Category: Major Depressive Disorder

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How Depression Evolves- The Negative Cycle of Depression

Negative Cycle of Depression

 

Depression is a common and serious mental health disorder that can have a negative impact on many aspects of a person’s life. It is characterized by a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest in activities that were previously enjoyable. Depression can also cause a range of physical symptoms, such as changes in appetite and sleep patterns, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating.

One of the key ways that depression can evolve is through a negative cycle of thoughts and behaviors. This cycle can be triggered by a stressful life event or a chronic stressor, such as a difficult relationship or financial problems. When a person experiences stress, they may start to have negative thoughts and beliefs about themselves, their situation, and the world around them. These negative thoughts can then lead to symptoms of depression, such as changes in their mood, feeling blue, apathy, and fatigue.

The depression then leads to avoidance, and this leads to negative behaviors, such as isolating themselves from others or engaging in unhealthy behaviors like excessive drinking or drug use.

As the negative cycle continues, they may feel more hopeless and helpless, and their negative thoughts may become even more pervasive. This then leads to more symptoms of depression. This can make it difficult for them to break out of the cycle and seek help.

The good news is that depression is a treatable condition. With the right help and support, a person with depression can break out of the negative cycle and start to feel better. This may involve a combination of treatments, such as therapy, medication, and lifestyle changes, depending on the individual’s needs. It’s important to remember that seeking help is a sign of strength, not weakness, and taking the first step towards treatment can be a powerful step towards recovery.

Here is a visual representation of the negative cycle of depression:

  • A stressful life event or chronic stressor occurs.
  • The person starts to have negative thoughts and beliefs about themselves, their situation, and the world around them.
  • The negative thoughts lead to symptoms of depression, such as changes in mood and apathy.
  • The depression leads to avoidance, manifested by negative behaviors, such as isolating themselves from others or engaging in unhealthy behaviors.
  • The behaviors maintain the thought that all is hopeless.
  • Hence, the negative thoughts become even more pervasive, making it difficult for the person to break out of the cycle and seek help.
  • Without treatment, the negative cycle continues.
For help with depression and mood problems, consider the natural depression supplement KalmPro Mood Support.
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KalmPro Mood Support for Depression

KalmPro Mood Support

All-new KalmPro Mood Support was developed by a psychiatrist and contains 5-HTP (5-hydroxytryptophan) from all-natural ingredients to help with depression. 5-HTP is an amino acid that the body naturally produces. In KalmPro Mood Support, we extracted the 5-HTP from Griffonia simplicifolia seeds, thereby making this supplement all-natural.

Low serotonin levels in the body can lead to depression, insomnia, and weight gain. 5-HTP can help to alleviate those problems, and helps to improve mood, improve sleep, and induce weight loss.

5-HTP is a natural antidepressant, and there are studies showing its preliminary effectiveness and safety for depression.

If you are tired of the side effects and expensive cost of prescription antidepressant medications, then consider this all-natural supplement for depression- KalmPro Mood Support.

To get the most out of KalmPro Mood Support, it is recommended you take two capsules daily with a meal. Before taking KalmPro Mood Support, it is advisable to let your doctor know that your are considering this supplement for improved mood, better sleep, and better weight control.

Take control of your moods and get KalmPro Mood Support now!

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What Depression Can Become

Having experienced first-hand what depression feels like, I couldn’t help but frown upon the information that’s out there. Sure, we all know what depression is since it’s become such a significant phenomenon in recent times, but what I’m not sure whether people truly understand what it can become. I feel that the understanding of depressions scope is one dimensional. When you ask people about what depression feels like, their response is going to be somewhat similar. You would hear things like it feels like having butterflies in your stomach, panic attacks, mood swings, headaches, and other related symptoms. Though all this information is more or less correct for most people, it does in many ways diminish what depression can become.

Depression, a Physical Condition?

Having gone through several mental health problems including depression, my response to the above question is simply that it’s highly subjective. In the summer of 2006, during my summer break, I felt symptoms that mimicked an acute sinus problem. Having never had any problems with my sinus, it was naturally quite puzzling for me to accept. However, the symptoms were as clear as they could be, and the next step was to get a paranasal test to confirm the symptoms.  Surprisingly, the test results were clear, and the physician was as surprised as I was. I left the physicians room more confused about my health than ever, and my mom soon exited the room along with the prescription paper. I was curious to know what was written on that piece of paper because as far as I knew he wasn’t sure what it was. I opened the paper, and the drug that he prescribed was Fluoxetine. I Googled the medicine and read about how it was prescribed to depression patients. It was the first time I have ever heard of the term depression, and I when I asked my mom about it, she simply dismissed the possibility of it happening to me. She was never a fan of doctors or the pharmaceutical industry, due to her past experiences and simply told me to forget about it. She was unaware of how to converse with someone with depression, as she had never experienced it in her life. Nevertheless, I did what I knew best which was to endure whatever the condition was and hope it got better. It, unfortunately, did not get better, but I was able to adapt to the pain and felt like I had to live with it. A couple of years later, I felt a sharp pain in my chest and cramping all over my body. The next day I felt a burning sensation in my chest, had trouble swallowing food, chest pains, pain in my eyes, muscular cramps, and acidity. I told my parents about it who scheduled an appointment with a gastroenterologist who asked me to get some tests done to ascertain the issue. He was convinced that this was a case of peptic ulceration and that the tests would confirm this. Shockingly, again the test results came out clear though to my amazement the doctor was not at all surprised. He told me that the problem was not with my stomach but with my head. On his advice, I consulted a psychologist and began my long road to recovery.

The biggest take away though from the story is that if you feel that depression cannot translate into a physical condition, then you’re sadly mistaken. It is one of the most varied conditions and can result in things that you would never have imagined. At the same time you also need to understand that you are not alone in your battles either; therefore you should never shy away from seeking the proper treatment to try and revive the will to live again.

photo credit: Gaia Li Mandri If only via photopin (license)

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Major Depressive Disorder: A General Overview

Major Depressive Disorder is the prototypical depressive disorder. When you talk about depression, many people are thinking about Major Depressive Disorder. It is also known as Major Depression and Clinical Depression. Major Depression is just one of the 7 types of depression.

Prevalence

Major Depressive Disorder affects about 7% of adults and 13% of teenagers, making it a common mental illness. It also affects a person’s functioning at home, work, and school. Major Depression also disrupts relationships and self-care. In other words, Major Depressive Disorder can be devastating and life-altering. In some cases, Major Depression can lead to completed suicide, and is a serious consequence of this mental disorder.

Major Depressive Episode

To meet the criteria for Major Depressive Disorder, you must have a Major Depressive Episode lasting for at least 2 weeks. In addition, you must have poor functioning at work, school, relationships, and self-care.

To meet the criteria for a Major Depressive Episode, the episode lasts most of the day and most days of the week, and the episode must include either depressed mood or anhedonia (loss of pleasure and interest in things). In addition, the episode must have at least 5 of the following 9 symptoms for at least 2 weeks:

  • Depressed mood
  • Problems Sleeping (multiple early morning awakenings)
  • Loss of Interest (anhedonia)
  • Feelings of Guilt or hopelessless
  • Low Energy
  • Poor Concentration
  • Poor Appetite
  • Psychomotor agitation (revved-up) or retardation (slowed-down)
  • Suicidal thoughts

SIGECAPS

The easy way to memorize the symptoms of depression is to use to the following mnemonic:

SIGECAPS

  • S: stands for sleep
  • I: stands for interest
  • G: stands for guilt or hopelessness
  • E: stands for energy
  • C: stands for concentration
  • A: stands for appetite
  • P: stands for psychomotor agitation or retardation
  • S: stands for suicidal thoughts

So when you have to consider a Major Depressive Episode, use the mnemonic SIGECAPS, where you have at least 5 of the 9 symptoms. In addition, one of the symptoms must include either depressed mood or anhedonia.

Treatment

The treatment for Major Depressive Disorder begins with psychotherapy. Specifically, interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) are the most-researched treatment approaches for mild to moderate depression. For mild to moderate depression that does not respond to psychotherapy, then antidepressant medication treatment may be necessary. These include treatment with SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) and SNRIs (Serotonin Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors).

For severe depression, psychotherapy is often not effective initially. This is because the severe depressive symptoms prevent active participation in therapy due to social isolation, low energy, poor concentration, and poor decision-making. Therefore, antidepressant medication is the treatment of choice for severe depression. Once the antidepressant medication reduces the depressive symptoms, then psychotherapy may be added to help further decrease the symptoms and improve functioning.

So how do you determine the severity of a Major Depressive Episode, and how do you measure it? The answer will be published in an upcoming article on Depression Boss.

photo credit: Send me adrift. Empty via photopin (license)