by Priya Kanwar

Created on: February 09, 2009

Largest killer disease in the world.

Depression, one of the most common types of mood disorders, is fast emerging as one of the largest killer diseases in the world. All of us experience various degrees of this disorder at some time or the other in life. However, a severe depression that interferes with the ability to function, feel pleasure or maintain interest is not merely a case of the blues. It is an illness, which results from biochemical imbalances in the brain.

Normally, a mildly depressed person is able to shake him / her self out of it and lead quite a healthy life. They are able to take the difficulties of life in their stride. However, not everyone has such mental capabilities. Some people feel so miserable that they stop living life and start thinking of different ways in which they can bring an end to their suffering, including death and suicide.

Reasons for feeling depressed may vary from, increase in stress levels, frequent disappointments, failures at work / love to grief over the loss of a loved one or grief due to a natural calamity causing extensive destruction to life and property, e.g., floods, earthquake, terrorism etc.

It is sad to note that, though many people suffer from chronic depression, very few of these people actually turn up for treatment. In most of the cases, they may not be even aware that the condition is treatable. In addition, some people do not acknowledge the fact that they are suffering from an ailment, may be due to any number of personal reasons.

Some Facts about Depression.

According to statistics in the United States, depressive illness is the most common and destructive psychological ailment prevalent today. There are around 4,00,000 people treated for this disease every year. Of the 35-40 million afflicted people in the U.S, a substantial percentage will commit suicide if not treated with appropriate medication.

Depression affects women more commonly than it affects men. Moreover, 6-19% of us will suffer a serious episode of depression at least once in our lives. In addition, lifetime risks for depression were found to be less (8-12%) in men and higher in women (20-26%).

Generally, men and women have different ways of reacting to depression. Men may turn negative emotion outward, feeling more anger, whereas women may turn their negative feelings inward, thus feeling more depressed over friendships. There is evidence to suggest that many hormonal factors cause women to be depressed, factors such as- premenstrual

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next Page >>