Depression Teresa Collick HCA/250 April 24, 2016
Depression has always been a major health issue going back for many years. Initially being called “melancholia” it appeared in the texts of the Mesopotamians in the second millennium. It was then thought of a demonic presence that required a priest to be in attendance. The understanding was that depression wasn’t considered a physical issue but a spiritual or mental illness. The Babylonian, Chinese and Egyptian civilizations also believed this. Their treatment for depression was to beat, restrain and starve the sufferer in hopes the demon would leave their body. On the other hand Romans and Greek physicians saw depression as
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Drug therapy can control anxiety feelings that sufferers may have. Physical exercising can also be used to combat this disorder. If one is being treated by a mental health disorder, he or she may advise that the patient needs to change their environment. For example rather than sitting in the house all day, one may need to force themselves to get up and go for a walk. A person that has depression may need to surround themselves with positive people that will add support and encouragement while they are getting treatments. Negative surroundings will only add to depression and cause one to seclude themselves. Counseling from a psychologist is another method of treatment that shows a good turnaround from this illness. (Psychology Today, 1995-2016). Diagnosis and treatment of the illness today is very different from the past. Today depression is considered a mental disorder that can be treated easily with medication and counseling. In the past, one was thought of to be possessed by demons and was subject to beating and ill treatments. Similarities that are still carried down even today from different civilizations are relaxation techniques like baths, massage and exercise. Relaxation therapy can ease the stress that depressive symptoms cause. Depression is a serious illness that should not be taken lightly. It is considered a mental and mood health disorder that disrupts the lives of many making them feel as though they can’t get through daily
This article claims that depression is a mental illness that has yet to be completely controlled although, much has been learned about it, there still isn’t a its fundamental understanding of what exactly causes it. The article also talks about some treatments that may be able to help certain depression patients.
Once again things took for the worse during the Age of Enlightenment (18th and early 19th century) the thought process for depression was that of inheritance. Once again people with mental illness were rejected from society, which lead to them becoming poor and homeless and in some cases being institutionalised. It wasn’t until the later part of the Age of Enlightenment that doctors sought out to explain the causes of depression, which some doctors thought it was aggression that was at the core of it. The treatment suggested was a good diet, plenty of exercise and talking to someone about
Depression is a common and serious mood disorder. It’s more than just feeling down or sad in response to life’s struggles and setbacks, depression causes people to lose pleasure from daily life, can increase the risk of many health problems, and can even be serious enough to lead to suicide. The disease must be given more attention and treated as a global public health priority. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 7.6 percent of people over the age of 12 have depression in any 2-week period. Depression is also the second most common cause of disability worldwide after back pain,according to a review of research.
“Recent data estimate the overall prevalence of depression at about 11.1% of the American population, or nearly 35 million individuals (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). A predictive models suggest that up to 50% of the population will experience at least one episode of depression during their lives” (Life Extension, 2014). Depression has negatively affected the lives of many individuals throughout the world. Look around you there may even be someone close to you that is demonstrating signs of its stifling affects. Depression does not discriminate with its suffocating
Depression is a disorder that is a very prevalent disorder amongst the United States population as a whole. This disorder can be
Along with medication it is wise for people to go to ‘talk therapy’ so they can control their emotions and thoughts better. Psychological treatment is a long term solution to depression because working through problems and re-training the brain to feel and think in a more positive light will help stop depression after a while. Medication and therapy are used together so while a patient is undergoing the long journey of therapy they can have short term relief using medication. Another common treatment for depression is through school and community supports. When a person has depression, it is important to make life less stressful for them so it’s easier to overcome their illness which is why it’s good when teachers help the patient. Also, a support group (such as Depression Anonymous) is another treatment option because talking to others with the same problem often helps patients overcome their own struggles. (“Depression.”
Depression is a mental health disorder characterized by constant depressed mood or loss of interest in activities, causing significant impairment in daily life. It is the most common mental illness amongst adults but, it can affect people of every age. There are more than three million case per year for depression. Hippocrates was a Greek physician and is considered one of the most considered figures in the history of medicine. He discovered depression and found that it was caused by an imbalance in four body fluids called yellow bile, black bile, phlegm, and blood. Depression greatly impacts people lives by causing problems at work, affecting relationships, and having suicidal thoughts.
Depression is an affective disorder, demonstrating many symptoms such as “hopelessness, helplessness, personal devaluation, and extreme sadness” (depression, 1).Though sadness is something everyone experiences, people who have
Evidence shows that Major Depression Disorder has been around four thousands of years. In the fourth century BC, Hippocrates referred to a group of symptoms including loss of appetite, insomnia, flat affect, and irritability as melancholia (Jackson). Taking accountability of melancholia appeared in ancient Mesopotamian texts in the second millennium B.C. At this time, any mental illness had something to do with the demons. It had to be checked by the priests. The first time that there was an understanding of depression it was truly considered more of a spiritual illness caused by demons rather than a physical illness. Ancient Greeks and Romans put taught about the causes of melancholia. For example in the 5th
Clinical depression is a serious disorder. It has many health risks and dangers. It effects people of all ages and all walks of life, though statistics do show that some groups are more prone to be depressed than others. There are many symptoms of clinical depression. These symptoms can very often be joint symptoms with other illnesses as well, so it is very important to seek professional help in determining the cause of any such symptoms. There are also a number of physical and psychological reasons for the onset of depression. Once the disease has been diagnosed and its causes are determined, there are several treatment options that are widely available for patients. These treatments are very effective and covered by most insurance policies. To say the very least , depression is an illness that is not to be taken lightly. It is important for everyone to be educated on this illness so that if symptoms occur in oneself or a friend or family member they can be diagnosed and treated before
Depression is the leading cause of emotional and physical problems. So what do people do to treat this disorder? Anti-depressants are most commonly used amongst patients suffering from depression. “Second only to antibiotics, anti-depressants are the most commonly prescribed class of medication.” This is concerning because patients become dependent on these medications. In many cases, SSRIs can have an opposite effect on patients, resulting in thoughts of suicide and other physical symptoms. Safer alternative treatments include treating depression through therapy without use of medication. “Depression is much more than just sadness.” Some patients describe depression as living in a dark empty space, dealing with the lack of energy,
The history of depression reaches back into ancient Mesopotamian times depression was first labeled "melancholia" (Nemade, Reiss & Dombeck, 2007). During this period, people were certain that melancholia was caused by supernatural possession. Thus, the initial documented perception of depression was that is was a spiritual or mental sickness, and not a somatic one (Nemade, et al., 2007). The view of depression as a spiritual or mental illness stayed this way until the 19th and 20th century (Nemade et al., 2007). In 1950, scientists started looking for more organic causes of depression and divided the disorder into subtypes based on what was believed to have caused the disorder (Nemade et al., 2007).
Before depression was medicalized, there was a much lower diagnosis rate. Those who actually were diagnosed were sent away to insane asylums where they were often tortured rather than treated. The medicalization of depression began with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). The purpose of the guidebook is to provide the criteria that must be met in order to be diagnosed with a mental disorder. In order to be diagnosed with clinical depression, a person must have at least five of the symptoms nearly everyday for over two weeks. A few of the symptoms include feelings of worthlessness, fatigue or loss of energy, insomnia or excessive sleep, and suicidal
Depression is something that has been seen all throughout history. Biblical figures such as Job, King Saul, and even Kind David expressed signs of depression throughout their writings. An example of this is seen when Job cries out, “"Let the day perish on which I was to be born, and the night which said, 'A boy is conceived” (3:3). An exhaustive list of famous individuals can be found on Wikipedia whom have suffered from major depressive disorder throughout history including names such as Isaac Newton, Michelangelo, Robin Williams, Janet Jackson, and Princess Diana. Prior to the 20th century depression was seen as more of a mood disorder rather than an actual illness.
One of the scariest emotional experiences a person can ever suffer during their lifetime is to experience a form of depression. Over one in five Americans can expect to get some form of depression in their lifetime. Over one in twenty Americans have a depressive disorder every year. Depression is one of the most common and most serious mental health problems facing people today. However, depression is often not taken seriously because of the large use of antidepressant drugs and the large number of sufferers. Depression is a serious illness and should be taken as so. Contrary to the popular misconceptions about depression today, it is a serious and deadly disorder.1