Depression is a state of bad or low mood that can affect a person’s behaviour, activity, thoughts & also the sense of well-being. Once in depression, a person can feel helplessness, guilt, irritation, anxiousness and also lethargy at times. People might lose the interest to perform activities that were once very interesting to them. There can also be a decrease in appetite for you. You may also get a few suicidal thoughts when in depression. Depression might be a symptom to major depressive disorder or just a reaction to normal like events.

Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder caused by several factors such as continuous bad/low mood or low self-esteem. This disorder has an adverse effect on a person’s day-to-day life like personal life, work life or school life while also affecting the family. The most common onset is at around ages between 20-30, with a later peak between 30-40 years.

Treatment:

The diagnosis of this disorder depends mainly on your activities, your behaviour reported by your friends or relatives and also by mental status examination. Generally people affected by this disorder are treated by:

• Counselling
• Anti-depressants
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
• Electroconvulsive Therapy (for minors only)
• Hospitalization (rare cases)

The course of the disorder may vary depending upon the extent of affectedness. Sometimes it might be for a few weeks, or in some cases, may last for lifelong.

Clinical Assessment: A diagnostic assessment may be conducted by a general practitioner who is continuously assessing your behaviour and current circumstance. The practitioner may also discuss ways of regulating mood by alcohol or drug use. A mental state examination is also carried out, which is an assessment of your current behaviour, thoughts, in particular the pattern of thoughts and the idea of self-esteem. Sometimes, rating scales are also used to determine the effect of depression in a person. A cut off point is set to determine the extent of fault in the person’s mind.

Anti-Depressants: Many patients are bound to receive this medication for the cure of depression disorder. It can take weeks, months or even years for its cure. Some of the widely used anti-depressants sub groups are:

1. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors
2. Dopamine Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors
3. Serotonin  Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors

There are numerous side-effects to the above mentioned drugs such as:

• Weight Gain
• Nervousness
• Weakness
• Dry Mouth
• Nausea
• Abnormal Ejaculation
• Headache/Migraine
• Decrease in Sexual Interest

Our mood is affected by neurotransmitters which are present in our brain and mainly sent and received by brain cells (neurons). When serotonin and norepinephrine levels reduce in our brain we become sad or depressed. The antidepressants maintain the balance of these chemicals in our brains and affect our mood. Thus, in most of the cases, antidepressants are advised for use.

Major Depressive disorder is a disorder which is harmful not only for the affected person but also to people around him. It can be cured completely with the use of anti-depressants and other treatments over a period of time.