Most people mistake unhappiness for depression. Although it could be one of the signs, it’s not entirely an indication of it. Depression, in medical terms, refers to an illness that originates from mood, body changes, and thoughts. This disease affects how you eat, sleep, and feel about yourself.
Collectively, this mental health problem is usually referred to as major depressive disorder, which is the most severe type of depression. Being a disease that impacts many aspects of self, recognizing or acknowledging it can be challenging. Therefore, in this article, you will learn the causes, signs, and treatment of depression.
Depression causes range from biological to circumstantial. This means some causes are linked to your nature, and others depend on things like environment and events. These include family history, childhood trauma, brain structure, or drug use.
To clarify, if a family member has ever been depressed, chances are high that you might develop it. With childhood trauma, happenings in your past childhood can trigger depression symptoms. And for medical conditions, things like chronic illnesses, pain, or ADHD can lead to depression. Lastly, a history of drug use can also increase the likelihood of developing depression.
These causes can vary depending on factors like the degree of effect, self-care, and influence of others. More so, these aspects can also influence the signs of depression.
It’s worth noting that these symptoms will vary depending on things like gender or age. However, general symptoms that are common across the board include the following.
A sudden increase or decrease in appetite for food should be a significant concern to you. In most cases, it could be a sign of depression. This appetite changes lead to eating disorders like eating junk or failing to eat anything. As a result, one starts to lose or gain weight, which affects them physically and mentally. Since eating disorders are severe medical conditions, they can be a prerequisite to major depressive disorder.
Mild sadness is normal. It could result from a bad day at work or annoyance from a loud neighbour. However, when it gets to the state where it affects your thoughts or interaction with others, it could be a sign of depression. Mainly, these feelings give rise to other symptoms, such as anxiety and antisocial behaviours. When you notice these patterns, you should seek help or try to trace the triggers and avoid them.
Suicidal thoughts culminate in feelings of worthlessness, pessimism, guilt, and sadness. When overwhelmed with these moods and feelings, they tend to lose the meaning of life and get convinced that death is the way out. With the help of a psychiatrist, these feelings can be suppressed and replaced with more positive thoughts to promote recovery.
Sleep is essential to our mental health. People suffering from depression find it hard to sleep or stay awake. Again, healthy people might develop depression if they have poor sleeping habits. Therefore, it’s essential to watch your sleeping habits if you want to lead a better life. This is because sleep affects other areas, such as memory, learning capabilities, and accelerated ageing.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) treats depression by encouraging individuals to accept their emotions and thoughts without judgment, rather than trying to avoid or suppress them. The therapy focuses on helping people identify their values and commit to actions aligned with those values, even in the presence of difficult emotions. ACT teaches mindfulness techniques to increase awareness of the present moment, fostering psychological flexibility. By cultivating acceptance of painful experiences and focusing on meaningful goals, individuals can break free from the cycle of rumination and negative thinking that often accompanies depression.