HEALTH: How to kick off DEPRESSION

 How to kick off DEPRESSION

People with clinical depression have feelings of sadness or difficulty enjoying pleasurable activities. They often feel hopeless. In addition, clinical depression involves at least four of the following symptoms for 2 weeks or longer:

• Sleep disturbances
• Significant change in appetite (sometimes resulting in either weight loss or weight gain)
• Fatigue and loss of energy
• Feelings of worthlessness, self-hate, and inappropriate guilt
• Extreme difficulty concentrating
• Almost daily agitation, restlessness, and irritability or feeling that doing anything requires extreme physical effort.
• Recurring thoughts of death or suicide

In addition, many people with depression report a lack of sex drive and sudden bursts of anger. If any of these symptoms are present for you, call your doctor or another appropriate health care provider right away.

By definition, depression interferes with personal or professional aspects of your life 

Depression is distinguished from a normal sad reaction (for example, to the death of a family member or the end of a love relationship) by its severity, duration, the presence of other symptoms, and how your feelings affect your day-to-day life. Interference may translate into calling in sick for work, having difficulty balancing your checkbook, or constant bickering with your spouse or partner. In severe cases, you may be unable to go to work or attend social functions, and you may even be unable to take care of yourself through simple hygiene, eating, and dressing. If you find any of these things to be true for you, talk to your doctor or other appropriate health care provider right away.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a depression that tends to occur in the fall and winter and disappear in the spring and summer.

If you tend to get depressed in the fall or winter months, this may be due to lack of sunlight. Talk to your doctor about trying light therapy using a special lamp that mimics the sun.

Good to know points for you

Diets rich in fish, fruits, and vegetables may help prevent or treat depression.

Studies suggest that people who eat fatty fish (such as salmon, mackerel, herring, and sardines) two to three times per week as part of a healthy diet may significantly reduce their feelings of depression. Fatty fish contain omega-3 fatty acids. Many individuals with depression are deficient in this essential nutrient.

Diets rich in fruits and vegetables, particularly leafy green vegetables, are also recommended for people with depression. For those who have difficulty maintaining a balanced diet, supplementation with a multivitamin containing plenty of folate (vitamin B9 may be considered. Talk to your doctor, nutritionist, or other appropriate health care provider for advice.

Exercise helps prevent and treat depression.

Studies have consistently shown that regular exercise (especially aerobic exercise, but also strength and flexibility training) reduces depressive symptoms in people with mild to moderate depression and improves the mood of people with major depression. Although additional research is needed, some even suggest that exercise may be as effective as psychotherapy for people with mild to moderate depression. In the meantime, exercise can be used safely in conjunction with medication and psychotherapy for those with depression. And certainly, make exercise a part of your regular routine to try to prevent depression.

Depression can occur at any age.

Anyone can have major depression, but people between the ages of 25 and 44 are at highest risk. People over 60 are also at higher risk, because the death of friends and relatives, physical illness, and loss of independence (all factors that may trigger depression) are more common during this stage of life.

Depressed children may not have the typical symptoms of adult depression. Watch for changes in school performance, sleep pattern, or behavior. Depression is also difficult to spot in teens because general moodiness and irritability often goes hand-in-hand with adolescence. If you wonder whether a child or teenager might be depressed, it is important to bring this to a doctor's attention.

Depression is common in both men and women.

More women are diagnosed with depression than men, although researchers speculate that women are more likely than men to report their symptoms. Men are more likely to mask their feelings and are more likely to do so by drinking alcohol. Even though women are more likely to be diagnosed with depression, men are more likely to commit suicide. Those most likely to commit suicide are men over 60 years old. 

Have a Happy Life... Cheers!!!