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Depression hits a great number of people at various points in life. Most f the time, depression is a short term event that is an outcropping of some happening. Other times, however, it can be a chronic issue that can be as debilitating as any physical ailment. Regardless of which is the case, it is important that you understand as much about depression as possible if you think that you or someone you know is at risk of being depressed.
Types of Depression
There are many different descriptions and names for types of depression. The two main types are described as depression that comes from some trauma in life (death of a loved one, serious illness or injury) and chronic depression which seems to have no true cause and is a regular part of your life.
When it comes to trauma-induced depression, treatment can seem easy if only because you know the root cause of the problem. You can sit back and analyze the reasons for these types of depression and work on an effective cure for the problem through speaking to a professional, getting medicated or looking into homeopathic forms of healing. You see a light at the end of the tunnel and are very likely to try hard to reach it to find some semblance of normalcy in your life again.
Chronic depression is another story altogether because the cause of the problem is completely unknown and as elusive as the solution. People who suffer from chronic depression can spend years not even realizing that there is something wrong with how they feel because it is their normal. It can take a long time to diagnose this type of depression because it can be variable. There are times when a chronically depressed person is happy and goes through the full range of emotions. The mood can sometimes sour and result in ‘the blues’ and then freefall into full blown ‘life has lost all meaning’ depression. When the problem reaches this stage it can be difficult to get motivated to seek help, or when someone realizes that help is needed it can be too late. Chronic depression can stem in the youth and last decades or it can be spurred by an event and spiral out of control to hopelessness.
Major Types of Depression
You may have heard of such terms as bipolar disorder and SAD but there is typically little information given when they are mentioned. Unless you suffer from any type of depression and have a decent understanding of what they mean, these terms can carry some weighty repercussions. One of the most important parts of overcoming depression is understanding what you are experiencing and gaining control of the situation. These are the main types of depression along with a brief understanding of the issues surrounding them, including treatment:
Dysthymia (Mild Depression) – people who suffer from mild depression may simply feel deflated, suffer from low self esteem and generally a sad type of mood all the time. They suffer from depression in the mildest of terms by feeling the sadness but not being lost in it. There may or may not be a cause for this type of depression which means recognizing and treating it can be incredibly difficult and frustrating to the victim and their loved ones. Having mild depression does not mean you are sad and weepy all the time, but that it does not take much to knock you out of a good mood and into that sad feeling for a prolonged term; sometimes you do not have to be knocked out of your mood but it creeps up on you like a shadow.
Treating mild depression requires more than just medication, it is necessary to have some form of verbal therapy with a licensed practitioner. The treatment of dysthemia is a long term commitment because the depression has usually been there for a very long time and has changed the way the person behaves from being normal and predictable, to being erratic and confusing. The recurring nature of dysthemia makes long term treatment even more necessary because the depression has to be treated during episodes and normal periods.
Major Depression – The feelings of profound hopelessness, despair and unfathomable unhappiness mark major depression. Major depression is such a deeply unpleasant state of being that the person is actually unable to feel any sort of pleasure in any way (physical, mental, emotional) and may be unable to get motivated enough to participate in life. This type of depression does not always have to involve sadness, quite surprisingly, and can include symptoms like sleep disorders (too much or insomnia), extreme irritability, anxiety and even weight fluctuations (loss or gain). Major depression, like mild depression, does not require any trigger and can strike without warning. The greatest risk in major depression is suicide with a rate of about 25% of sufferers attempting to take their own lives, even announcing it before trying.
Treating major depression is quite similar to treating mild depression. Treatment requires both medication and verbal therapy, just on a higher level than with mild depression. There are stronger drugs used in treatment of major depression and a diverse group of doctors that handle the various aspects of major depression (behavioral, relationship, mental, emotional). |
