Depression-Symptoms, Risk Factors and Complications -How to Deal with Depression and Sadness?

Depression is a common and serious medical illness that lasts more than days and negatively affects how people feel, the way they think and how they act.

Depression is a mood or emotional state that affects the soul and the body and causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities one usually enjoys and this can lead to many emotional and physical problems.

Everything you need to know about depression

Depression: Symptoms, Risk Factors, Types, and Complications - How to Deal with Depression and Sadness

What is Depression?

Depression is one of the most prevalent diseases in the world. It is different from the erratic or bad moods and compulsive thoughts experienced by someone.

Depression can even become a serious condition that prevents the individual from practicing his normal life.

A person with depressive disorder has difficulty performing his duties and integration in the family and at work, as depression causes them to feel a lack of desire to live.

Depression is a continuous state of sadness, apathy and other symptoms that persist for a period of at least two weeks.

Depression does not indicate weakness or an individual's negative personality, but it is a treatable health problem.

Who is at Risk of Depression?

Many experts tend to believe that genes and genetic factors play a larger role in depression, as a parent or sibling is more likely to develop depression. 

Studies show that women are at least twice as likely to develop depression as men.

What Are the Risk Factors for Depression?

The exact cause of depression is not yet known. The belief, as with other psychiatric illnesses, is that many biochemicals, biological and genetic factors can be the cause of depression, including:

Biochemical factors: Research using imaging techniques has confirmed that physical changes in the brains of people with depression have occurred.

It is not yet clear what these changes are and how important they are, but the clarification of this will eventually help define and identify the causes of depression.

It is possible that naturally occurring chemicals in the human brain, called neurotransmitter and related to mood, play a role in causing depression.

An imbalance in the body's hormonal system can also cause depression.

Genetic factors: Some studies suggest that the onset of depression is more common in people with relatives of biologists with depression.

Researchers are still trying to detect genes related to depression.

Environmental factors: The environment is considered as the cause of depression, to a certain degree. 

Environmental factors are conditions and circumstances in life which are difficult to cope with and coexist with, such as the loss of a loved one, economic problems, and severe tension.

There is no accurate statistical data, but depression is a very widespread disease. 

Depression transcends all boundaries and differences, ethnic, and socio-economic. No one is immune to depression.

Depression generally begins in the late 20s, but depression may occur at any age and may affect anyone, from young children to adults.

The number of women diagnosed with depression is twice that of men. This may partly be due to the fact that women are more likely to seek treatment for depression.

What Are the Main Causes of Depression?

The exact cause of the onset of depression is not known, but research suggests many factors that appear to increase or aggravate the risk of depression, including:

—The presence of first-degree relatives suffering from depression, addiction or suicide.

—Certain traits in the personality, such as the individual being pessimistic, suffer from low self-esteem and constant self-criticism.

—Other psychological conditions, such as anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder.

—Addiction to alcohol or drugs.

—Exposure to shocks, stress or traumatic events, such as loss of a close associate or difficult relationship.

—Exposure to psychological trauma or depression in childhood or adolescence.

—Exposure to chronic or serious diseases such as heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's or AIDS.

—Mood depressed in the morning

—Use of certain drugs may cause side effects such as depression, which should not be stopped only by consulting the specialist.

Types of depression

  There are several types of depression related to certain conditions such as environmental conditions or age and they may include:

Seasonal depression: The so-called "seasonal affective disorder", which is a type of seasonal depression that occurs in the form of sadness usually begins in late autumn and early winter, and ends in the spring and summer.

This grief affects all people by 3% to 20% depending on the nature of the place where the person lives.

Postpartum depression: A type of depression that affects about 12% of mothers, where their mood worsens and shows symptoms of severe depression but additional teams, this depression may endanger the child's existence,

It is difficult for the mother to communicate with her child and to establish links with him or take care with it.

Manic depression: Unipolar disorder is a recurrence of uninhibited depression. Bipolar disorder is the feeling of depression, mania, and mixed moods.

Retarded depression: A depression that afflicts the elderly characterized by a delusional illness, constant irritability, and has its own causes and individual development.

Symptoms of Depression

  The individual is diagnosed as suffering from depression if he suffers from five of the following symptoms:

*The feeling of deep sadness most of the time and almost every day, and show the person the features of crying, or as if he wants to cry.

A depressed person does not feel the taste of life, not happiness or joy or anything beautiful.

*An imbalance in weight, a person loses weight and loses his appetite or earns a lot of weight relatively short.

*The indifference of the person to what is happening around him, the results of his actions or his responsibilities, and the slowness of movements and speech and reactions on a daily basis almost.

*The person does not feel any pleasure in life, or the desire to practice the hobbies that he loved. On the contrary, he wants isolation and unity.

*The loss of focus in everyday business is simple, the person becomes oblivious, unable to think, or makes sound decisions almost daily.

*Feelings of self-confidence and guilt almost daily.

*Lack of sleep, insomnia, inability to get enough sleep without frequent waking, or sleeping for too long, for longer periods, and not being able to wake up for long periods of the day and trying to evade reality and negative emotions.

*Too much thought of death, and in advanced cases may dominate the suicidal feeling and thoughts.

*Physical fatigue and loss of energy, and inability to do any simple work, such as changing clothes, things appear harder than they actually are and take a person longer to accomplish.

Complications of Depression

There are a number of complications that are associated with depression and exposed to the patient, if not received the necessary treatment, including:

• Addiction to alcohol abuse.
• Self-harm.
• Physical pain and illness.
• Obesity problems that may lead to diabetes.
• Family conflicts and problems in social relations.
• Social isolation and social phobia.

What are General Methods Used to Treat Depression?

General methods used to treat depression

Treatment of Depression

 By proper diagnosis and treatment, the symptoms of depression can be reduced, even if the symptoms of depression are severe.


Proper treatment can improve the feeling of people with depression within a few weeks, usually, and can return to normal life as they used to enjoy before the onset of depression.

There are several ways to treat depression, such as the use of antidepressant and antidepressant therapy.
But the treatment by these drugs is effective only for half of the patients, apart from the side effects of these drugs, in addition to it may cause addiction, and does not help to solve the underlying problem that caused depression.


To improve the feeling only, which made many of the patients stop using it, but it is effective if accompanied by medication therapy by talking to a specialist and undergo cognitive behavioral therapy, and the use of a healthy lifestyle and exercise to improve mood and psychological condition.






How to Deal with Depression and Sadness

Today, most health workers deal with depression as a chronic disease that requires long-term treatment, just as diabetes is treated with hypertension.


Some people with depression experience only one period of depression, but in most patients the symptoms of depression recur and last a lifetime.

If you feel depressed for several weeks or more, schedule a doctor's appointment. He will discuss with you the symptoms and will tell you about treatments that can help you to feel better. It can also be useful to experiment with some handling techniques. 



Be more active

Do not withdraw from life. Sharing people can improve your mood. Staying in touch with friends and family means that you have someone to talk to when you feel depressed.



Exercise regularly

There is evidence that exercise can help adjust your mood. If you have not practiced for some time, start gently by walking for 20 minutes every day. Learn more about exercising to treat depression.



Face your fears

Do not avoid the things you find difficult. When people feel depressed or anxious, they sometimes avoid talking to others. Some people can lose their confidence to do things like driving or traveling.
If this starts to happen, confronting these situations will help them become easier.



Do not drink alcohol

Alcohol can become a problem for some people. Alcohol can not help you solve your problems. It can make you feel more depressed.



Have a routine

When people feel depressed, they can practice bad sleep patterns, watch until late and sleep during the day.
Try to get out of bed at your usual time and stick to your protein as much as possible.
Lack of food can affect your nutrition.
You can stop cooking regular meals and instead eat snacks throughout the day or miss breakfast because you are still in bed.



Search for help to treat depression

Talk to your doctor, if you continue to feel depressed or anxious after several weeks.
If you start feeling that you cannot deal and that life has become too difficult or that your life is not worth living, get help right away.
These are the signs that require you to talk to someone.


There are many treatments available to treat depression, including speech therapy, antidepressant medication, and self-reliance.


If you have experienced depression or anxiety in the past, even if you have not been systematically diagnosed, seek help immediately.


You will be more likely to have an episode of depression if you have a predisposition.