A few days of feeling sad or depressed does not mean depression. Depression can last for years, it’s a serious illness. Studies have show that around 15 million Americans are affected by this illness each and every year. Only about 4.5 million of those people seek help, which is unfortunate. All too often people avoid recognizing or admitting that they suffer from depression because of the negative archetypes associated with mental illnesses. Of the list of progressive ailments depression is one of the worst. Without attention it will become more and more severe. People should pay attention to the signs.
There are many types of depression and it is caused by a variety of factors. It can by biological, genetic, physical and emotional. It can be given birth by the very environment that the victim lives in. It can be caused by stress brought on by even more detrimental factors. It takes a lot of knowledge to address a complex issue like depression. The human mind is very complicated as well. Work continues into the mind and brain and how they work, what makes them tick. A chemical imbalance in the brain causes depression, that’s known. Researches learn more about this complex series of actions and reactions with passing time. The phrase is “learning is half the battle” and with depression knowledge is power.
There are a variety of medications available to treat depression. Miracle treatments also exist, but many times these are empty claims. You have to be careful to seek medications that have been clinically studied and have been proven to display positive effects in the treatment of depression. Not too long ago people who were considered mentally ill were thrown into asylums, never again to be seen or heard. That is a thing of the past, thank goodness. It was 1988 when Prozac, an anti-depressant, first came into wide use in America. It was proven to work, and thus is still prescribed today even though it can have serious side effects.
A new class of anti-depressants has become widely used since then. The SSRI or (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) like Paxil, Zoloft, Lexapro, Celexa, and Luvox are all being used to treat depression today. All have been proven effective but come with varied side effects. There are also numerous natural herbal medications available on the market. Hyperforin, an ingredient in the St. John Wort extract, is common in those that seem to work as well as anti-depressants. Some herbal remedies don’t contain this ingredient in the proper strength so they don’t work. Be careful, do your research and you will find effective depression medications to treat your depression.
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