly used treatments for depression. (NAMI)
• Medications called antidepressants which come in various types ssri's, snri's, tca's and atypical antidepressants.
• Talk therapy which could include psychotherapy, behavioral therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy.
• If your depression is a less severe one then you may only need one of the above treatment options. If your
depression is a severe type then usually a combination of both treatments are used. In either case it is very
important that you take your medicine precisely as your doctor orders. However always make sure to ask
questions about any drugs being suggested for you by your doctor. Take an active role in your health as it's your life
and quality of life that is involved.
• Do not discontinue your drug therapy plan if you start to feel better. Do not stop your treatment because it seems
the medicine is not helping you. Do not stop taking your medicine because you do not like the way it makes you
feel. Stick to the plan, continue consulting with your doctor as he evaluates the effects of your therapy, by doing so
proper decisions about your medication can be made.
• With psychotherapy and cognitive behavior therapy it can help you become much more aware of your symptoms
and give you the tools to spot and be better able to avoid things that worsen your condition. If your doctor has
ordered talk therapy as a combination to your drug therapy make sure to keep all your therapy appointments as
this can greatly help the overall results of your depression treatment.
• Statistically as many as 30% of people do not feel better with antidepressants. Some people have treatment-
resistant depression. If this proves to be true in your case your doctor still has several options available that may
help. He could adjust your dosage or try different combinations of medications.
•
• With psychotherapy and cognitive behavior therapy it can help you become much more aware of your symptoms
and give you the tools to spot and be better able to avoid things that worsen your condition.

9. Some Alternative treatments for
depression.
• Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
• Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS)
• Trans cranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
• Dietary supplements (Mayo Clinic)
• Acupuncture
• Meditation (Brown University)
• Aromatherapy
• Hypnosis
• Guided imagery
• These alternative treatments for depression are most often explored
after determining a patients unable to improve with medication or
talk therapy. All treatment methods above may have their own side
effect risks so full consultation with a doctor is advised.

10. • Millions of people in the world are effected by
depression. Depression is complex, comes in many types
and can cause severe consequences to those it inflicts.
Without treatment in all likelihood your condition will
worsen and persist. However with treatment your odds
statistically for recovery from depression are very high!