Depression, Its Causes And Treatment:

Depression is one of the common psychological problems affecting everyone either through a family member or personal experience. Every year million of adults all over the world experience a period of clinical depression. The cost in human suffering due to depression cannot be estimated. Depression can interfere with the normal functioning of the body and can cause problems with work,social and family adjustments. It causes pain and suffering not only to one suffering from depression but also to the people who care about them.

Causes of depression:

You might have heard people talk about chemical imbalances in the brain that occur due to depression, suggesting that depression is a medical illness without any psychological reasons. It should be understood that, psychological problems have some physical manifestations and all physical illnesses have psychological components as well. Depression has no single cause often it results from a combination of things. Some people have no idea why depression has struck them. Whatever may be the cause, depression is not just a state of mind. It is related to the physical changes in the brain and connected to an imbalance of a type of chemical that carries signal to the brain and nerves. These chemical are called neurotransmitters.

Treating depression:

Depression can make you feel hopeless and helpless. But deciding to get the treatment can make all difference. The standards treatments of depression are medication,psychotherapy and Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) . The psychological treatment of depression assists the individual in several ways. Like a supportive counseling helps to ease the pain of depression and addresses the feeling of hopelessness that accompanies depression.


The emerging and less- studied treatment of depression include brain stimulation,complementary and alternative treatments. In some cases , the individuals primary care doctor can treat depression. In other cases, the individual can benefit from a treatment by a qualified mental health provider such as psychologist, social worker or psychiatrist.

Try to be an active participant in your depression treatment. Working together with your doctor or therapist can decide which treatment options may be best for you depending on your symptoms and severity, your personal preferences,affordability, treatment side effects, insurance coverage and other factors. There are dozens of medications available to treat depression. Most people find the best relief of depression symptoms by combining medication and psychotherapy. Some of the medications for depression are antidepressants which has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA) to treat depression. The doctors can also use their medical authority to prescribe other medications that have not been approved by FDA.