Coping with Depression and Anxiety

Let there be no doubt that depression is a serious mental illness that requires months and sometimes years of treatment on the path to a cure. Each year, millions of people come to the realization that they suffer from depression. The situation becomes worse because only one third of those who suffer depression ever get treated.

Many Americans don’t want to be considered crazy, so because depression is considered a mental affliction they avoid diagnosis. They would rather deal with the problem on their own than risk being stereotyped should they seek assistance. Unlike a headache depression doesn’t eventually stop on its own, and more people suffer from depression than you might think.

Causes of Depression
Why do people get depression? There are many factors to consider, so the answer isn’t simple. Depression can be a long story because of many issues.

Here are a few of the parts of depression. A chemical imbalance is widely considered to be the main cause for depression. But what causes the imbalance? Generally the causes are internal – biological issues, genetic disposition, mental problems – but there are external causes as well.

In many cases the underlying cause is never identified. Depression often follows diagnosis of other medical conditions, particularly those that result in imminent death or are chronic.

The loss of a loved one or treasured possession can have a tremendous impact resulting in depression. Depression often follows sexual or physical abuse, or emotional attacks. When people abuse drugs and/or alcohol the result is often depression.

Even a perfectly healthy person, when exposed to the right combination of events and issues, can become afflicted with chronic depression. Depression is often passed along in the DNA. People who have a strong background of depression in the family are at a high risk . There are even some prescribed medications that can bring on depression. Studies and tests show a casual relation between many high blood pressure medications and depression.

A major cause of depression is stress. Stress itself is a complex subject with many different causes. Some of that stress can even be related to positive events in our lives such as promotions, graduation or moving into a new house.

In these cases it’s not the good event causing stress, but fear of the unknown and/or fear of ability to deserve or maintain the positive element. In addition, many are stressed from personal conflicts with their loved ones, associates in employment or friends. There are a great number of people who are stressed from simply trying to perform their jobs to satisfaction and trying to support their families from week to week. By determining the cause, medical professionals have a much better chance of administering a treatment. Seek medical help if you or a loved one suffer from depression.