Depression In Ten Adults

Depression is a psychiatric disorder characterized by an inability to concentrate, insomnia, loss of appetite, feelings of extreme sadness, guilt, helplessness and hopelessness, and thoughts of death. People that are depressed have sadness greater and more prolonged than that warranted by any objective reason. It is a serious illness that affects thoughts, feelings, and the ability to function in everyday life. Thirteen to fourteen million Americans suffer from depression in any given year and over sixteen percent have depression at some point in time. (Depression health) Women tend to be more susceptible to the disorder than men. (Depression)

Does the average person experience depression throughout their life? Introduction In psychology, depression is a mental illness in which a person experiences deep, unshakable sadness and diminished interest in nearly all activities, it involves disturbances in emotion(Encarta). Depression is among the most common mental illnesses. About 8 percent of adults in the United States experience serious depression through out their lives (Encarta). Women are about three times more likely to be depressed than men (Encarta).

Depression is one of the most common conditions encountered in medical practice in fact 16% of the U.S population is diagnosed with a depression mood, at heist risks are adolescents with 20%. However it is less common in children, but when it happens it determines the long-terms psychological health of the child. Women have twice the risk as men for developing depression because puberty is a particular high-risk period for females. More then 70% of people with unipolar depression have another disorder such as: substance abuse, anxiety disorder or eating disorder.

Depression is the most common of all psychological disorders. It effects more than 100 million people worldwide. Between 8 and 18% of the general population will experience depression in their lifetime. Research has proved that in any 6-month period, 8% of woman, and 4% of men are likely to be diagnosed with some form of depression. Hirshfield and Goodwin (1988) say that as many as 15% of severely depressed individuals eventually kill themselves.

In the period of one year, about 9.5% of Americans, which is about 18.8 million adults will suffer from one of these types of a "depressive disorder." (source 2) Depression affects over 17 million Americans each year. It's most common in women, and is more likely to affect the elderly than the young. It is the most diagnosed mental illness, and at least 15% of Americans will be affected by it so badly that they'll need medical attention. (source 1)

Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of health related situations and events that impact a community (McKenzie, Pinger, & Kotecki, 2008). A common state that impacts a community is depression. Depression is a mental health condition that affects people of all ages. According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (2011), depression is described by a state of sadness and hopelessness. Some symptoms of depression include no interest in daily activities, fatigue, inability to perform daily tasks, loss of appetite, and thoughts of suicide (CDC, 2011). There are two main forms of depression. The two types are dysthymia and major depression (CDC, 2011). Dysthymia is a type of depressive disorder that usually continues up to two years. This type of depression is of "low-grade mood impairment" which does not have a severe and long-lasting impairment on an individual's moods (CDC, 2011, para. 5). The population that is most affected by dysthymia are children and adolescents. Many who suffer from dysthymia can develop a more serious form of depression, which is major depression (CDC, 2011). The symptoms related to major depression include restlessness, difficulty concentrating on daily activities, feeling of helplessness, decreased energy, attempts and thoughts of suicide. The most serious consequence of major depression is suicide (CDC, 2011; NIMH, 2011). As stated by the CDC, "depression poses a substantial burden globally-" (CDC, 2011, para. 2). Friends and family of a person suffering from depression are also affected. Relationships amongst an individual and their supported networks diminishes as the individual suffering from depression withdraws from society and becomes isolated (CDC, 2011, para. 2...

Major depression has a relatively high prevalence compared to other affective disorders. The Nation Comorbidity Study (1994) found that prevalence for lifetime major depression in the USA was 17.1%. Kessler et al (2005) found that, in the USA, there was a prevalence of 13.2% for males and 20.2% for females. Andrade and Caraveo (2003) found that lifetime prevalence of depression varies across cultures, with a prevalence rate of 3% in Japan compared to a prevalence rate of 17% in the USA.

Women between ages 25-44 are the most affected by depression mainly because they have trouble handling anger which is usually associated with anxiety disorders or substance abuse. Depression can affect people of all ages and is rated number one for being the leading cause of disability in the United States. Depression has been known to associate with a reduced amount of connections between neurons in the cortex of the brain. To help subside depression there are many antidepressants. A few treatments used for depression would be electroshock therapy, Lithium, Prozac, and many more. I will discuss Electroshock Therapy, Lithium, and Prozac.

...picture of depression: the varying degrees, the basic causes, the symptoms, the effects and the available treatment methods. According to Dr. Lurie, there are five major forms of depression. In order of severity, the five main types are major depressive disorder, dysthymia, reactive depression, seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and depression as part of another illness (comorbid depression). Of these varying degrees of depression, Dr. Lurie notes that adjustment disorder with depressed mood, a form of reactive depression, is the most common type primarily because it is triggered by stress (Lurie, 2007). In addition to defaming the myth that all depression is the same, Dr. Lurie also states that the degree to which the symptoms of depression differ is broader than the illness itself. Depression can affect a person mentally, physically, behaviorally and emotionally.

Depression in 21st Century A lot of people complain about depression nowadays. Every year almost one million people die of this disease. An alarming fact is that most of those people are young. Thinking about the reason of such a situation we can come to conclusion that the main problem for those is the lack of time. At present people work much more than they used to a few decades ago.