Depression

What is Depression
•Depression is a chronic, long lasting or recurring and treatable disorder, where the patient experiences sadness, worthlessness, loss of motive, loss of interest and/or hopelessness.
•Everyone occasionally feels blue or sad. But these feelings are usually short-lived and pass within a couple of days.
•When you have depression, it interferes with daily life and causes pain for both you and those who care about you.
•Depression is a common but serious illness.
•A depressive disorder is an illness that involves the mood and thoughts and in simple words can be expressed as persistent sad mood.
•Depression affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things.
•Depression does not affect one person alone but has its repercussions on his entire family, friends as well as his work.
•Depression is much more common than we believe. However to get precise figures in terms of its prevalence is difficult as many of them go undetected and untreated.
•Women are twice more often affected with depression than men.

•Genetic factor: People who have any of their blood relations suffering from depression are more prone to develop this condition and it has often been seen to run in families. Research is still going on to find out which particular gene is responsible for the same.
•Environmental factors: Certain situations in life such as loss of loved ones, major financial loss, difficult relationship, immense disappointment of any kind in life, physical or sexual abuse, etc. can trigger off depression. History of persistent deprivation in infancy is also associated with the development of depression at a later stage in life.
•Gender: After puberty, women are twice as likely to develop depression as compared to men. Before puberty, the incidence largely remains the same for both the sexes.
•Neurotransmitters: These naturally occurring brain chemicals linked to mood are thought to play a direct role in depression.
•Hormones: Changes in the body & is balance of hormones may be involved in causing or triggering depression. Hormone changes can result from thyroid problems, menopause or a number of other conditions.
•Early childhood trauma: Traumatic events during childhood, such as abuse or loss of a parent, may cause permanent changes in the brain that make you more susceptible to depression
•Biochemical factors: Levels of chemical substances in the brain, especially serotonin and nor epinephrine, are linked to depression. However, it’s still not clearly defined whether the change in their levels is the cause of depression or caused due to depression.
•Drugs: Depression can occur as a result of certain drugs especially corticosteroids, anti-parkinsonism drugs, levodopa; hypotensives like methyldopa, reserpine; cytotoxic drugs like vincristine, vinblastine, etc.
•Suffering from physical ailments especially chronic ones like heart disease, cancer, HIV can be the cause for developing depression.

•Persistent sad, anxious, or & empty & feelings
•Feelings of hopelessness or pessimism
•Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness
•Irritability, restlessness
•Loss of interest in activities or hobbies once pleasurable, including sex
•Fatigue and decreased energy
•Difficulty concentrating, remembering details, and making decisions
•Insomnia, early-morning wakefulness, or excessive sleeping
•Overeating, or appetite loss
•Thoughts of suicide, suicide attempts
•Aches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive problems that do not ease even with treatment.
•Weight gain or loss that is not intentional
•Feeling helpless
•Restlessness
•Feeling of being worthless or of no use
•Fatigue, lethargy

•Physical exam: This may include measuring your height and weight; checking your vital signs, such as heart rate, blood pressure and temperature; listening to your heart and lungs; and examining your abdomen.
•Laboratory tests: For example, your doctor may do a blood test called a complete blood count (CBC) or test your thyroid to make sure it & functioning properly.
•Psychological evaluation: To check for signs of depression, your doctor or mental health provider will talk to you about your thoughts, feelings and behavior patterns. He or she will ask about your symptoms, and whether you & have had similar episodes in the past. You & also discuss any thoughts you may have of suicide or self-harm. Your doctor may have you fill out a written questionnaire to help answer these questions.

•Homeopathy can effectively treat most forms of depression with good results. Research done in the past has also shown that significant improvement in depression symptoms and betterment in the quality of life of patients was clearly evident after homeopathic treatment.
•The duration of treatment for depression may vary from case to case and depends on several factors such as duration of the condition, its severity and its impact on the patient
•Homeopathy can positively influence personality traits that are working at the base of disease. The important aspect is that depression is a disease in which genetic make-up is topped with environmental stress result in disease.
•Homeopathic medicines are very deep acting and having potential to counter genetic tendencies.
•Homeopathy medicines address the root cause of the disease and hence prevent the relapse and recurrence of the condition.
•Last but not the least, homeopathy medicines are absolutely free from any side-effects as opposed to most of conventional medicines like anti-depressants and anxiolytics.