MentalHealth

AReportonDepression

Author:ArchievKumar

RollNumber:558/IC/15

Course:ReportWriting

Department:ICE-3

University:NSIT

Summary

TheReportwillcovertheproblemsandissuesrelatedtoMentalHealth.Itwill
covertheaspectsofDepression,thedifferentkindsofdepressionandwhat
havebeenitseffectsovertheyears.Itwillalsoexplainmultiplewaysto
tackledepressionandsuccessfullyfightagainstit.Sciencehasenabledusto
findcuresforthemostdeadlydiseasesofallbutstillwerefusetoaccept
depressionasarealdisease.Depressionhasbeenatopicwhichistreatedas
astateofmindratherthanamedicalcondition.Therehasalwaysbeena
stigmarelatedtodepressioninthesocietyandthisreporthopestoeradicate
thisstigma.

TableofContents

1. Introduction..4
2. UnderstandingDepression..5
3. TypesofDepression..6
3.1RecurrentDepressiveDisorder
3.2BipolaraffectiveDisorder
4. ManagingDepression..7
4.1TakingalookattheeffectsofDepression
4.2StatsRelatedtoDepression
5. WaystoTackleDepression...9
5.1PreventionProgrammes
5.2PsychologicalTreatment
5.3OtherMethods
6. ReducingtheBurden...10
7. Conclusion...11
8. References...12

1.Introduction

Ihopetoraiseawarenesswithinthereadersabouttherisingperilsofdepression
amongpeoplemainlytheteensandyoungadults.Ihopethatbytheendofthis
report,anyonewhohasreaditshouldbeabletodiscussaboutdepressionfreely
amonghis/herpeers.

ThisReportisbasedontheStigmasurroundingMentalHealthmainlyfocusingon
Depression.Depressionplaysamajorroleintheglobalburdenofdiseaseand
affectspeopleallacrosstheworld.Today,depressionaffects350millionpeople.
Depressivedisordersoftenstartatayoungage;theyreducepeoplesfunctioning
andoftenarerecurring.Thisreporttriestocoverthedifferenttypesofdepression
andthewaystotacklethisproblemthathasinfestedalargegroupofthe
population.

2.UnderstandingDepression

Depressionisacommonmentaldisorderwhichcausesthepersontogothrough
depressedmood,loseinterestindailythings,feelweakness,feelingsofguiltoran
inferioritycomplex,havedisturbedsleeporappetite,andpoorconcentration.
Depressionoftencomeswithsymptomsofanxiety.Theseproblemscanbecome
chronicorrecurrentandleadtosubstantialimpairmentsinanindividualsabilityto
takecareofhisorhereverydayresponsibilities.Itcancausetheaffectedpersonto
suffergreatlyatwork,atschoolandinthefamily.Atitsworst,depressioncanlead
tosuicide.Closeto8,00,000peopledieduetosuicideeveryyear.Suicideisoneof
mostleadingcausesofdeathin15-29yearolds.

Althoughthereareknowntreatmentsfordepression,lessthanhalfofthepeople
goingthroughdepressionintheworldreceivesuchtreatments.Hurdlestowards
goodcareincludelackofresources,lackoftrainedmedicalstaff,andsocialstigma
associatedwithmentaldisorders.Anotherbarriertoeffectivecareisthewrong
assessment.Allovertheworld,peoplewhoaredepressedareoftennotcorrectly
diagnosed,andotherswhodonothavethedisorderaretoooftenmisdiagnosed
andgivenantidepressants.

3.TypesofDepression

Accordingtothenumberandseverityofsymptoms,adepressiveepisodecanbe
dividedintomild,moderate,orsevere.

Adistinctionisalsomadeindepressioninpeoplewhohaveordonothavea
historyofdepression.Bothtypesofdepressioncanbechronicwitharecurring
nature.

3.1Recurrentdepressivedisorder:Thepatientsuffersfromdepressive
episodes.Duringtheseepisodes,thepatientexperiencesdepressedmood,
lossofinterestandenjoyment,andweaknessleadingtoreducedactivityfor
atleastafewweeks.Manypeoplewithdepressionalsosufferfromanxiety
symptoms,badsleepandlowappetiteandmayhavefeelingsofguiltoran
inferioritycomplex,poorconcentration.

Anindividualwithamilddepressiveepisodewillhavesomedifficultyin
continuingdailyworkandsocializing,butwillprobablynotceasetofunction
completely.
Whilegoingthroughdepression,itisverydifficultforthepatienttobeableto
continuewithsocial,work,ordomesticactivities.

3.2Bipolaraffectivedisorder:Inthistypeofdepression,bothmanicand
depressiveepisodesarepresent,separatedbyperiodsofnormalmood.
Manicepisodesinvolveirritablemood,pressureofspeech,inferiority
complexandadecreasedneedforsleep.

4.ManagingDepression

Depressionisadisorderthatcanbeeasilydiagnosedandtreatedincare.As
mentionedintheWHOmhGAPInterventionGuide,treatmentoptionsconsistof
psychosocialsupportwithantidepressantmedicationorpsychotherapy,suchas
cognitivebehaviortherapy,interpersonalpsychotherapyorproblem-solving
treatment.Antidepressantmedicationswithawellmanagedscheduleof
psychotherapyareeffective.Antidepressantscanbeaveryefficienttreatmentfor
moderatedepressionbutarenotthefirstlineoftreatmentforcasesofmild
depression.Inadditiontocarebyspecialists,self-helpisanimportantapproachto
helppeoplewithdepression.Approachesinvolvingself-helpbooksor
internet-basedself-helpprogramshavebeenknowntohelpreducedepressionin
numerousstudies.

4.1Takingalookattheeffectsofdepression

Closeto8,00,000peopledieduetosuicideeveryyearandtherearemore
whoattemptsuicide.Hence,manymillionsofpeopleareaffectedor
experiencesuicidaltendencieseveryyear.Suicideoccursthroughoutthe
lifespanandisoneoftheleadingcausesofdeathsamongteensandyoung
adultsglobally.Theyoungagegroupisaffectedmostprominentlyandthisis
somethingthatneedstobetakencareofasthisaffectstheworldinmultiple
ways.Losingouryouthtodepressionissomethingthatneedstostop.

4.2StatisticsrelatedtosuicidesduetoMentalHealthProblems

Suicideisaglobalphenomenonthatoccursallovertheworld;infact,
approximately78%ofglobalsuicidesoccurredinpoorcountriesin2015.
Suicideaccountedforaround1.4%ofalldeathsworldwide,makingitthe
17thleadingcauseofdeathin2015.Effectiveinterventionsshouldbe
implementedatpopulationandindividuallevelstopreventsuicideand
attemptstocommitsuicide.

5.WaystoTackleDepression

5.1PreventionProgrammes

Preventionprogrammeshavebeenfoundouttobeeffectivein
reducingdepression.Agoodcommunityapproachtoprevent
depressionincludesschool-basedprogrammestoinstillpositive
thinkinginchildrenandyoungadults.
Interventionsforparentsofchildrenwithbehaviouralproblemshelp
inreducingparentaldepressivesymptomsandimproveresultsfor
theirchildren.Exerciseprogrammesfortheagedhelpinpreventing
depression.

5.2PsychologicalTreatments

Psychosocialtreatmentsareeffectiveforsomeonewithamild
depression.Antidepressantsareaneffectiveformoftreatmentfor
seriousdepressionbutarenotthefirstthinggivenastreatmentfora
mildcaseofdepression.Theyshouldnotbeusedfortreatingchildren
andarenotthefirstlineoftreatmentinyoungsters,amongwhom
theyshouldbeusedwithcaution.

5.3Othermethods

Thereareothermethodstoowhichhelpindiagnosingandtreating
casesofdepression.Someofthemarelistedhere:

CBT-CognitiveBehavioralTherapy
IPT-InterpersonalPsychotherapy

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SSRIs-SelectiveSerotoninReuptakeInhibitors
TCA-TricyclicAntidepressants

6.ReducingtheBurden

Whiletheglobalburdenofdepressionisaworldwidehealthchallenge,atthe
socio-economiclevelsaswellastheclinicallevel,therearemultiple
well-definedbasedstrategiesthatcaneffectivelytacklethisproblem.For
mentaldisorderssuchasdepressionbeingmanagedinprimarycare,the
interventionsaretreatmentwithantidepressantdrugsandsome
psychotherapy.
Economicanalysisshowsthattreatingdepressioninprimarycareis
affordableandcost-effective.Thefightagainstdepressionisanareathat
shouldnotbeneglected.Manydifferentpreventionprogramswhichhave
beenimplementedacrossthelifespanhaveprovidedevidenceonthe
reductionofdepressionamongpeople.Effectiveapproachestoprevent
depressionfocusesonseveralactionswhichsurrounddifferentfactorsand
thereductionofriskfactors.
Examplesofsomeofthesefactorsincludeschool-basedprograms,
problem-solvingandsocialskillsofchildrenaswellasexerciseprogramsfor
theelderly.

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7.Conclusion

Depressionisamentaldisorderthatisverywellpresentintheworld
andisaffectingusall.Unlikemanylargeinternationalproblems,there
isasolutionfordepression.Efficientandaffordabletreatmentsare
theretoimprovethehealthandthelivesofthemillionsofpeoplewho
aresufferingfromdepressionaroundtheworld.Onanindividualand
nationallevel,itistimetoeducateourselvesaboutdepressionand
supportthosewhoaresufferingfromthismentaldisorder.Weshould
makeothersunderstandthattheycantalkaboutdepressionopenly
andthattheyarenotalone.

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8.References

1. http://www.who.int/mental_health/management/depression/who_paper_dep
ression_wfmh_2012.pdf
2. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs369/en/
3. http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/special/depressionreport.pdf
4. http://www.who.int/en/
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
6. www.google.com

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