Depression - When Depression Strikes and How to Cope With It!

Depression is a simple reaction due to lack of control or monotony. People get depressed when they experience financial constraints or losing a loved one. But there are people who have genetic predispositions when it comes to depression.

Varying degrees of chronic depressed moods are caused by chemical imbalances that happen in the brain. Hormonal changes can also prompt depression while seasonal cycles can trigger depressive moods. Most persons who are suffering from a physical illness also get depressed.

Depression is an example of mood disorders. Other examples of mood disorders are dysthymia, postpartum disorder, and bipolar disorder. A person with manic depression, also known as bipolar disorder, experiences periods of extreme highs (or happiness) that is followed by extreme lows (or sadness). Clinical depression is a mood disorder that is considered as long-term depression while seasonal affective disorder relates to the cyclical mode's seasons.

Every year, more and more people are seeking for medical help to treat their depression disorders. The stigma of being depressed becomes less but more people are already claiming that they are experiencing the symptoms of depressed person.

Various types of drugs are already available to help treat people suffering from clinical and manic depression. There are also medical doctors who give prescriptions to these types of drugs to their patients who claim that they are suffering from depression. The problem is, most of these doctors just give prescriptions without even performing psychiatric tests to determine of the person is really eligible to take such drugs.

People who think that they are suffering from depression should consult a psychologist. It is the psychologist's role to determine what kind of therapy is needed by the person suffering from depression. After being diagnosed by the psychologist, the services of a psychiatrist could also be needed. It is the psychiatrist who gives the prescription on the drugs that will help in balancing the chemical imbalances in the brain. Depressed people can easily be treated with the help of medicines and series of therapy sessions in order to help the person determine cause of their depression.

There are two ways to treat persons with mood disorders like depression. The traditional way is the recommendation made by the psychologist or psychiatrist which includes giving prescriptions for antidepressants and conducting a psychological counseling. The alternative way refers to the use of natural remedies such as taking supplements and herbal medicines, acupuncture, exercise therapy, massage therapy, hypnotherapy, talk therapy, and 5-senses therapy.

Different types of treatment can help treat persons with mood disorders. However, it should be remembered that the treatment applied to a person would also work with the other person. For example, the walk therapy which is a 30-minute walk everyday gives an immediate result to a person's lift in mood. But when the same treatment is applied in St. John's Wort, the result became visible after a few days time. This only shows that each person is really different from another. What might be applicable on a person's situation may not be the case with the other.