Depression is a very common mental health disorder.
understanding depression may be challenging. Most of us face difficult and struggling times in our life. We feel low and depressed at times. There is a difference between low mood and having clinical depression. Hence Understanding Depression is essential.
Feeling low is a state which lasts for a very short duration and we get over it soon. But someone who is said to be suffering from depressive disorder has some specific symptoms present to be diagnosed as having depressive disorder. Depression is a mood disorder which has an impact on individuals thinking, feeling, behaviour and day to day functioning. By Understanding Depression, we can make a difference between daily mood lows and true depression.
People in society hesitate to open up to their near and dear ones also because of fear of being labeled and judged. One of my clients once said to me that her family tells her “ do not to take professional help and that when everything is fine at home why do you feel depressed”. The client used to feel constant pressure while she had to decide to visit me (Clinical Psychologist). She felt the family is not Understanding Depression she had.
“There is no need to feel low”, “control yourself”, “you are only pretending, so that you don’t have to study”, “why do you want to waste money by meeting a psychologist”, “what will people say”. It is so common around us, we keep hearing this each day. This clearly indicate their lack of Understanding Depression.
We all as a community needs to understand that none us wants to have Depression, no one does it intentionally. It’s a mental disorder that can happen to anyone irrespective of age, gender, caste, religion etc. It has to be an effort of society to accept people who are suffering from a mental health problem. Early awareness and identification will help a person feel more accepted in the society. To be more acceptable we all need to have, Understanding Depression that there are various causal factors for a person to have depression.
These causal factors can be biological, psychological and social. When we lose someone because of mental disorders we feel at loss, helpless and feel guilty of not being able to reach out the person on time. The awareness about what depression is will help the society understand that there is a diagnostic criteria for Depression, so this term should not be used loosely.
There are diagnostic criteria of Depression given in ICD-10. ICD-10 is the 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD), a medical classification list by the World Health Organization (WHO). It contains codes for diseases, signs and symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances, and external causes of injury or diseases.
There is a section F in ICD-10 which deals with Mental & Behavioural Disorders. This has the diagnostic criteria of all Mental & Behavioural Disorders. Following is the diagnostic criteria of Depressive episode as per ICD-10.
In typical depressive episodes the individual usually suffers from
- depressed mood,
- loss of interest and enjoyment,
- and reduced energy leading to increased fatiguability and diminished activity. Marked tiredness after only slight effort is common.
Other common symptoms are:
- reduced concentration and attention;
- reduced self-esteem and self-confidence;
- ideas of guilt and unworthiness (even in a mild type of episode);
- bleak and pessimistic views of the future;
- ideas or acts of self-harm or suicide;
- disturbed sleep
- diminished appetite.cientifically proven treatment techniques that can help an individual recover from depressive episode
For depressive episodes of all three grades of severity, a duration of at least 2 weeks is usually required for diagnosis, but shorter periods may be reasonable if symptoms are unusually severe and of rapid onset. by this understanding depression can be diagnosed rapidly.
Clinical Depression is a diagnosable condition. Clinicians who are good at Understanding Depression make a rapid differential. If you are going through some of these symptoms or if any one you know has been talking about these symptoms present in himself or herself, then suggest the person to reach out to mental health professionals like Psychiatrists or Clinical Psychologists. The Clinical Psychologist psycho-educates the client and the family about Clinical Depression, its probable causal factors and the treatments available.
Clinical Psychologist help the client and the family to deal with myths around mental disorders. They are trained and experienced to help the client understand the process of assessment, diagnosis and treatment. There are scientifically proven treatment techniques that can help an individual recover from a depressive episode. As per research the combination of psycho-pharmacological Treatment and Psychotherapy has shown excellent treatment outcomes.
Depression is very much treatable, but our lack of understanding depression as a treatable condition poses biggest challenge.
DrVijayPathak.com
