What is major depression?

Most women describe depression as sad and miserable feelings, unhappiness, down in the dumps, hopelessness but during our life we all could feel similarly for some short period. Fortunately it does not mean we have major depression.

Major depression (major depressive disorder, clinical depression, unipolar depression) is a serious medical illness which is persistent and can significantly interfere with women’s mental and physical health including thoughts, behavior, mood swings, life activities and physical conditions. Unfortunately major depression even can be a cause of disability. Major depression is a mood disorder with very specific symptoms which interfere with everyday life for weeks, months or years.

According to several surveys the major depression occurs twice as frequently in women as in men. More than 50% of clients who experience only one episode of depression could have next depression episodes as frequently as once or even twice a year. It is important to know that untreated major depression could lead to severity of depression symptoms and to suicide attempts.

Different women could be affected by major depression differently – some could experience depressed mood, troubled sleeping and weight loss, others may sleep and eat too much and continuously feel worthless and guilty. Most women with major depression will either have depressed mood or a general loss of interest in activities they once enjoyed, or a combination of both. In general major depression could trigger several negative symptoms.

Major depression causes

The exact cause of major depression is not clear – many scientists suggest that severe stress and chemical changes in the brain could provoke development of major depression. It was noted that several psychological, biological and environmental factors could all contribute to development of major depression.

Medical professionals discovered the evidence of a genetic predisposition to major depression – there is an increased risk of major depression in families with history of this illness. In some families major depression was observed in different generations but at the same time, major depression can be noted in families without any history of major depression.

Medical professional discovered increased frequency of major depression in some risk group women who experienced:

• Sleep disorders;
• Alcohol or drug abuse;
• Sexual and/or childhood abuse;
• Abuse in schools and/or failing a class;
• Dramatic stressful evens such as death or illness of loved once;
• Divorce or breaking up with partners;
• Social isolation for different reasons;
• Different serious diseases (cancer, on-going pain, thyroid, hirsutism, etc.);
• Use of steroids for different reasons including sport and chronic diseases.

It is well known that three neurotransmitters (norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine) which are responsible for transmission of electrical signals between brain cells are involved in mechanism of major depression development. According to scientists the chemical imbalance in above mentioned neurotransmitters can trigger clinical symptoms of major depression.

Major depression symptoms

Major depression symptoms could change the life of sufferers – to change behaviors, lifestyle, relations with people, the quality of performances, interests, even appearances. Women with major depression sometimes cannot recognize themselves (how they look, how behave) – main changes are usually negative attitudes.

Most common major depression symptoms include the following:

• Lack of energy and on-going fatigue;
• Persistent bad mood – sadness and irritability;
• Lost interest and/or pleasure in previously enjoyable activities;
• Changes in sleep patterns – interrupted sleep, unusual long sleep, difficulties in trying to sleep;
• Agitation, restlessness, helplessness, emptiness and/or hopelessness;
• Difficulties in concentration and memory – difficulty thinking, concentrating on subjects and remembering;
• Persistent feelings of isolation and ignorance;
• Dramatic changes in appetite – overeating, binge eating, food addiction, food refusal with weight gain or loss;
• Feelings of worthlessness, self-hate, and guilt;
• Suicide thoughts or suicide attempts;
• Anger and discouragement;
• Persistent physical troubles not responding to any treatment (headaches, digestive disorders, chronic pain).

Severe major depression could also have some psychotic symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions.

Major depression diagnosis

Medical professionals recognize major depression if women experienced at least five of the ten symptoms below for the same two weeks or more (for most of the time, every day) but one of symptoms should be depressed mood or lost interests:

1. Depressed mood;
2. Decreased levels of interests in any activity;
3. Appetite and weight changes (increased or decreased appetite, loss or gain of weight);
4. Sleep disorders – difficulty falling or staying asleep (insomnia), unusual long sleeping (hypersomnia);
5. Changed behavior – agitation, restlessness, helplessness;
6. Reduced energy – on-going fatigue, slowed down;
7. Thoughts of worthlessness or extreme guilt;
8. Difficulties in concentration and memory – difficulty thinking, concentrating on subjects and remembering;
9. Frequent thoughts about suicide or suicide attempts;
10. Feelings of worthlessness, self-hate, and guilt.

Major depression treatment

Treatment of major depression should be provided by health professionals and it is usually very effective – up to 75-85%.

There are several options for treatment and the method of major depression treatment should be chosen depending on individuals, symptoms, depression episodes and severity of the illness.

Main components of major depression treatment include medications (antidepressants) and psychotherapy.

The list of antidepressants is pretty long and it include Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), paroxetine (Paxil), fluvoxamine (Luvox), citalopram (Celexa) and escitalopram (Lexapro), Tricyclic, Bupropion (Wellbutrin) and Monoamine oxidase inhibitors.

Major depression prognosis

• In general, treatment of major depression is effective up to 85%;

• Sometimes antidepressants could demonstrate positive effect after few weeks but 4-9 months treatment can be very effective and can prevent recurrent episodes;

• Up to 15% of clients with major depression die because of suicide;

• Clients with recurrent major depression episodes need long treatment (months, years);

• The frequency of alcoholism and drug abuse is higher in patients with major depression.