Depression is another mood disorder that can be a separate illness or part of bipolar disorder or sometimes as a complication of another medical disorder. People with a major medical problem like heart problems, stroke, diabetes or chronic pain can fall in the depression zone or what we call a mood disorder secondary to a medical condition. So, why do we call depression a medical disorder, and how it is different than the normal sadness that we encounter in our daily life. The truth is that emotions are very important to our wellbeing and our ability to monitor whether our needs are being met.
Normal sadness or grief is part of our make up as human beings. In fact, it is unusual and possibly unhealthy, not to experience sadness or grief when we lose something valuable like a job or a relationship or lose someone to death. The difference is that in depression the normal grief process does not proceed properly or the grief can be distorted by an underlying depression.
According to the DSM IV RT the depressive episode has to last daily for at least 2 weeks and should be severe enough to interfere with social, occupational and academic function. It is often accompanied by symptoms which show that the underlying biorhythms of the body are not working either, such as appetite, sleep, energy, and sex drive. There may be an inability to see the positive side of things, an excessive focus on guilt and low self-esteem.
So why it is difficult to treat? Some of the problems that are inherent in depression are that it affects the way we think and the way we perceive events in our lives. In a sense, when a person has depression the brain makes use of more trains of negative thoughts. The patient is not aware of this. For example, a patient with major depression will suffer from low energy which he or she will misinterpret as being lazy and not productive. So instead of blaming the illness the patient will blame self and feel guilty.
The treatment model in Recovery Road Medical Center is based on a cognitive behavioral therapy which helps the patient to identify the trains of negative thoughts that affect the emotional state of the person. Our highly qualified psychiatrists are also able to prescribe medication to help with the depression and to pave the road for the changes that need to happen.
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