Depressioo Essay Research Paper DepressionConsider this Elizabeth

Depressioo Essay, Research Paper

Depression

Consider this: Elizabeth Wurtzel has struggled with depression throughout her life. She has a history of suicide attempts, self-mutilations, and serious mood swings. She took numerous antidepressants and medications in an attempt to regulate her irregular behavior. She quit using the medications due to the multiple side effects the drugs had on her. The result was chaos; after Elizabeth quit taking her medication her body experienced episodes of withdrawal. Despite her continued attempts to combat her illness, she experienced nervous breakdowns and alienation from her friends and family. Elizabeth Wurtzel reluctantly went back to taking medication despite the potentially serious side effects of taking so many drugs (Kim 46).

In the news, on the streets, and in neighborhoods, individuals are confronted with a variety of social problems (Kim 7). A person may watch a loved one battle cancer, suspect a friend of having bulimia, or he/she may struggle daily with depression (Kim 7). The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that as many as 17 million Americans each year suffer from depression. About one in twenty-five of these sufferers is under the age of 18, and one in seven women will experience depression in her lifetime. The illness strikes regardless of age, gender, class, culture, or ethnic background (Kim 9). The occurrence and distribution of depression in a population may be related to a variety of factors. Such factors include a wide range of possibilities such as sex, age, living in the town, living in the country, nutrition, marital status, socioeconomic background, and genetic factors (Winokur 18). Many people who are depressed do not seek treatment either because they are unaware that their condition can be helped or because they are all too aware of the stigma and shame associated with depression (Kim 9). Discovering and analyzing the complexities of issues that are associated with depression is a necessity in the goal of obtaining a comprehensive understanding of depression and of those who suffer from the disease (Kim 13). In order to completely understand the illness of depression, people should understand what the disease is, what factors cause the disease, and the how disease is treated.

Feelings of hopelessness, sadness, or discouragement occasionally tug at us all (Kim 13), but those feelings eventually fade away. These feelings of being depressed can easily be mistaken for the clinical illness of depression, but depression is quite different. The illness of depression is a state of psychological misery that does not go away (Kim 13). It may also be defined as a state of mind and body which is characterized by a change in mood towards being miserable, worried, easily discouraged or agitated, unable to feel emotions, fearful, despondent or hopeless (Winokur 3). People suffering from depression often have slowed mental reactions, trouble concentrating and remembering, and difficulty in interacting in social situations (Winokur XIV). Clinical observations have shown that 84% of depression patients suffer from impaired concentration (Winokur 6). Their responses to questions will take a long time in coming (Winokur 4). Such forms of pleasure as food, friends, and sex no longer hold an appeal to people who suffer from depression. It has also been proven that 77% of people who suffer from depression lack an interest in usual activities (Winokur 6). People who suffer from depression simply loose their joy for life (Kim 13). Many people who suffer from depression entertain the thought of suicide (Robbins 6). Estimates are that the lifetime risk of suicide in persons with serious depression runs on the order of 15% while it is only about one percent for the general population (Robbins 6).

Not only does depression affect people mentally, but it also affects people physically. Many sufferers of depression experience an increased or decreased appetite (Kim 14) which may result in weight and health problems. Irregular sleep patterns are commonly associated with depression (Winokur 98). Trouble falling asleep and disturbed sleep (Kim 14) are also results of having depression. This problem is often called sleep onset insomnia (Robbins 6). The experience of sleep deprivation inevitably leads to fatigue (Kim 14) and over time chronic fatigue (Robbins 6). Depression also slows down the physical reactions of people as well as their ability to perform everyday activities. Some victims of depression also experience physical feelings of being worn out, headaches, impaired vision, and hot and cold flashes (Robbins 17). Of course, not all people who experience some of these mental and physical symptoms are necessarily in a state of depression, and not all of these symptoms will be present in each person who experiences depression (Winokur 4). In order to be diagnosed as victims of depression people must suffer from a minimal number of five symptoms (Kim 14). Those people who experience the minimal of five symptoms are said to be suffering mild depression. Mild cases of depression involve very little interference with normal functioning in usual social activities (Kim 14). The second type of depression is moderate depression, also known as dysthymic disorder (Robbins 22). Dysthymic disorder is typically not severe but it has the potential to last for many years (Robbins 4). Individuals who suffer from m