Improvements in Managing Depression
Psychology journals
say that a loss of
pleasure in
participating in any
activities may be
attributed to the
changes occurring
at any given place
and situation in the
mood of a person.
A person who has
experienced a
great loss may run
into such changes in his feelings. As the disease progress, men and women
suffering from depression experience more of this mood shifts. Factors that could
influence the development of depression may be determined because anybody
can acquire it. Even during pregnancy, which should be a time for joy and
celebration, depression strikes the mind. Pregnancy is a sensitive time not only for
the women but most importantly to the fetus, in which cases of birth defects
were found in Pennsylvania because of antidepressant use.
Depression-related data obtained by the National Institute of Mental Health
(NIHM) shows that major depression among adults starts at the average age of 32
years old. The use of antidepressants among different age groups was also
prevalent. That is why understanding and treating depression has always been the
goal of most psychologists and therapists. Various treatments are used across age
brackets to relieve people from these severe low moods.
According to research, melancholia was the first name that ancient Greeks gave
for the low moods. Most of the people who have experienced it were seen to be
miserable. There are many forms in which this disease may be manifested in,
researchers believe. The people who were depressed were isolated because,
during the ancient times, they were thought to be possessed by evil spirits. It was
only during the 18thcentury when people realized that men and women with
mood disorders need medication and treatment, paving the way for building the
first therapy institution.
Proper treatment were not given to those who suffered from mood disorder,
although there were already many institutions that were built. The 20th century
has brought useful medications for people with depression. Other treatment,
such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), is now used less frequently due to the
development of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) among patients
with mood disorders.
SSRIs were introduced during the 80s and have long since become very popular
over the past decades. The public has accepted the fact that treating depression
would require the use of antidepressants and this has greatly contributed to the
popularity of antidepressants. It was also used in different age groups. SSRIs also
has lesser side effects than previous formulations, so even pregnant women were
prescribed with it. People remain alarmed over the Zoloft side effects that were
reported.