Depression Symptoms and How To Treat Them Effectively

Depression is an illness that involves both the mental and physical part of a person. It affects the way a person functions and the way a person thinks about themselves and others. It is a prolonged feeling that a person can not get rid of.

Depression is NOT a sign of weakness or failure. It does not involve just pulling oneself up by their bootstraps and getting on with life. It is an illness for a person just as diabetes is an illness for another person.

It is not the same as just feeling down about a particular event or situation. It affects everything you do and everything you think. It is not something you can just “will” to get better.

A major depressive disorder affects 1 out of every 10 people and suicide is an ever present risk.

Depression Symptoms

Depression symptoms include a certain sadness prevailing over everything. There is a loss of enjoyment from things that use to be fun and there is a loss of energy in even small everyday tasks.

The person who is suffering from depression has feelings that nobody cares about them or even thinks of them. They have difficulty making decisions or concentrating on even the smallest of things.

Other signs of depression symptoms include crying, tearfulness, and feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, guilt and worthlessness.

The physical symptoms involve insomnia, sleeping excessively, digestive problems, abdominal aches, appetite change causing loss of weight or weight gain, chronic headaches and sexual problems such as a decreases in sex drive.

Thoughts of death and/or suicide are on the mind of a person with depression. They involve talking about suicide, thoughts or talk of self-harm, thoughts or talk of harm to others, aggressive behavior, isolation or impulsiveness.

Cause of Depression

The exact trigger for depression is not known. There are very good theories for what could be causes for depression. Three main factors are considered for possible causes.

One reason depression can occur is biological changes in the chemistry of the brain due to imbalances of neurotransmitters. These are natural substances that allow brain cells to communicate with each other.

Scientists believe that a deficiency in the transmitter serotonin, may cause sleep problems, irritability and anxiety. A decreased amount of the transmitter norepinephrine, may contribute to fatigue and a depressed mood.

Another body chemical that seems to be related to depression is cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone that the body produces in reponse to fear, stress or anger. When it is working properly it peaks in the morning and then decreases during the day. In a person suffering from depression, cortisol peaks in the morning and never decreases or levels off.

Scientist do not know if depression cause the cortisol to rise or if the increased cortisol levels cause the depression.

A second factor scientists are studying is genetic. It is especially believed to be involved in cases of manic-depressive disorder.

Studies show that in adoptive children, they are 3 times more likely to have a depressive illness if their biological relatives suffered from depression, than if their adoptive family members had it.

Environmental situations are the third cause that contributes to a depressive illness. Stress and the ending of relationships may precipitate depression in vulnerable people.

Research indicates that depression can also develop due to a physical illness, substance abuse or a reaction from a medication. The chance of treatment curing this type of depression is very high, once the cause has ended.

Help for Depression

A national crisis hotline linked to local crisis centers is now available. 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433), a hotline service of http://www.livewithdepression.org

For crisis hotline help call the Covenant House nine line at 1-800-999-9999. They are a tremendous organization and their site on youth suicide is very helpful. http://www.nineline.org

The American Psychological Association has a site with a link for finding a Psychologist.

Psychiatric referrals are available through the American Psychiatric Association. (Go to “public information” and then to “choosing a Psychiatrist”)

Medical referrals are available in the American Medical Association’s “Doctor Finder”.

A good place to look to find support groups in your area is http://www.afsp.org/survivor/groups.htm.

Watch for the signs and save the life of someone you love including your own life. You can’t do it alone. Get the help you need for your friend, your family member or yourself.

Stress and Anxiety

There are a number of natural nutrients that have been found to help your body cope with stress. Neuro Natural Serenity contains the key ingredients that help fight stress and anxiety including ginkgo biloba, SAMe and 5-HTP.

The manufacturer follows strict GMP guidelines, which are the toughest in the industry. They also hire the best scientists available to research and produce their supplements. They use only the purest herbal extracts giving you the maximum benefits available.

As we have said over and over – Depression is very serious.

Neuro Natural Serenity is an excellent stress fighting supplement but always consult your physician when you feel anxiety or depression in your life.