Depressive Disorders

              Shri Rishi Psychiatry Clinic – Depressive Disorders Treatment

Nowadays Depression is the most commonly used term in general language. As per World Health Organisation up to 2020, Depression will become the leading cause of diseases. Feeling sad and expressing it is good, but if this sadness increases to the level of distress and hampers day to day functioning it becomes a disorder. Depression is one of the commonest disorder in the general population after anxiety. Depressive disorders are characterized by sadness, irritability, psychomotor retardation, negative thoughts, guilt, and in severe cases, suicidal ideation. They include a number of conditions described below.

Major Depressive Disorder:

• The main symptoms of depressive disorder are depressed mood and loss of interest or pleasure in usual activities for at least 14 days. All symptoms must be present nearly every day, except suicidal ideation or thoughts of death, which need only be recurrent. It is a severe form of depression which occurs in episodes. Usually, females are more at risk and age between 20yrs to 40 yrs have more risk of depression but it can be present at any age and any gender.

Recurrent depressive disorder:

• Repeated episodes of depression even with mild or no stress is called recurrent depression. If a person has depression at an early age there is a 50% risk of developing depression in next one year. Recurrent depression usually stays lifelong if not treated early.

Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. (Pre-menstrual syndrome PMS):

• The premenstrual dysphoric disorder occurs about 1 week before the menses and is characterized by irritability, emotional lability, headache, and anxiety or depression that remits after the menstrual cycle is over.
• Depression is one among the psychiatric disorder for which good medicines are available if treated early and adequately can lead to complete remission of the disorder. But if not, it can have many hazardous effects on emotional, relational and occupational life.
• Once the patient is in Depression, only reassuring words are of no use. He/She needs the help of medicines to get over it. Newer medicines are specifically having antidepressant action only. Antidepressants are not sleeping pills, not having habit forming property and less likely interact with any other medicines if at all present.