Blogpost 4: Depression (mood swings)

 THE FAMOUS DEPRESSION. BOW !

Everyone of us suffers from the famous depression, by the means of many things like stress, family problems, relationship problems, financial problems, and etc. Personal experience. Last 2010 when my grand grandmother (grandmother of my mother) died that is my first time to suffer from depress because when i was born she immediately flew here in the Philippines just to take care of me. She's like my mother in my early years (because my parents always go home late) She stays up late just to make me milk whenever i'm crying in the middle of the night. So when she died because of her old age I can only feel pain and too much sadness had taken over me. That's my experience in depression

what is depression by the way ? well as I have experienced 3 years ago, I can describe depression as as feeling sad, blue, unhappy, miserable. This mood can last up to days, weeks, and months. 

And I discovered that depression is a disorder of the brain as I have read in "James Hunter's" article entitled "Depression" that can be found in the site www.psychcentral.com He said: 

"Evidence from neuroscience, genetics, and clinical investigation demonstrate that depression is a disorder of the brain. Modern brain imaging technologies are revealing that in depression, neural circuits responsible for the regulation of moods, thinking, sleep, appetite, and behavior fail to function properly, and that critical neurotransmitters -- chemicals used by nerve cells to communicate -- are perhaps out of balance. Genetics research indicates that vulnerability to depression results from the influence of multiple genes acting together with environmental factors. Studies of brain chemistry and of mechanisms of action of antidepressant medications continue to inform the development of new and better medical and psychotherapy treatments."

So as the article said, being depressed means some of the neurotransmitters are not balanced well. Like because lack of sleep, loss of appetite, and etc. So people is vulnerable to being depress because of some aspects of life.

Everyone feels sad from time to time, this is a very normal feeling. These feelings are usually short-lived and dissipate after a couple of days. People who suffers from depression can have a hard time dealing with this because these feelings never go away. It's like they can't escape from their dark problems.

there are forms of depressive disorder. This can be found in the article of "NIOMH Staff" which is entitled "depression" that can be found in www.depressiontribe.com they said:

"Some forms of depressive disorder exhibit slightly different characteristics than those described above, or they may develop under unique circumstances. However, not all scientists agree on how to characterize and define these forms of depression. They include:

Psychotic depression, which occurs when a severe depressive illness is accompanied by some form of psychosis, such as a break with reality, hallucinations, and delusions.

Postpartum depression, which is diagnosed if a new mother develops a major depressive episode within one month after delivery. It is estimated that 10 to 15 percent of women experience postpartum depression after giving birth.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which is characterized by the onset of a depressive illness during the winter months, when there is less natural sunlight. The depression generally lifts during spring and summer. SAD may be effectively treated with light therapy, but nearly half of those with SAD do not respond to light therapy alone. Antidepressant medication and psychotherapy can reduce SAD symptoms, either alone or in combination with light therapy."

these are some forms of depressive disorder. The "Psychotic depression" is based on being super sad, people with this form of depression can hallucinate unimaginary things. The "Postpartum depression" is for pregnants when they give birth because of the pain I think. Last the "Seasonal Affective disorder" can be obtain through the change of seasons.

Okay to end this article I would like to suggest that whenever we have a friend or family that is suffering we should support them and always be by their side and make them feel that we are always here to help them on problems even if it is too depressing.

Thanks.