Depression affects more Belgians and Dutch than we would thing. Depression also is a rather recent subject, which seems to be getting more and more attention. Recently, articles appeared on depression where there was referenced to the reduction of the immune system. According to some researches, depression develops just like a physical disease: when you are more vulnerable. These researches described depression and depression symptoms as a consequence of a chemical reaction in the brain. According to this article, depression can thus be treated and explained at the hand of physical characteristics. Is this really the case? This article shows both sides of the story, both the medicinal and the psychological side. We also sum up possible treatment methods for depression symptoms, which you can compare at the hand of your personal preference. Furthermore, we also give a depression test at the end of the article, which measures your level of depression. Make sure to do it!
Depression symptoms? What are depression symptoms?
The medical side of depression symptoms?
Depression develops through a shortage of serotonin and dopamine in the brain. These two hormones are responsible for the happiness which you experience. You thus feel 'depressed' because there is too little of the 'happiness hormones' present. Also, depression symptoms are generally explained at the hand of three stages. In he first stage of depression, we find the following depression symptoms:
- Increased stress level
- Concentration issues
- Memory problems
These depression symptoms develop because depression first off attacks the centers in the brain which are responsible for the processing of data and sending information to the memory. Because of an increased stress level, the body will send the message to attack these centers. In the second phase you will notice that you become somber and depressed. Now, your body thus will affect another area. You feel somber because in this second phase, positive feelings are turned off. This is for most people the most recognizable phase of depression. In this phase we can officially consider depression symptoms to be present, while in the previous phase the symptoms can also indicate another mental illness. In the next and final phase, your body will, odd as it may seem, also turn off your negative feelings. Now event he area which makes you somber and depressed will be turned off. This phase is not considered to be part of depression by most people, because this phase is reigned by a general feeling of apathy. Depression symptoms have here gone to their maximum level and all feelings as well as their centers are turned off.
The psychological side of depression symptoms?
In the psychological side of depression and its symptoms, we also look at the lack of hormones and which centers in the brain show a reduced activity. Psychologists namely also need to develop knowledge regarding the brain and the body during their education, because the mind and the body can no longer be considered to be separate. The time of the philosophers and the separation of mind and body is long gone. That is why psychologists recognize the same symptoms ans doctors, and they, in man organizations, work multidisciplinary in order to map everything out. According to the DSM, a diagnostic manual used by psychologists and psychiatrists, depressions may namely not be caused by a physical issue or illness. But can depression then be seen as a physical illness, caused by a lack of 'happiness hormones'? There is still a lot of discussion going on regarding this. The current vision nuances this statement by saying that genetic forms of depression, types and depression symptoms which are passed on from generation to generation, can rather be seen as physical, while other types rather are psychological. Because it is nuanced, differentiation in treatment is important.
Depression symptoms? possible treatments?
The general belief of psychiatrists, psychologists, and doctors says that genetic types of depression symptoms are helped best with the use of medication (read: antidepressants), eventually combined with a psychological treatment, and that other types of depression and depression symptoms are better helped with psychological treatment. Depression and depression symptoms can namely be caused by, for example, a divorce, loss of work, traumatic event,... In that case, it is generally more effective to look at the cause together with a psychologist or a psychotherapist, and to help to develop helpful thoughts so that you can once again enjoy life.
Depression symptoms? 15 Minutes 4 Me?
The online self-help program 15 Minutes 4 Me is based on therapeutic techniques in order to help people with a non-genetic type of depression symptoms by giving them a different treatment option. The program was developed by doctors and psychologists, in order to give people at home the chance to work on themselves and their depression every day. You can follow this program on its own or combined with other types of therapy, depending on the severity of your depression.
Depression symptoms? Take the free depression test!
To know which depression symptoms are present in you or to what extent these depression symptoms have an influence on your life, you can always fill out the free depression test. It takes about 5 minutes and will help you to gain more insight in your depression symptoms.
