When is depression most common

Depression is classified as a mood disorder. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that Though depression and grief share some features, depression is different from grief felt after losing a loved one or sadness felt after a traumatic life event. Depression usually involves self-loathing or a loss of self-esteem, while grief typically does not.

In grief, positive emotions and happy memories of the deceased typically accompany feelings of emotional pain. In major depressive disorder, the feelings of sadness are constant. People experience depression in different ways. It may interfere with your daily work, resulting in lost time and lower productivity.

It can also influence relationships and some chronic health conditions. Sad and upsetting events happen to everyone. Depression is considered a serious medical condition that can get worse without proper treatment. Major depression can cause a variety of symptoms.

Some affect your mood and others affect your body. Symptoms may also be ongoing or come and go. Not everyone with depression will experience the same symptoms. Symptoms can vary in severity, how often they happen, and how long they last.

If you experience some of the following signs and symptoms of depression nearly every day for at least 2 weeks, you may be living with depression:. The symptoms of depression can be experienced differently among males, females, teens , and children. Children may experience symptoms related to their:. There are several possible causes of depression. They can range from biological to circumstantial.

Common causes include :. Risk factors for depression can be biochemical, medical, social, genetic, or circumstantial. Common risk factors include:. The causes of depression are often tied to other elements of your health. You may successfully manage symptoms with one form of treatment, or you may find that a combination of treatments works best. SSRIs are the most commonly prescribed antidepressant medications and tend to have few side effects. They treat depression by increasing the availability of the neurotransmitter serotonin in your brain.

People who are pregnant should talk to their healthcare professionals about the risks of taking SSRIs during pregnancy. You should also use caution if you have narrow-angle glaucoma. SNRIs treat depression by increasing the amount of the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine in your brain. You should use caution if you have liver or kidney problems, or narrow-angle glaucoma.

Tricyclic antidepressants TCAs and tetracyclic antidepressants TECAs treat depression by increasing the amount of the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine in your brain. Use with caution if you have narrow-angle glaucoma. Examples of tricyclic antidepressants include amitriptyline Elavil , doxepin Sinequan , imipramine Tofranil , trimipramine Surmontil , desipramine Norpramin , nortriptyline Pamelor, Aventyl , and protriptyline Vivactil.

These drugs can treat depression by increasing the levels of dopamine and noradrenaline in your brain. MAOIs treat depression by increasing the levels of norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine, and tyramine in your brain.

Due to side effects and safety concerns , MAOIs are not the first choice for treating mental health disorders. They are typically used only if other medications are unsuccessful at treating depression. N-methyl-D-aspartate NDMA antagonists treat depression by increasing levels of glutamate in the brain. Glutamate is a neurotransmitter believed to be involved in depression. NMDA antagonists are used only in patients who have not had success with other antidepressant treatments.

Esketamine is a nasal spray that is only available through a restricted program called Spravato REMS. Patients may experience tiredness and dissociation difficulty with attention, judgment, and thinking after taking the medication. For this reason, esketamine is administered in a healthcare setting where a healthcare professional can monitor for sedation and dissociation. Speaking with a therapist can help you learn skills to cope with negative feelings.

You may also benefit from family or group therapy sessions. Psychotherapy has been shown to be an effective treatment in improving symptoms in people with depression and other psychiatric disorders. Psychotherapy is often used alongside pharmaceutical treatment. There are many different types of psychotherapy, and some people respond better to one type than another. In cognitive behavioral therapy CBT , a therapist will work with you to uncover unhealthy patterns of thought and identify how they may be causing harmful behaviors, reactions, and beliefs about yourself.

Dialectical behavior therapy DBT is similar to CBT, but puts a specific emphasis on validation, or accepting uncomfortable thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, instead of fighting them. The theory is that by coming to terms with your harmful thoughts or emotions, you can accept that change is possible and make a recovery plan. Psychodynamic therapy is a form of talk therapy designed to help you better understand and cope with your day-to-day life.

Psychodynamic therapy is based on the idea that your present-day reality is shaped by your unconscious, childhood experiences. In this form of therapy, your therapist will help you reflect and examine your childhood and experiences to help you understand and cope with your life.

Exposure to doses of white light can help regulate your mood and improve symptoms of depression. Light therapy is commonly used in seasonal affective disorder , which is now called major depressive disorder with seasonal pattern.

Electroconvulsive therapy ECT uses electrical currents to induce a seizure, and has been shown to help people with clinical depression. Your healthcare professional will place cardiac monitoring pads on your chest and four electrodes on specific areas of your head. They will then deliver short electrical pulses for a few seconds. You will neither convulse nor feel the electrical current and will awaken about 5 to 10 minutes after treatment.

Side effects include headaches, nausea, muscle aches and soreness, and confusion or disorientation. Clinical depression is treatable. Though, according to the WHO, less than 50 percent of those worldwide with depression receive treatment. The most common treatment methods are antidepressant medications and psychological counseling. In adults with moderate to severe depression, 40 to 60 people out of who took antidepressants noticed improved symptoms after six to eight weeks.

This was compared with 20 to 40 people out of who noticed improvement with just a placebo. The American Psychiatric Association suggests that a combination of both antidepressants and psychological counseling is, on average, more effective. But, each treatment on their own have roughly the same effectiveness. According to a study , therapy had a lower rate of relapse at the one- to two-year follow-up. Psychotherapy was found to have a significantly lower rate of relapse The study also found that psychotherapy had lower dropout rates than medication regimens.

This method uses magnetic pulses to stimulate the parts of your brain that regulate mood. Treatments are usually administered five days a week for six weeks. Psychotherapy and medication including vitamin D also work for seasonal depression. This condition can also be treated with light therapy. Seasonal depression can sometimes improve on its own during the spring and summer months when daylight hours are longer. Shop for light therapy products.

For severe cases, electroconvulsive therapy ECT may be used. ECT is a procedure in which electrical currents are passed through the brain. Prolonged or chronic depression can have a devastating impact on your emotional and physical health.

Untreated, it may put your life at risk. Mental Health America reports that 30 to 70 percent of those who have died by suicide have depression or bipolar disorder. Other complications of depression can lead to:. Adding these 10 simple self-care strategies to your daily routine can be effective for managing depression.

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Learn causes, risk factors, and treatments for anhedonia. You may have trouble doing normal day-to-day activities, and sometimes you may feel as if life isn't worth living. More than just a bout of the blues, depression isn't a weakness and you can't simply "snap out" of it. Depression may require long-term treatment. But don't get discouraged. Most people with depression feel better with medication, psychotherapy or both.

Depression care at Mayo Clinic. Although depression may occur only once during your life, people typically have multiple episodes. During these episodes, symptoms occur most of the day, nearly every day and may include:. For many people with depression, symptoms usually are severe enough to cause noticeable problems in day-to-day activities, such as work, school, social activities or relationships with others.

Some people may feel generally miserable or unhappy without really knowing why. Common signs and symptoms of depression in children and teenagers are similar to those of adults, but there can be some differences. Depression is not a normal part of growing older, and it should never be taken lightly. Unfortunately, depression often goes undiagnosed and untreated in older adults, and they may feel reluctant to seek help. Symptoms of depression may be different or less obvious in older adults, such as:.

If you feel depressed, make an appointment to see your doctor or mental health professional as soon as you can. If you're reluctant to seek treatment, talk to a friend or loved one, any health care professional, a faith leader, or someone else you trust. If you think you may hurt yourself or attempt suicide, call or your local emergency number immediately.

If you have a loved one who is in danger of suicide or has made a suicide attempt, make sure someone stays with that person. Call or your local emergency number immediately. Or, if you think you can do so safely, take the person to the nearest hospital emergency room.

It's not known exactly what causes depression. As with many mental disorders, a variety of factors may be involved, such as:. Depression often begins in the teens, 20s or 30s, but it can happen at any age. More women than men are diagnosed with depression, but this may be due in part because women are more likely to seek treatment.

Depression is a serious disorder that can take a terrible toll on you and your family. Depression often gets worse if it isn't treated, resulting in emotional, behavioral and health problems that affect every area of your life. Depression major depressive disorder care at Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products.