Depression: Symptoms Causes and Cure.

What are the different forms of depression?

There are several forms of depression (depressive disorders). Major depressive disorder and dysthymic disorder are the most common.

Major depressive disorder (major depression)

Major depressive disorder is also known as major depression. The patients suffer from a combination of symptoms that undermine their ability to sleep, study, work, eat, and enjoy activities they used to find pleasurable.

Experts say that major depressive disorder can be very disabling, preventing the patient from functioning normally. Some people experience only one episode, while others have recurrences.

Dysthymic disorder (dysthymia)

Dysthymic disorder is also known as dysthymia, or mild chronic depression. The patient will suffer symptoms for a long time, perhaps as long as a couple of years, and often longer. The symptoms are not as severe as in major depression - they do not disable the patient. However, people affected with dysthymic disorder may find it hard to function normally and feel well.

Some people experience only one episode during their lifetime, while others may have recurrences.

A person with dysthymia might also experience major depression, once, twice, or more often during their lifetime. Dysthymia can sometimes come with other symptoms. When they do, it is possible that other forms of depression are diagnosed.

For a patient to be diagnosed with dysthymia he or she must have experienced a combination of depressive symptoms for at least two years7.

Psychotic depression

When severe depressive illness includes hallucinations, delusions, and/or withdrawing from reality, the patient may be diagnosed with psychotic depression. Psychotic depression is also referred to as delusional depression.

Postpartum depression (postnatal depression)

Postpartum depression is also known as postnatal depression or PND. This is not to be confused with 'baby blues' which a mother may feel for a very short period after giving birth.

If a mother develops a major depressive episode within a few weeks of giving birth it is most likely she has developed postpartum depression. Experts believe that about 10% to 15% of all women experience this type of depression after giving birth. Sadly, many of them go undiagnosed and suffer for long periods without treatment and support.

Postpartum depression can start any time within a year of giving birth, according to the National Library of Medicine8.

SAD (seasonal affective disorder)

SAD is much more common the further from the equator you go, where the end of summer means the beginning of less sunlight and more dark hours. A person who develops a depressive illness during the winter months might have SAD.

SAD symptoms go away during spring and/or summer. In Scandinavia, where winter can be very dark for many months, patients commonly undergo light therapy - they sit in front of a special light. Light therapy works for about half of all SAD patients. In addition to light therapy, some people may need antidepressants, psychotherapy, or both. Light therapy is becoming more popular in other northern countries, such as Canada and the United Kingdom.

The National Health Service9, UK, suggest that sunlight may stimulate the hypothalamus, a part of the brain that controls sleep, appetite and mood.

Bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness)

Bipolar disorder is also known as manic-depressive illness. It used to be known as manic depression. It is not as common as major depression or dysthymia. A patient with bipolar disorder experiences moments of extreme highs and extreme lows. These extremes are known as manias.

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Why We get Stress as We Don't Want to..

The kids won't stop screaming, your boss has been hounding you because you turned a report in late, and you owe the IRS thousands of dollars you don't have. You're seriously stressed out.

Stress is actually a normal part of life. At times, it serves a useful purpose. Stress can motivate you to get that promotion at work, or run the last mile of a marathon. But if you don't get a handle on your stress and it becomes long term, it can seriously interfere with your job, family life, and health. More than half of Americans say they fight with friends and loved ones because of stress, and more than 70% say they experience real physical and emotional symptoms from it.

Causes of Stress

Everyone has different stress triggers. Work stress tops the list, according to surveys. Forty percent of U.S. workers admit to experiencing office stress, and one-quarter say work is the biggest source of stress in their lives.

Causes of work stress include:

Being unhappy in your job
Having a heavy workload or too much responsibility
Working long hours
Having poor management, unclear expectations of your work, or no say in the decision-making process
Working under dangerous conditions
Being insecure about your chance for advancement or risk of termination
Having to give speeches in front of colleagues
Facing discrimination or harassment at work, especially if your company isn't supportive

Life stresses can also have a big impact. Examples of life stresses are:

The death of a loved one
Divorce
Loss of a job
Increase in financial obligations
Getting married
Moving to a new home
Chronic illness or injury
Emotional problems (depression, anxiety, anger, grief, guilt, low self-esteem)
Taking care of an elderly or sick family member
Traumatic event, such as a natural disaster, theft, rape, or violence against you or a loved one.
Sometimes the stress comes from inside, rather than outside. You can stress yourself out just by worrying about things. All of these factors can lead to stress:

Fear and uncertainty. When you regularly hear about the threat of terrorist attacks, global warming, and toxic chemicals on the news, it can cause you to be stressed, especially because you feel like you have no control over those events. Fears can also hit closer to home, such as being worried that you won't finish a project at work or won't have enough money to pay your bills this month.
Attitudes and perceptions. How you view the world or a particular situation can determine whether it causes stress. For example, if your television set is stolen and you take the attitude, "It's OK, my insurance company will pay for a new one," you'll be far less stressed than if you think, "My TV is gone and I'll never get it back! What if the thieves come back to my house to steal again?" Similarly, people who feel like they're doing a good job at work will be less stressed out by a big upcoming project than those who worry that they are incompetent.
Unrealistic expectations. No one is perfect. If you expect to do everything right all the time, you're destined to feel stressed when things don't go as expected.
Change. Any major life change can be stressful -- even a happy event like a wedding. More unpleasant events, such as a divorce, major financial setback, or death in the family can be significant sources of stress.
Your stress level will differ based on your personality and how you respond to situations. Some people let everything roll off their back. To them, work stresses and life stresses are just minor bumps in the road. Others literally worry themselves sick.
Effects of Stress on Your Health

When you are in a stressful situation, your body launches a physical response. Your nervous system springs into action, releasing hormones that prepare you to either fight or take off. It's called the "fight or flight" response, and it's why, when you're in a stressful situation, you may notice that your heartbeat speeds up, your breathing gets faster, your muscles tense, and you start to sweat. This kind of stress is short-term and temporary (acute stress), and your body usually recovers quickly from it.

But if your stress system stays activated over a long period of time (chronic stress), it can lead to more serious health problems. The constant rush of stress hormones can put a lot of wear and tear on your body, causing it to age more quickly and making it more prone to illness.

If you've been stressed out for a short period of time, you may start to notice some of these physical signs:

Headache
Fatigue
Difficulty sleeping
Difficulty concentrating
Upset stomach
Irritability
When stress becomes long-term and is not properly addressed, it can lead to a number of more serious health conditions, including:

Depression
High blood pressure
Abnormal heartbeat (arrhythmia)
Hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis)
Heart disease
Heart attack
Heartburn, ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome
Upset stomach -- cramps, constipation, and diarrhea
Weight gain or loss
Changes in sex drive
Fertility problems
Flare-ups of asthma or arthritis
Skin problems such as acne, eczema, and psoriasis
Managing your stress can make a real difference to your health. One study showed that women with heart disease lived longer if they underwent a stress management program.

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10 TIPS FOR MANAGING STRESS

Allow us a few moments of philosophical waxing. Say that you’re afraid of public speaking. You tense up and sweat, and your stomach turns into a butterfly museum. But the truth is that when you’re that tense, the task becomes more painful and difficult to accomplish. Anticipating the horror of the talk is much worse than the actual reality.
So if you retrain your mind to relax, as difficult as it is, by using some of our techniques, and tell yourself that the universe will run its course in the right way, you’ll have mastered the first step of decreasing stress.
1: Breathe

Breathe in. Hold it. Hold it. Hold it. Now release slooooooooowly. Feel better? Good. But that’s not the only anti-stress solution you should have.
2: Create Your Backup Plan

As we said, stress isn’t all bad. It’s what gives you the concentration and ability to finish a project or meet a deadline. But stress can linger around like week-old leftovers and create its own kind of stink. So in periods of high stress, you need to have a plan that works for you. Such things as exercise and meditation work for some people, and both of them will help you manage chronic stress through the release of such feel-good substances as nitric oxide and brain chemicals called endorphins. But in the heat of the moment, at peak periods of high intensity, you should be able to pull a quick stress-busting behavior out of your biological bag of tricks.
Our suggestions:
Scrunch your face tightly for fifteen seconds, then release. Repeat several times. This repetitive contraction and relaxation helps release tension you’re holding above the neck.
Breathe in, lick your lips, then blow out slowly. The cool air helps you refocus and slow down.
Cork it. Hold a wine cork vertically between your teeth. Putting a gentle bite on the cork forces your jaws — a major holder of tension—to relax. (Don’t fight stress by emptying the bottle of wine into your body first.)
3: Lean on Him, Her or Whomever

Friends aren’t just good for borrowing sugar from or for telling you that you have wing sauce on your cheek. Friends are the ultimate de-stressor. Friends can remove over 90 percent of the aging penalty you face after a major life event accelerates your aging.
Research shows that one of the most vital elements in reducing the negative health effects of stress is to have strong social networks. So gossiping, playing poker, having girlfriend spa days, playing golf, and going to happy hour aren’t all just fun and games. They’re mental medicine. So are religious and church groups. We recommend that you talk to friends or extended family daily as a way to strengthen those networks. Of course, your posse isn’t just good for managing chronic stress. In periods of major stress, they can be the anchor you need when you’re rocking in stormy seas.
4: Chop Big Pieces into Small Ones

You know how mountain climbers get up Everest or marathoners get through Boston? One step at a time. They don’t think about the big picture, they think about making it through the next stride or step. When you’re facing a seemingly insurmountable task, do the same thing. Instead of thinking about your stressor as one insurmountable hurdle, break that unmanageable task into smaller, more manageable ones. Those are the ones you can accomplish. Before you know it, you’ll have reached 29,035 feet.
5: Work, Work, Work

The theory goes like this. At the end of a long career awaits the ultimate stress reduction plan:retirement. Sure, there’s some appeal to sleeping in, taking aquatic therapy classes, and becoming the over-sixty-five county shuffleboard champion. But retirement may not be the mental hammock that everyone expects it to be.
Take three parts of the world where people have a greater chance of living to 100: Sardinia, Okinawa, and Costa Rica. In each of those areas, people have found ways to cope with stress. The communities have strong traditions of walking, building family strength, playing with kids, and being active. Plus, there’s no such thing as retirement.
Now, we’re not recommending that you subject yourself to the same corporate punishment that’s graying your hair and beating you down. But we are recommending that even in retirement, you find a way to continue working — either as a volunteer or for pay—at something you enjoy. It’ll help you stay active physically and mentally, give you a life-enhancing sense of purpose, and help you maintain the strong social ties that are so necessary for stress 
6: Be Money Smart

One of the biggest drivers of stress is financial woes. Not coincidentally, health problems are the major driver of bankruptcy, and then bankruptcy cycles back to be a major driver of more stress-related health problems. That’s why it’s important to create some kind of emotional comfort zone with money — that is, just the feeling that you have some sort of nest egg can ease your stress. And that’s why socking away 10 percent of your income every month (or at least $100 every month) can start the process of giving you a backup plan. And, of course, with credit card debt exceeding the national debt, having a good frame of mind about your plastic is important. Use your cards for the convenience of paying your bills, not to avoid paying them.
7: Make Additions

Two de-stressors to add to your home: pets and plants. Plants have been shown to decrease infection rates in nursing homes and lower blood pressure, while people who get a pet after having a heart attack are less likely to have another heart attack, especially if they walk that pet. In fact, just imagining that you have a pet and walking it can reduce your stress.
8: Act Out

People who experience high levels of chronic stress typically fall into a very common cycle of destruction. We’re stressed, so we eat onion rings. We’re stressed, so we don’t have to time to exercise. We eat terribly and don’t get up from our desk, so we’re stressed. It’s a cycle that makes us fat, lazy, and depressed—and depressed that we’re fat and lazy. While we know we need to change, many of us just can’t seem to get motivated. But here’s how you can. Instead of waiting for motivation to change your actions, do something to stimulate motivation (like taking a ten-minute walk or doing stretches at your desk). You may find that when you act out something healthy, the willingness then follows.
9: Get a Day Planner or Use That PDA

Part of what makes life so stressful is uncertainty. It’s why heavy traffic, computer crashes, and customer-service reps who could care less about customers are so #@&!-ing frustrating. Because so much of life is unpredictable, it helps to maintain a regular schedule and track all your responsibilities that lie ahead. Better to clutter a piece of paper with a to-do list than to clutter your brain with how-will-I-do-it-all worries. While you’re at it, the other thing you can do with your pen is a nightly gratitude journal. Write down one or more things every day that you appreciate. The action helps puts your stressors in perspective.
10: Enlist the Pros

Some things are easy to do alone (we’ll let your imagination figure that one out). But dealing with life’s major stressors isn’t one of them. In the face of trauma, depression, or grief, many of us retreat into our own thoughts and lives and become more inaccessible than a bank vault. But that’s the time when you most need therapists and support groups. Treat depression like it’s a broken leg, because it’s every bit as much of a physical problem as any other health issue.
http://www.healthguidepk.com/10-tips-for-managing-stress/
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