What Is Major Depression?

If you are suffering from a constant state of despair, sadness, and hopelessness, then you may have major depression or clinical depression. Major depression can affect your ability to work, study, focus, enjoy your favorite activities, and eat. Major Depression is a persistent and severe mood disorder that leads to a constant state of hopelessness, low mood, and unhappiness.

Psychologists also refer to major depression as unipolar depression to differentiate the disorder from another form of depression – bipolar depression, which shifts between extreme depression and mania states. In contrast, unipolar depression concentrates on the persisting feeling of sadness that affects patients at a mental, emotional, and physical level.

Major depression usually requires help from a medical professional and can be successfully treated or managed through a combination of medical and alternative treatments. Major depression may require long-term treatment. It is crucial that depression should not be seen as a form of weakness or a character flaw. With proper treatment and management, people suffering from major depression can live healthy, fulfilled lives.

Symptoms Of Major Depression
It is common for major depression patients to have multiple episodes. During the episodes, the symptoms typically occur throughout the day and usually daily. The feeling of being generally sad and unhappy for no reason is a common symptom among people who suffer from depression. The symptoms of major depression can be slightly different in men, women, and children.

Following are some of the most common symptoms of major depressive disorder:

• Feeling of sadness, hopelessness, or emptiness
• Outbursts of anger, frustration, or irritability
• Lack of interest in normal day-to-day activities and withdrawing from loved ones
• Disturbances in sleep, including sleeping too little or too much
• Feeling of tiredness or lack of energy
• Eating too much or too little
• Anxiety or restlessness
• Feelings of worthlessness or self-blame, focusing on the past
• Trouble focusing, concentrating, a problem with memory
• Suicidal thoughts or attempts
• Physical aches, including the back, should, or headaches
• A slowdown in thinking

In most cases, the symptoms of major depression are typically severe and noticeable in daily activities. It can affect the patient’s ability to work, study, and have healthy relationships with loved ones.

Causes of Major Depression
Several different factors can cause major depression; these include:

• Biological Abnormalities In The Brain
• Chemical Imbalance In The Brain
• Hormonal Imbalance
• Family History

Diagnosis
If you feel that you have symptoms of depression, then a primary care physician or a mental health profession will be able to diagnose depression and the type of depression you may be suffering from. Diagnosis generally in answering questions about your family history and the symptoms you are experiencing.

If you have suicidal thoughts or thinking about hurting yourself, seek help from the local emergency center in Bronx at once.

Treatment For Major Depression
After the diagnosis, your doctor may use one or a combination of the following treatments:

• Psychotherapy
• Antidepressant medications
• Other holistic alternative therapies such as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)