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Back to Subjects - Psychology

The Blues

The Blues Today’s forecast; gloomy, and there is no sunshine in sight. If you had any form of depression, that is what it would seem like everyday. Depression is defined as a total body illness that affects a person’s thoughts, feelings, behavior, physical health and appearance. It affects all areas of a person’s life, including a person’s home, work, school, and social life. Depression is a real illness, and it’s described as a feeling of sadness, worthlessness, or gloominess that can last from several months, to several years. While it’s only human to experience feelings of sadness and gloominess every now and then, clinical depression occurs when these feelings last for long periods of time. Depression of all types is considered an inner conflict. Did you know, that of the millions of Americans who suffer from depression in any given year, 80% can be effectively treated, but only 30% seek help. Of that number, slightly more than half are accurately diagnosed and receive appropriate treatment. The #1 cause of suicide is untreated depression. Its been reported that 95% of all suicides occur at the peak of a depressive episode, and 30, 000 suicide deaths occur nationally. Though, it’s estimated that the actual figure may be three times that number due to inaccurate reporting, such as recording it as an accidental death. Depression is so common that over one in five Americans can expect to get some form of depression in their lifetime. Over one and twenty Americans have a depressive disorder every year. Some people are more prone to get a depressive disorder than others. Research proved that women are almost twice as likely as men to experience a depressive episode. Those who are most likely to experience depression are married women, women in poverty, adolescents, and unmarried men. When people refer to depression, they are usually referring to clinical or major depression. This type of depression is when a person experiences the characteristics of depression within a certain degree of intensity, either in a single episode, or that keep reoccurring over time. Another common type of depression is bipolar disorder, or as others refer to it as manic depression. Manic depression involves cycled periods of severe depression with times of extremely elevated or irritable mood known as mania. Many people also under go dysthymia. People with dysthymia go through life almost always feeling mildly depressed, which can greatly impair their ability to enjoy the positives in life. There is also seasonal affective disorder, unipolar depression, cyclothymia, and atypical depression. Season affective disorder is a depressive illness that has to do with a person’s reaction to the amount of natural light a person receives. This illness mainly affects the body’s sleep cycle and biological clock. Unipolar depression is described when a person can feel perfectly fine, but other times, they feel depressed, slowed down, or in a fog. A person may have only one or two episodes, or may continue to have these episodes throughout their lifetime. Then there is atypical depression. It’s basically when a person can have fun and experience pleasure if an opportunity presents itself, but the feeling is short lived. You might be asking yourself, “How do I get depression?” Well, researchers believe that people inherit a tendency towards depression, but actual episodes may be triggered by stressful life events. Depressive illnesses are usually related to an imbalance in a person’s brain chemistry, but there are also psychological components to every type of depression. Depression is more common than you think. So many people go through depression that even famous people openly speak about their illnesses. Some of the most well known celebrities with depressive illnesses are Winston Churchill, artist Vincent Van Gogh, Abraham Lincoln, Barbara Bush, Beethoven, and Charles Dickens. These celebrities were diagnosed having either unipolar or bipolar disorders. Depressive illnesses can be treated. There are various ways to treat a depressive illness depending on the type of illness. Much of my researched has shown that with a combination of antidepressant medication along with psychotherapy is the quickest, most effective treatment. Many times, antidepressant medication is needed to clear the foggy head, so they can concentrate in their therapy sessions. If a person took antidepressant medication that didn’t have depression, the medication wouldn’t have any affect on them. It wouldn’t make them happier or give them any more energy. That’s probably why they aren’t street drugs, in a sense that they aren’t mood-altering drugs. Psychotherapy is mostly talking therapy. During psychotherapy, it focuses on changing a person’s negative thinking, and how to successfully interact with others. Unfortunately, if depression isn’t treated, it could have fatal results. Depressive illnesses can distort a person’s thinking, so they don’t think clearly or rationally. They may not know they have a treatable illness, or they may think they can’t be helped. Depressive illnesses can cause thoughts of hopelessness and helplessness, which may lead to suicidal thoughts. It’s hard to imagine that depression is the most common, most misdiagnosed illness in America. Don’t get confused. People with a depressive illness can’t talk themselves into feeling good. These illnesses are different from ordinary blues. The ordinary blues are normal and eventually pass, but depressive illnesses last for months or even years with varying patterns. I have always been confused on the difference between the ordinary blues and a depression illness. This speech allowed me to realize the difference after I researched it. Hopefully you realized how common depressive illnesses are, and mostly likely you personally know someone who shows the signs of being depressed, or is being treated for depression. Bibliography: 1. Depression: Unipolar – http://mentalhelp.net/poc/center_index.php?id=5 2. Depression (Unipolar) – http://mentalh…/Depression%20(unipolar)?PHPSESSID=90b7e98b518flec1a46f4cd7f459911 3. Profile: Depression-Diseases and People “Depression”. 4. Famous People With Unipolar and Bipolar Disorders – http://mdda-metro-detroit.org/hope.htm 5. Depression & Related Depressive Illnesses: Facts you should know – http://www.save.org/depfacts.shtml 6. Everything You Need To Know About Depression- By: Eleanor H. Ayer 7. Depression Is The Pits, But I’m Getting Better – By: E. Jane Garland, M.D.

Word Count: 937