Depression is essentially a state of mind. In a depressed mental disposition, the person remains in a state of low mood and develops repugnance towards practically everything surrounding him. It can adversely affect a person's physical state, mental behavior and his emotions. A person under depression has a tendency to become irritable, sad, restless, bothersome, hopeless, melancholic and worthless and have a feeling of anxiety. A despondent mood is a natural reaction towards certain events in life that are considered to be a symptom of several clinical conditions and a characteristic of psychological syndromes. A person suffering from depression develops a tendency of losing total interest in activities that at one time provided happiness and pleasure. There is a loss of appetite and encountering problems in concentrating or even resulting in partial lapse in memory. Further, there is an element of indecision in the person and one of the most dangerous symptoms is when he contemplates on committing suicide.
A depressed state of mind is closely associated with a large number of psychological problems emanating from exhaustion, depletion of energy, over-sleep, lack of sleep or insomnia and perhaps even digestive problems. These problems are considered to counteract any type of treatment administered to the patient. A large number of disorders that are primary disturbances of mood are in fact mood disorders, within which a major depressive disorder is also known as a major case of depression or clinical depression. This condition comes up when a person has been suffering from bouts of depression for at least two weeks or has experienced a total loss of interest in activities that evoked maximum pleasure. Acute depression may also result in a total nervous breakdown. This is one of the most serious psychological conditions where it is necessary for a patient to consult a psychiatrist. A person suffering from depression may not be aware of the psychological problem that he is suffering from. The symptoms that may be appearing may not be visible, yet they are easily discernible to a psychiatrist. The behavioral patterns of the person suffering from a depression would be visible to any other person. The effects of a depressed mind may be reflected on his behavior with his family members, his colleagues at his work place and his strange and odd moods. A person in a depressed mood becomes like a ship without a rudder and moves around aimlessly without any objective in mind.
It would be pertinent to mention here that a large number of mental disorders emanate from conditions of the person both at his work place or at home. A nagging wife or a sadistic manager could make life miserable for the person concerned. A husband, who is continually nagged by an overbearing wife or neglected by other members of his family, develops a very strong tendency to suffer from severe mental problems. Mental stress takes its toll on the human brain. On the other hand at the work place, a male or female manager who is badgering constantly the person with unrestrained insults and demeaning him before his colleagues is considerably a very strong reason in itself for depression to set in. There are certain cases where a person feels a misfit amongst his colleagues and friends and this feeling of desolation tends to make a recluse of him and he refrains from sharing his feelings with anyone. The basic reason of a person not sharing his problems with even a close person such as one's wife or a friend is his fear of being ridiculed. When this emotion becomes strong, a person loses interest in life and contemplates on committing suicide, a situation which becomes disastrous. There is no pre-defined age for suffering from depression as it strikes without any warning.
Depression is a not an incurable disease. It is a malady that requires a lot of patience both in the person undergoing treatment as well as the person who is treating the patient. It may take a long time to transform the mental state of a despondent person. The treatment is long and may even take years. The treatment may include medicinal treatment including psychotropic drugs and medicines. There is a possibility that the drugs may bring about effects which remain for a very short period and with the prolonged use of the drug, some of these effects would wear off. However, some patients suffering from insomnia are administered sleeping drugs to induce sleep so that their mind could get some rest. A patient also has to undergo psychological treatment in the form of psychiatric consultation. It is extremely important for the psycho-analyst to analyze thoroughly the mental condition of the patient before starting the treatment. A full patient medical history, physical assessment and a thorough assessment of the symptoms assist in determining the exact cause of the depression. A complete medical history of the patient medical history, physical assessment and a thorough evaluation of the symptoms help determine the precise cause of the depression. It is the prerogative of the psychiatrist to decide on the method of treatment since he is the best person to decide on the type of treatment provided to the patient that would stand to benefit him in the long run.
In conclusion, it is strongly recommended that any symptoms arising from depressive moods should not be ignored and should be referred to a psychiatrist immediately without any delay. There is an old adage which goes like this, 'a nail lost is a shoe lost, a shoe lost is a horseman lost, a horseman lost means a war is lost.' Therefore, timely action could avert a severe mental disorder. Regular and effectual treatment result in a positive cure from this problem.
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