An episode of depression serious enough to require treatment occurs in about one in four women and one in ten men at some point in their lives. Some people have two or more episodes of depression at various times in their lives.
Many people know when they are depressed. However, some people do not realise that they may be unwell. They may know that they are not right and not functioning as normal but do not know why. Some people think that they might have a physical illness, for example, if they lose weight.
A list of symptoms of depression can be quite extensive. It can affect mood with either tearfulness or anxiety or irritability.
The patients who suffer may lose the capacity to experience pleasure and lose interest in things that are going on around them. Weepiness, feelings of guilt and worthlessness and lack of motivation are some common symptoms.
For some, the ability to concentrate becomes so low that it would appear that work is becoming increasingly pressurised. Patients often experience difficulty in getting off to sleep or waking in the early hours of the morning. Others lack energy.
The physical symptoms of headaches, palpitations, chest pains and general aches and pains around the body are common.
Some patients become pre-occupied with self harm and in some rare cases can develop strange abnormal beliefs about their worthlessness and uselessness. Others do not just suffer from depression; they can also go through episodes where they are really quite high in spirits. These swings of mood can be very incapacitating.
The exact cause of depression is not known. Anyone can become depressed. It would appear from our research that there are four principle causes:
- difficulties occurring in early life
- a genetic predisposition
- depression secondary to physical illness
- depression in response to major stress
A chemical imbalance in the brain may well be a factor. Although this is not fully understood, there are a variety of physical treatments with medication that are extremely effective at reversing the depressive illness process.
The longer depression remains untreated, the harder it becomes to treat. Therefore, early intervention is an important factor.
