Depression
What is Depression?
By Peggy L. Ferguson, Ph.D.
Depression is a "mood disorder." It is a common but potentially severe illness. Depression is one of the most common causes of disability. There are varying degrees of severity. Although people may describe it as "feeling blue" or sad, it is much more than that. Depression can negatively affect all major areas of a person's life. It tends to be a long-lasting and recurring illness with psychological, emotional, cognitive, physical, and behavioral symptoms.
Depressive disorders, with all their variations, involve sadness, irritable mood, and pervasive feeling of emptiness. Symptoms that significantly affect the individual's capacity to function, can become a serious health problem if allowed to persist for long periods. One devastating consequence of depression is the risk of suicide.
Some of the symptoms of depression include:
Sleep disturbance (difficulty getting to sleep, staying asleep, or sleeping too much)
Physical symptoms such as headaches, gastrointestinal problems, tearfulness, and crying
Fatigue, tired, low energy,
Difficulty with focus, concentration, attention
Suicidal thoughts and thinking about death
Feelings of inadequacy, incompetence, or helplessness
Feelings of hopelessness and despair
Short-term memory problems Loss of interests
Loss of enthusiasm and motivation
Irritability
Restlessness and agitation
Anger, hostility
Changes in appetite and eating habits
Difficulty experiencing joy or having fun
What causes depression?
Depression comes from many directions. We know that environmental, biological, psychological, and genetic factors interact to produce vulnerability toward depression. Many people want to point to one vulnerability as the culprit, but the impact of any one aspect probably would not be enough to guarantee depression. Triggering influences can vary over time and circumstances. Protective factors also influence and mitigate the impact of vulnerabilities. Therapists have long noted that depression commonly runs through a family, generation after generation.
Biological vulnerabilities create genetic predispositions. An imbalance in the neurotransmitters of the brain can cause mood, cognition, emotion, and behavior dysregulation.
Environmental variables also contribute to the development of depression as a triggering mechanism. Stressors are those conditions or events that challenge one's ability to cope adequately with life. Those environmental factors could include poverty, prejudice, trauma, health problems, and life changes such as loss, moving, divorce, or significant successes. All external environmental factors can contribute to stress making it hard to function in one's day-to-day life.
Psychological factors that might contribute to developing depression could include helplessness, attachment issues, impact from trauma, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral reactions to relationship events, and negative affect. All of these affect life satisfaction. Perception of the events in life, the meaning we give to those events, the feelings that come from our assessment, and how we respond to all these play roles in developing and maintaining depression.
When does depression occur?
Depression can occur at any time in a person's life. It may start in childhood or adulthood. It often recurs over a lifetime. There is consistency in the symptomology of depression across different life stages or age cohorts. However, an irritable mood may be prevalent rather than a sad mood. Although sadness may be underlying, children and adolescents with depression may present with agitation and acting out of anger, feelings of hopelessness, and attitude changes. Behavioral correlates of depression in children and adolescents include social and emotional adjustment problems, such as poor school performance, lack of appropriate emotional regulation, risk-taking behavior, and appearance changes. Adolescents often show irritability, unexplained aches and pain (e.g. headaches, stomach aches), and extreme sensitivity to criticism, rejection, and failure. They tend to withdraw from their parents or get involved with a different peer group. They don't withdraw from everyone, typically, but socialize less.
A change in health or medical condition often triggers depression in seniors. Older adults experiencing depression have often had depression earlier in their lives. They may have a much different set of environmental and other vulnerabilities, such as failing health and loss of independence, loss through death, isolation, anxiety about retirement, decline, regret, and a sense of one's mortality.
There are effective treatments for depression. There are several modalities for treating depression, including psychotherapy, medication, and alternative treatment methods.
More Depression Articles
By Peggy L. Ferguson, Ph.D.
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Table of Contents
Moving Beyond Helplessness: Strategies for Empowerment and Growth
Navigating Depression: What You Need to Know About Diagnosis and Treatment
Winter Wellness: Understanding and Overcoming Seasonal Affective Disorder
From Darkness to Light: Managing Depression in Your Marriage
Negative Thoughts Contribute to Depression and Anxiety
Depression in Women - SAMHSA
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