Depression is a disease that can affect any human being. It is characterized by a change in mood, behavior, or thinking. Depression can damage the mental and physical functions of those impacted by it.
Depression is the result of a combination of predisposing genetic factors coupled with organic and psychological factors.
Depression is generally associated with sadness or emptiness; However, some people do not have this feeling and are depressed. This has caused many people to be unaware of their depression.
Similarly, sadness is a normal state of mind; therefore, it cannot be said that a person who is sad one day or for some time due to any particular situation is depressed; however, when sadness and the general decline in mood are permanent, continuous, without limit, as a regular event, so the person is depressed.
Depression can occur due to different causes; however, the main reason why it can occur is due to loss. This loss can be the death of a loved one, the breakup with the partner, the loss of a job, illnesses, employment problems, family problems, loneliness, or tension, among other factors.
TYPES OF DEPRESSION
- Dysthymia: This is a chronic form of depression in which the mood is primarily low.
- Double depression: It occurs when dysthymia exists, and at the same time, an adverse situation in life is suffered, such as the loss of a job or a loved one.
- Atypical depression: It has a passive appearance, and without energy, there is an increase in appetite, hypersomnia, and fatigue.
- Bipolar depression or manic-depressive state: Includes two different phases of mood disorder. These phases sometimes succeed, but sometimes there is a period of stability between the two extremes. Depressive symptoms mix with anxiety, brainstorming, insomnia, and irritability.
- Seasonal affective disorder (SAD): It occurs when there is a temporal relationship between the appearance of a recurrent depressive disorder and a particular time of year (autumn or winter).
- Depression in children: It is a practical situation of sadness more excellent in intensity and duration that occurs in a child. Childhood depression changes according to the evolutionary period of the child’s life. Sometimes children can experience depression as a reflection of adult depression.
- Premenstrual dysphoric disorder: happens when the premenstrual symptoms get worse; it appears in the week before the menstrual period. It can trigger episodes of sadness, irritability, and increased appetite.
- Depression in pregnancy: It is shared between the first and third trimester.
- Postpartum depression: It begins at any time, from the first days to weeks after delivery; the symptoms appear every day and last more than two weeks; feelings of guilt, states of fatigue, and insomnia appear.
- Menopausal depression: Appears in middle age, and produces a feeling of sadness, often coinciding with marital crises; There is anxiety coupled with hot flashes and insomnia, which adds to the stress of depression.
- Depression in the elderly: It occurs due to decreased cognitive activity. The symptoms of depression, such as memory loss and poor ability to concentrate, can be easily attributed to age and are confused with senile dementia or even Alzheimer’s disease.
- Manic-Depressive State: The manic-depressive state is also known as Bipolar disease. It is a disease that produces severe mood changes ranging from depression, with excessively low mood, to mania, excessively high mood.
