What is it?
Depression (d-preh-shun) is a type of mood disorder. A mood is an emotion or a feeling. Moods affect our behavior (how we act). Your mood also affects how you feel about yourself and life in general. Depression is a sad mood that you cannot control. If you feel sad for at least 2 weeks, you may be depressed.
Depression may be caused by a stressful change in your life. It may also be caused by a change in the chemicals in your brain. Sometimes illnesses can cause depression. Women are more likely to get depressed than men. You may be at higher risk for depression if you have one or more of these problems.
Signs and Symptoms:
Depression can start suddenly or slowly. Other people may see changes before you see or feel them. You may have one or more of the following symptoms.
Eating healthy well-balanced meals, getting regular exercise, and talking to and being with friends and family help depression.
You may need blood tests, x-rays, electrocardiogram (EKG), or a computed tomograph (CT) scan. You may also need medicine to help your depression. At first, you will probably be seen in a clinic or doctor's office. You may need to see your caregiver 1 to 4 times a month. You may need to go into the hospital for tests and treatment.
Herbs and Supplements:
Before taking any herbs or supplements, ask your caregiver if it is OK. Talk to your caregiver about how much you should take. If you are using this medicine without instructions from your caregiver, follow the directions on the label. Do not take more medicine or take it more often than the directions tell you to. The herbs and supplements listed may or may not help treat your condition.
Other ways of treating your symptoms : Other ways to treat your symptoms are available to you.
Talk to your caregiver if:
SEEK CARE IMMEDIATELY IF:
Call or write the following organizations for more information:
You have the right to help plan your care. To help with this plan, you must learn about your health condition and how it may be treated. You can then discuss treatment options with your caregivers. Work with them to decide what care may be used to treat you. You always have the right to refuse treatment unless you might hurt yourself or someone else.
1. Alpert JE & Fava M: Nutrition and depression: the role of folate. Nutr Rev 1997; 55(5):145-149.
2. Birkmayer GJD & Birkmayer W: The coenzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) as biological antidepressive agent experience with 205 patients. New Trends Clin Neuropharmacol 1991; 5(3-4):75-86.
3. Bressa GM: S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAMe) as antidepressant: meta-analysis of clinical studies. Acta Neurol Scand Suppl 1994; 154:7-14.
4. Frese M: Social support as a moderator of the relationship between work stressors and psychological dysfunctioning: a longitudinal study with objective measures. J Occup Health Psychol 1999; 4(3):179-192.
5. Groom KN & O'Connor ME: Relation of light and exercise to seasonal depressive symptoms: preliminary development of a scale. Percept Mot Skills 1996; 83(2):379-383.
6. Gunn ADG: Vitamin B6 and the premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Internat J Vit Nutr Res 1985; (Suppl 27):213-224 (review).
7. Hagerty BM & Williams RA: The effects of sense of belonging, social support, conflict, and loneliness on depression. Nurs Res 1999; 48(4):215-219.
8. Haleem DJ, Yasmeen A, Haleem MA et al: 24h withdrawal following repeated administration of caffeine attenuates brain serotonin but not tryptophan in rat brain. Life Sci 1995; 29; 57(19):PL285-292.
9. Lecrubier Y, Clerc G, Didi R et al: Efficacy of St. John's Wort extract WS 5570 in major depression: a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Am J Psychiatry 2002; 159(8):1361-1366.
10. Levine J, Barak Y, Gonzalves M et al: Double-blind, controlled trial of inositol treatment of depression. Am J Psychiatry 1995; 152(5):792-794.
11. Luo H, Meng F, Jia Y et al: Clinical research on the therapeutic effect of the electro-acupuncture treatment in patients with depression. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 1998; 52 Suppl:S338-340.
12. Martinsen EW: Benefits of exercise for the treatment of depression. Sports Med 1990; 9:380-389.
13. McCullough ME & Larson DB: Religion and depression: a review of the literature. Twin Res 1999; 2(2):126-136.
14. Peet M & Horrobin D: A dose-ranging study of the effects of ethyl-eicosapentaenoate in patients with ongoing depression despite apparently adequate treatment with standard drugs. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2002; 59(10):913-919.
15. Van Praag HM: Studies in the mechanism of action of serotonin precursors in depression. Psychopharmacol Bull 1984a; 20(3):599-602.
16. Wolkowitz OM, Reua VI, Keebler A et al: Double-blind treatment of major depression with dehydroepiandrosterone. Am J Psychiatry 1999; 156(4):646-649.
17. Worthington J, Fava M, Agustin C et al: Consumption of alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine among depressed outpatients. Relationship with response to treatment. Psychosomatics 1996; 37(6):518-522.
Last Updated: 4/4/2014
Copyright © 1984- Thomson Micromedex. All rights reserved.