What is Depression ?

Depression disorder is also known as clinical depression, major depression, unipolar depression, or unipolar disorder is a disorder of brain in which the confidence and mood is low. The person loses interest in normal activities. It is also defined as theaggregation of symptoms. There are different types of depression including the psychological ones. The major depression affects the patient’s personal, work and social life in an adverse way. In the developed countries most of the people commit suicide and is related to the depression in one form or another.

The diagnosis of this disorder is based on the experiences which are self reported by the patient. It can also be done by friends or relatives. One can also go for an examination of the mental status of patient. No laboratory test for depression has been confirmed yet. The doctors rely on the physical conditions for the diagnosis. The time of onset of this disorder is mainly between 20 to 30 years. It can also occur between the third and fourth decade of life. It is quite common in women as compared to the men.

Most of the patients are treated with the help of medicines known as anti depressants. It is also helped by the counseling along with psychotherapy. One must be hospitalizedwhen the patient harms himself or others. A few patients are also treated with the help of general anesthesia. These disorders are episodic in nature and are not regular in occurrence. They have a shorter life span and have greater chances of suicide and illness. It is also thought to be stigma on society.

The nature and cause of this disorder is not clearly known till date. The causes are multi factorial and include the psychological, hereditary, biological and evolution type. The psychological treatment relies on personality and learning. The biological theories rely on the secretion of chemicals.