Clinical Depression

Being depressed brings about a feeling like having a heavy burden that brings a feeling of loss, sadness or anger. Ideally, depression is considered as a mental health condition that is described by persistently depressed mood or losing interest in activities leading to increased impairment in daily life cycle. The likely reasons for depression comprise mixture of biological, psychological and social causes of distress (World Health Organization, 2017). Increasingly these factors may lead to changes in the functioning of the brain including altered activity of various neural circuits in the mind.

The persistent loss of concern and feeling of gloom that describes the main depression can cause a series of physical and behavioral signs. These may comprise variations in desire, sleep, energy level, concentration and self-esteem and daily behavior. In emotionally healthy persons, moods and emotions are controllable but for individuals with mental depression the mood is in control of the thoughts and body (Reddy, 2010).

Depression occurs as a primary or secondary diagnosis to medical disorder such as hypothyroidism, drug ingestion for recreational or medical use as well as reaction to a certain chronic medical diagnosis (Beck and Alford, 2009). Poor sleep habits, chronic anxiety and drug use as illicit drugs and prescription can lead to mental depression. Some kinds of depression include insistent depressive disorder which is a low mood that lasts for about two years, postpartum despair which is an extreme feeling of anxiety, exhaustion or sadness, or a seasonal affective disorder which includes social withdrawal. Depression can occur at any age but is prevalent during adulthood. Depression can lead to risk factors such as crucial life change, stress, trauma and physical illness.

References

Beck, A. T., & Alford, B. A. (2009). Depression: Causes and treatment. University of Pennsylvania Press.

Reddy, M. S. (2010). Depression: the disorder and the burden. Indian journal of psychological medicine, 32(1), 1.

World Health Organization. (2017). Depression and other common mental disorders: global health estimates (No. WHO/MSD/MER/2017.2). World Health Organization.