[City and State]
Depression is a Mental Illness
Even today, the word ‘depression’ continues to mean the condition of feeling down or low. Very few understand this term in its medical context, which defines depression as a serious mental illness (Depression: Overview 2015). It is a health condition that demands imperative attention from doctors as well as loved ones of the patient in order to help him/her recover.
Depressive disorders can exist in myriad forms. It can be classified as major depression, where the onset of depression is episodic (What is Depression? 2015). Persistent depressive disorder is more long-lasting. Its symptoms continue for more than or at the very least two years (What is Depression? 2015). Moreover, sometimes depression takes the form of psychotic depression during which in addition to the usual symptoms, the patient also experiences delusions and hallucinations (Mental Health: Depression 2015).
The normal symptoms of depression include anxiety, changes in eating habits, increased feeling of fatigue, difficulty in concentrating, disturbance in sleep patterns, and thoughts of suicide or death (Parekh, 2015). While other medical conditions usually result in a change of behavior as side effects, depression is a disorder which primarily affects the feelings and actions of a person in an adverse manner. Moreover, the situation is exacerbated when depression is treated synonymously with sadness, and it goes ignored for a long period of time, thus becoming graver. Recognizing depression as a mental illness rather than a general feeling of sadness is, therefore, one of the most important steps towards achieving a treatment. In today’s time, medicines and rehabilitation programs are present in abundance to reinstate a depressed person into his/her normal life. Its treatment is now commonly known, as depression has gradually begun to affect large sections of the population of the world.
References
Parekh, R., 2015. What is Depression? [Online] (updated March 2015) Available at <http://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression> [Accessed 13 Jan. 2015]
National Alliance on Mental Illness. Depression: Overview. [Online] Available at <https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions/Depression> [Accessed 13 Jan. 2015]
National Institute of Mental Health. What is Depression? [Online] Available at <https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/index.shtml> [Accessed 13 Jan. 2015]
WebMD. Mental Health: Depression. [Online] Available at <http://www.webmd.com/depression/mental-health-depression> [Accessed 13 Jan. 2015]
