Stress and Depression
Some people develop depression after a stressful event in their lives. All people feel stress sometimes, but people react to stress in various manners . For example, some people could feel much stress when driving, while others could find driving relaxing. Events such as the death of a loved one, the loss of a work, or the end of a relationship are often negative and traumatic and cause large stress for many people.
Stress is characterized by feelings of tension, frustration, concern, sadness and withdrawal which generally last of a few hours to a few days. Stress can also occur as the consequence of a more positive event such as getting married, moving to a new city, or starting a new job. Whether a stressful event itself can really cause a person to become depressed is not entirely known.
In fact, occasionally people become depressed even when there is little or no stress in their lives and all seems to be going very well. And, no single stressful event will cause depression to develop in each person. If a person is under uninterrupted stress, a single difficult event can be more likely to induce a depressive episode.
Causes of stress and depression
Financial stress.
Losing another family member.
Job loss.
Household changes.
Substance abuse stress.
Symptoms of stress and depression
Loss of appetite.
Restlessness and irritability.
Thoughts of death or suicide.
Losing interest in sex.
Feeling restless, tense and anxious.
Being irritable.
Sleep disturbance.
Treatment of stress and depression
- Serious example of the depression should be treated with drug which acts on the brain chemistry, affecting the chemical pathways associated with mood.
- Monoamine oxidase inhibitors have been prescribed for some time.
- Less severe forms of depression can be treated effectively with psychotherapy.
- When medication is not a viable option, when medications are not effective, or in cases of debilitation or high risk of suicide, electroconvulsive therapy can be used to relieve symptoms of depression.
Filed under: Health Care