| According to the report, 10% of American adults suffer from a depressive disorder. This category of mental health problems includes major depression. Common symptoms of major depression are as follows:
Being uninterested in things you used to enjoy, crying without reason "no reason", feeling slowed down or feeling unsatisfied and unable to sit still, losing or putting on weight, thoughts about death or suicide; trouble making daily decisions; trouble sleeping, especially in the early morning or waiting to sleep all the time; feeling tired all the time.
Depression is considered to be connected with chemical imbalances in the brain that makes it hard for cells to communicate with one another.
Depression can result from nerve-wracking situations, such as the death of somebody you love, a breakup or redundancy. But it can also come out of the blue. Certain medicines, alcohol and drug addiction, or chronic diseases, such as diabetes or coronary problems, can cause depression.
Depression can be treated with medicines, or special type of counseling called psychotherapy, or with both. Antidepressants are medicines used to help people who have depression. The majority of people with depression get better with treatment that includes these drugs.
Antidepressants work by raising the activity of chemicals in the brain known as neurotransmitters. Antidepressants help make the chemicals more available to the brain.
Antidepressants are typically used leastways for 6 to 12 months. In some cases, patients and their doctors may conclude that antidepressants are required for a longer span.
At times drugs result in unwanted side effects. They may vary from person to person and from medicine to medicine. For instance, when you first begin your antidepressant you may feel exhausted, have trouble sleeping or have upset stomach. The side effects normally disappear after a while.
Nonetheless, even after a year of treatment, there is still about a 10% probability of depression returning as soon as treatment is over. Some people take an antidepressant for several years. |
