MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER (MDD)
by Jacqueline Qiu
by Jacqueline Qiu
Nowadays depression is not just a simple facial expression anymore, is different from the general feelings of sadness felt at some point in their lives by everyone. It is more a mental health illness marked by persistent low mood. According to (Hunter & Sc, n.d.: 1) major depressive disorder is described as “feelings of persistent sadness, worthlessness and hopelessness.”
It is considered a mood disorder because mood is compelling disrupted, causing alter in the feeling, thinking, and perception of a person's environment and relationships. When a person suffers from the disorder, it affects all aspects of his or her life, often causing significant useful difficulties. It is possible to impair the ability to go to work or school or perform daily activities, as well as interpersonal relationships. Depression at its worst could lead to suicide. Based on (Who.int, 2019), every year, almost 800 000 people die from suicide. Suicide among 15-29-year-old and is the second leading cause of death.
Symptoms of Major Depression
Major depressive disorder requires a distinct change of mood the person can gain or lose weight, consume more or less than normal, have concentrating issues, and have more than average sleep and sleep problems. He or she may feel exhausted and have no interest in work or play time. The individual can seem sluggish or anxious or irritated. Others can see the signs very clear. A particularly painful symptom of this condition is a sense of worthlessness and regret that cannot be removed. The person may feel guilty of a specific life experience or may feel a general guilt that is not specifically related to anything. These changes must last for at least 2 weeks with almost every day for most of the day five or more signs.
If there is enough suffering and self-criticism, it can lead to feelings of hopelessness, self-destructive behavior, and suicidal thoughts. The vast majority of people suffering from severe depression are not trying or committing suicide but are more given to do so than people who are not depressed.
A dark mood also clouds the thoughts of people with major depression. Pessimistic ideas, for example, may be out of proportion with the situation's reality. The depressive mind is sometimes confused enough to be considered "psychotic;" that is, the individual has great difficulty in acknowledging reality. Occasionally, depressed people develop delusions (false beliefs) or hallucinations (false perceptions).
Causes
The cause of major depressive disorder is still unfound. But in the nature of the condition, there are many factors that play a part. Depression is the result of a complex social, psychological and biological interaction. People who have experienced unfavorable events in their lives (unemployment, deprivation, psychological trauma) are more likely to develop depression. In turn, depression can lead to more stress and disorder and make worse the life situation and depression of the affected person.
Genetic could be one of the reasons, a family history of depression is likely to develop disorder than the general population. Environment is another aspect, the way they were grown, such as childhood trauma, abuse or even stressful life event all this can accumulate slowly and then later erupt. During a serious medical condition, many people experience anxiety. Others may experience depression with changes in life such as a relocation or a loved one's death. Those who do can experience depression and for no known reason feel overwhelmed by sadness and loneliness.
Treatment
Depending on the intensity of the effects, there are many ways to treat depression. For each of these treatment, individual success differs, and the selection of care relies on personal preference as well as medical advice. The most helpful treatment is a combination of psychotherapy and medication. Normally depressed people don’t even know that they are depressed, therefore the first step should wait and see if the symptoms pass after a couple of weeks. Strategies for exercise and self-help such as mindfulness are recommended as helpful addition in curing process. If the above strategies do not seem to work, talk therapy could also be another choice.
Based on the causes of depression, the quality of family and other social support, and personal style and choice, a variety of psychotherapy methods have been shown to be effective. A cognitive behavioral therapy approach was designed to help a depressed person understand negative thinking and demonstrate pain control techniques. Psychodynamic, insight-oriented and behavioral psychotherapy may help depressed people resolve conflicts in important relationships and discover the context of symptoms causing them.
To conclude, the World Health Organization estimates that more than 300 million are affected by depression globally and one of the main causes to disability worldwide, plus a top contributor to the overall global burden of disease. This shows, that today world is getting more complex, nowadays younger people experience more isolations than the past generations. So why are we all feel like that? Nobody really knows. Depression can be a scary, debilitating condition at its worst. However, in my opinion many of these people and their families avoid thinking about this issue and don't know where to turn for support. I believe that the first and most critical way to recover is to recognize depression and seek help. Below is a video that tells the story of overcoming the “black dog of depression”.
References:
Jacqueline Qiu (9019)
Patrícia Aráujo
Interpersonal Skills
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