Psychiatric Disorders: Depression

Depression is a psychiatric disorder that is characterized by feeling blue or sad. While most people feel sad at some point in their lives, depression is a disorder in which a person's sad mood lasts for weeks at a time and is severe enough to interfere with his or her life. Depression is very common, but it is also serious, and many people with depression never seek treatment.

Causes of Depression

• Depression is a disorder that often does not have a single simple cause. Usually there are several factors that, combined, cause depression. Depression may run in families, so a person may be more prone to depression if another family member suffers from it. Depression may also follow a difficult or transitional time in a person's life. An event like being fired from a job or losing a loved one can trigger depression. Sometimes the seasons can cause depression. More people feel depression in the winter, and this may be due to the lack of sunlight during that time. Drug and alcohol use may cause or worsen depression.

Symptoms of Depression

• Each person experiences depression differently. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV (DSM-IV) is the book of standards that psychiatrists use to determine whether a person's symptoms meet the criteria for a psychiatric disorder. The DSM-IV characterizes depression as a sad or depressed mood that lasts for at least two weeks. Other symptoms of depression may include anxiety, feelings of guilt, hopelessness or worthlessness, irritability, loss of pleasure or interest in favorite activities, fatigue, insomnia or too much sleeping, difficulty concentrating, thoughts of death or suicide, appetite loss or overeating, and weight gain or weight loss.

Depression and the Brain

• Brain scans of people with depression have revealed significant differences when compared to people who are not depressed. The hippocampus is a part of the brain responsible for both mood and memory, and in people with depression, it is less active than in people without depression. Disturbances in circadian rhythms, the sleep-wake cycle, may also trigger or worsen depression. Another biological theory about depression is that the brain's levels of serotonin, a chemical that helps the brain communicate and send messages, may be low in people suffering from depression.

Treatments for Depression

• There are several treatments for depression. Psychotherapy or counseling have been shown to help people manage and overcome depression. Because levels of serotonin in the brain are sometimes low, medications that block the return of serotonin to certain cells can help because they force serotonin to send its messages to other cells for a longer period of time. These antidepressant medications are called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, and may be very helpful to combat depression. For depression that is caused or exacerbated by a lack of sunlight, light therapy may be helpful. With light therapy, a person with depression is exposed to artificial sunlight for a certain amount of time every day. This may be helpful for people who have depression in the wintertime. Electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT, may be helpful for people with severe depression. In ECT, a short electric current is applied to the brain. ECT is especially helpful for people whose symptoms are not alleviated by other forms of treatment.

Living with Depression

• Depression can often be a recurring illness, meaning a person may have more than one episode over the course of a lifetime. Often depression is a lifelong illness. Seeking help immediately upon the onset of depression may make the episode less severe. A person who has experienced depression must self-monitor mood and watch for symptoms of another episode. Behavioral treatments such as psychotherapy may be especially helpful in preventing episodes of depression. Extended use of antidepressant medications may help prevent subsequent bouts of depression..