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Introduction Description A depressive disorder is a whole-body illness, involving your body, mood, and thoughts. It affects the way you eat and sleep, the way you feel about yourself, and the way you think about things. A depressive disorder is not the same as a passing blue mood. It is not a sign of personal weakness or a condition that can be willed or wished away.
People with a depressive illness cannot merely "pull themselves together" and get better. Without treatment, symptoms can last for weeks, months, or years. The appropriate treatment, however, can help most people who suffer from depression. Types Of Depression Depressive disorders come in different forms.
The three most prevalent types of depression are major depression, bipolar disorder, and dysthymia. Within these types there are variations in the number of symptoms, their severity, and persistence. Major depression is manifested by a combination of symptoms that interfere with the ability to work, sleep, eat, and enjoy once pleasurable activities. These disabling episodes of depression can occur once, twice, or several times in a lifetime. Bipolar disorder, formerly called manic-depressive illness, involves cycles of depression and elation or mania. Sometimes the mood switches are dramatic and rapid, but most often they are gradual.
When in the depressed cycle, a patient can have any or all of the symptoms of a depressive disorder. When in the manic cycle, any or all symptoms listed under mania may be experienced. Mania often affects thinking, judgment, and social behavior in ways that cause serious problems and embarrassment. Bipolar disorder is often a chronic recurring condition.
A less severe type of depression, dysthymia, involves long- term, chronic symptoms that do not disable, but keep you from functioning at "full steam" or from feeling good. Sometimes people with dysthymia also experience major depressive episodes. Symptoms Of Major Depression And Bipolar Disorder Not everyone who is depressed or manic experiences every symptom. Some people experience a few symptoms, some many. Also, severity of symptoms varies with individuals.
Here are some of the possible symptoms of major depression and bipolar disorder. Major Depression: Persistent sad, anxious, or "empty" mood Feelings of hopelessness, pessimism Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness Loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities that were once enjoyed, including sex Insomnia, early morning awakening, or oversleeping Appetite and / or weight loss or overeating and weight gain Decreased energy, fatigue, being "slowed down" Thoughts of death or suicide; suicide attempts Restlessness, irritability Difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions Persistent physical symptoms that do not respond to treatment, such as headaches, digestive disorders, and chronic pain Bipolar Disorder: Inappropriate elation Inappropriate irritability Severe insomnia Grandiose notions Increased talking Disconnected and racing thoughts Increased sexual desire Markedly increased energy Poor judgment Inappropriate social behavior Causes Of Depression The causes of depression have not yet been established and explanations for the occurrence of the disorder vary to the theoretical method that is applied to it. Biological, family, and social factors have all been found to play a role in the disorder. Depression may be most clearly seen as occurring due to both biological and environmental factors. The biological theory of depression postulates that the disorder is caused by a deficiency in one or more neurotransmitters, most likely serotonin and norepinephrine, and possibly dopamine.
Support for this theory comes from the fact that drugs that potentate the effects of these neurotransmitters tends to result in a decrease in depressive symptoms in most patients. Psychological theories of depression vary greatly in their explanation of the disorder and include causes such as unconscious conflict, distorted thinking, and lack of positive reinforcement. There is evidence suggesting that depression may have a genetic basis. In studies of adoptive children whose biological parents had depression, these children tended to show a higher incidence of the disorder than the general population. Treatment Treatment choice will depend on the outcome of the evaluation.
There are a variety of antidepressant medications and psychotherapies that can be used to treat depressive disorders. Some people do well with psychotherapy, some with antidepressants. Some do best with combined treatment: medication to gain relatively quick symptom relief and psychotherapy to learn more effective ways to deal with life's problems. Depending on the diagnosis and severity of symptoms, the patient may be prescribed medication and / or treated with one of the several forms of psychotherapy that have proven effective for depression. The medications are classified as follows: Tricylics and Tetracylics Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors Serotonin-Specific Reuptake Inhibitors Miscellaneous (the chemical structures of some do not fit in with any of the above categories) At times, electro convulsive therapy (ECT) is useful, particularly for individuals whose depression is severe or life threatening or who cannot take antidepressant medication. ECT often is effective in cases where antidepressant medications do not provide sufficient relief of symptoms.
In recent years, ECT has been much improved. The treatment is given in the hospital under sedation so that people receiving ECT do not feel pain. Articles 1. The Mood Molecule, by Micheal D. Lemon ick, Time, September 29, 1997 New research is now being conducted on a wide variety of drugs that involve the neurotransmitter serotonin. Serotonin is associated with altering mood states.
The lack of serotonin has been implicated in depression, appetite disorders and eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, autism, social phobias, anxiety disorders, migraines, excessive violent behavior, and even schizophrenia. Serotonin is manufactured in the rape nuclei, and then transported to nerve endings. Scientists have identified at least fifteen different serotonin receptors. The serotonin neurotransmitter is already being used as a form of anti-depressant, the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors which are now being combined with noradrenaline and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. The serotonin acting antidepressants work by making serotonin and in some cases norepinephrine available in the brain for longer than usual, which enhances mood states. The new natural antidepressant drug commonly known as St.
Johns Wort contains substances that enhance serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. There is now being extensive research done on serotonin and the other neurotransmitters for there effects on disorders like depressive disorders, and though it is unlikely that one drug will be targeted as the antidepressant, a wider variety of medical treatments can treat a wider variety of patients. 2. Nature's Prozac? , by Madeline Nash, Time, September 22, 1997 Prozac does have its side effects on some of its users, like hypertension, and anyone who has experienced hypertension knows that it is a debilitating side effect that usually causes the user to discontinue use. Prozac is typically used to treat mild depression, and so is the new drug to hit North America called Hypericum, or St. Johns Wort.
It is being sold as the natural or organic antidepressant, and it has been known to cause less side effects that any of the other anti-depressants. The British Medical Journal published a review of 23 clinical trials that measured, or attempted to measure the therapeutic potential of Hypericum. Most of the studies showed that Hypericum did improve the moods of some patients in contrast to the placebo, however the studies were small, so more research is needed. In fact, unless Hypericum has generated some mass delusion, which is very unlikely, Hypericum must have a positive effect on mood, or else the sale of the drug would not be soaring. Hypericum also effects serotonin levels. It prolongs the activity of serotonin in the brain.
Hypericum seems to prevent the reabsorb tion of norepinephrine and dopamine by nerve fibers. The biggest problem with Hypericum is the fact that most individuals with mild depression respond better to psychotherapy than medication. This means that affected individuals can just go to the store and begin his or her own pharmacotherapy with Hypericum for just 30 c per day, and not deal with the cause of the depression! Also, individuals who are not clinically depressed are beginning to take Hypericum because he or she feels blue, instead of dealing with the environmental factors. This behavior is extremely self-destructive. 3. ECT (Electro convulsive Therapy) Update, by Dr.
Max Fink, the Psychiatric Times, April 1997 The treatment called electro convulsive therapy has changed very much over the past decade, for the better. It is now safer and has fewer side effects than in the past. Some individuals who suffer from serve depression often do not respond to conventional treatments. Most are extremely suicidal and / or in a manic or catatonic state, and who need constant protection from him or herself. These individuals usually reside in an inpatient facility, where ECT can be performed. Presently, the initial course of treatment is ECT two or more times per week.
Later, as the symptoms are reduced, the treatment is reduced to once per week. Then, as the patient's symptoms are alleviated, and may return home, treatment may drop to once every ten to twenty-one days. After the ECT treatment is complete, drug therapy will begin. It is important to note however, that anticonvulsants are not to be used. Also, Lithium Carbonate is destructive to the course of therapy. An interesting new finding with ECT is that caffeine and Theophylline have been found to encourage an earlier clinical response to the treatment, because they enhance the seizure duration.
Technologies 1. Reboxetine A new noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor. It is a new discovery that is based on the same biochemical idea as the serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Generic name is Edronax. Developed by Pharma & Upjohn Inc... It is being promoted as more a more efficient drug than Prozac, and with fewer side effects.
Edronax was launched in Britain in July, an is awaiting approval in the rest of Europe. It has not been submitted for approval by the U. S. FDA a...
Free research essays on topics related to: types of depression, bipolar disorder, serotonin reuptake inhibitors, johns wort, electro convulsive therapy
Research essay sample on Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors Electro Convulsive Therapy
