Benavides 1

Sponsor: __________ Date: ________

Frank: ________ Date: ________

Dayra Benavides
Ms. Frank
Senior Capstone, Period 01
April 28, 2014
Depression
What is depression? The word depression brings up many images in our minds. Some people
might see a homeless person, or a young person crying on the street and think that this is what
depression looks like. Depression is more than just a feeling of sadness and hopelessness; it is
really a mental health problem that people have to deal with every day of their lives. There are
many treatments for depression. Some are very involved while others are very easy. Since
everyone is unique, the treatment they receive for depression will be varied. Some will take
medication to address their depression. Others will have talk therapy to address their depression.
Some people who suffer from depression will have a combination of talk therapy and
medication. Medication is not the best treatment for depression since not every patient
remembers to take the medication on a regular basis. Medication can also have side effects such
as these: weight loss, decreased appetite, blurred vision and other things. Talk therapy is the best
treatment for depression; this is where they have one to one contact with a licensed psychologist
or psychiatrist to address their depression.
In ancient times, depression was known as melancholia. Many people listed various reasons for
why someone might be suffering from melancholia. The reasons ranged from an attack of
demons to a case of bad luck. Treatment options were varied, but where often ineffective. This
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was not a time for one to talk about depression for fear of being locked up or beaten as a cure
for their depression. In the 14
th
century the word depression was introduced for this mental
health problem. The word depression comes from the Latin word deprime which means to
press down (Carrol Montana). At this time physicians did not give any type of treatment for this
mental health problem. Instead priests would cure people of their demonic possession and/or
pray that the persons mood changed.
Many cultures saw depression as more of a spiritual problem than a health problem. They
therefore sought spiritual and not medical remedies. For example, Romanians, the early Chinese,
Babylonian, and Egyptians believed depression was a spiritual problem, but they all had a
different way to exorcise the spirit causing this problem. The early Roman and Greek doctors
thought that an imbalanced body fluids called humorous; yellow bile, black bile, phlegm and
blood were the cause of depression (Nemade, Rashmi, Dombeck).
Later as time went by depression was looked at as more of a medical than spiritual problem. In
1865, Louis Delassiauve referred to depression as a psychiatric symptom and by the 1860s
depression was used in medical dictionaries to refer to a physiological and metaphorical
lowering of emotional function (Depression). Gradually depression became more and more a
medical problem and medical solutions were sought to treat it.
In 1917, Sigmund Freud theorized that melancholia was the result of any kind of loss of valued
relationship between two people; either romantic or familiar because the person was now lacking
affection. During the mid-20
th
century researches had a new theory based on observations made
by the effects of two medications. The medications examined were reserpine and isoniazid.
These drugs seemed to create a chemical balance in the brain. Because of the observations
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concerning these drugs the theory of depression being caused as an imbalance in
neurotransmitters in the brain emerged (Carrol Montana).
Modern symptoms of depression include lack of energy, change in appetite, worthlessness/self-
hate feelings, feeling hopeless, not able to concentrate and thoughts of death and/or suicide.
Depression usually develops in a few days or weeks. The causes of depression can be varied.
Here are some reasons why people may become depressed: death of a family member, abuse
either to one self or witnessing abuse of others, genes predisposition towards depression, side
effects of medication, and losing a job. Sometimes the caregivers to a depressed person will
themselves become depressed due to exposure.
Depression is most common in woman between the ages of 18 and 45. Children of ages 6 to 13
can also suffer from moderate depression. There are different types of depression and not all
forms of depression show the same symptoms nor need the same treatment. The different kind of
depression include: manic depression, bipolar depression, atypical depression, chronic
depression and clinical /major depression. The two most common types of depression are major
depression, also known as clinical depression, and chronic depression.
Manic depression or bipolar depression is when the patient has different mood swings in a set
period of time. There are two types of bipolar depression they are bipolar 1 and bipolar 2. In
bipolar I the patient have had history of at least one maniac episode with or without major
depressive episodes, in bipolar II the patient has also had one or more maniac episodes and at
least one hypo manic (Types of Depression). Atypical depression occurs when the person feels
sad, loses appetite, and has difficulty in sleeping.
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Major depression has combinations of symptoms in which interfere with a persons ability to
work, sleep, and study, eat and enjoy once-pleasurable activities (Types of Depression). Usually
the feeling of sadness, loneliness, and hopeless lasts for a few days; however in major depression
these feelings last long they are more disabling for the person. Chronic depression is
characterized as long-term depressed mood; this type of depression does not disable the person
(Types of Depression). Chronic depression can occur in a persons lifetime.
Medication is not always the best treatment for depression. Many people who take medications
do not remember to take them and dont have any effect out it. On the other hand during therapy
you meet with the physician at least once a week and talk about what you are feeling. Not only
do you sit there and say what you feel but the physician listens and advices you on how to
control yourself with the things you are stressing about. Some of the benefits of psychotherapy
are that it helps you reduce stress, helps the physician know the depression is getting worse,
gives a different point of view on how to solve problems with family or friends and it helps the
patient talk about his/her condition. The physician then makes his/her own conclusion on
whether or not you are getting the help you need or if there is something more that needs to be
done.
Certain medications instead of helping the patient seem to make the patient have side effects
and not have any process into getting over their depression. Not all the medications have the
same side effects. The new anti-depressants such as SSRIs, SNRIs and novel medication cause
insomnia, sleepiness, anxiety, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, weight gain/loss, and sexual
problems (Coping with side effects of Antidepressants). Other medications such as Elavil,
Pamelor and Tofranil have severe side effects when combined with specific foods or other
prescribed medications (Coping with side effects of Antidepressants). Other medications can
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cause even more severe side effects when combined with certain foods, for instance medication
can cause high blood pressures which lead to death at times. Some of this side effects might not
go away.
Many people think that medication is the best treatment since they have their feelings under
control, and think that therapy is not the best thing since you are only talking to someone about
what you are feeling. At times it is also because some of the patients do not have the time
required or just do not think that talking about what you are going through helps the patient.
Anti-depressants are not medications to help the patient feel happy, these medications work to
help remove certain chemicals from the brain, these chemicals are called neurotransmitters
(Depression). Neurotransmitters are brain chemicals that send information throughout the body
and brain, the information that is sent by these chemicals are to help the body should breathe,
digest and tell when the heart should beat and balance the mood.
Psychotherapy usually is the first treatment recommended by doctors. Not only is it the most
effective and best working treatment there is for depression. During therapy the person gets help
identifying the reasons why they are depressed. The licensed psychiatrist along with the patient
work together. There are different kinds of therapies available, there are: cognitive therapy,
interpersonal therapy, psychodynamic therapy and individual counseling.
Cognitive therapy focuses on how the thoughts and behaviors connect with the type of
depression the patient has. Interpersonal therapy focuses on how the relationship you have with
others affects your depression. Psychodynamic therapy is where the patient and therapist explore
different behaviors that affect the type of depression you have. Lastly, individual therapy is
where you and the therapist are having one on one sessions in which you learn more about
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depression and what can be done to help. Therapy only helps you emotionally but it helps you
learn on how to control your feelings and how to control what is stressing you out the most.
Therapy and medication can last months or even years depending on how depressed the person
is. One treatment may work faster than the other one. It is always the same theory with any
medication that is taken by a person. Therapy is it safe, but an effective way for depressed people
to get treated. In the past decades what was noticed was that there has been a dramatic shift
from talk therapy to drug therapy for mental health problems (Psychotherapy (Talk Therapy)
for Depression). Back in 1995, 40% of the depressed people got drug therapy now 68% of
depressed people have drug therapy. Medications, as mentioned before, have several serious side
effects that therapy does not have since the depressed person does not put anything into their
body. One of the greatest benefits of having talk therapy is that the patient feels more
comfortable talking to a stranger, the psychologist. Talking to a stranger is better since the
patient is not afraid to show what they are feeling and make it easier to know what the problem
is.
There are different coping strategies for depression. These strategies include: seek help, begin
to get treated, take care of your body, have support from healthy relationships, changing your
own behavior, changing your negative thoughts to positive ones. When seeking for help what
needs to be done is to find out if there is any medical history that has been causing your
depression. As soon as depression is diagnosed, medication or therapy for the person needs to be
prescribed. Taking care of your body and having healthy relationships help by, not having people
discouraging them from being able to move forward with their lives. Changing the behavior and
thoughts help by the depressed person going from thinking negatively to thinking positively.
Instead of thinking I cant the person should be thinking Yes! I can. Not only does it take a
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psychologist to help the depressed person, but it takes work from the person itself to change and
know they can get out of this problem. It takes determination and hopes that things can be done
and changes for the better of all.
Choosing between medications and talk therapy is probably one of the hardest decisions the
patients or the family members have to make. Definitely talk therapy is the best. Not only does
the psychologist see the progress of the patient but the family members do so to. The patient does
not have to deal with having side effects or any of the unhealthy causes of antidepressants.
Depression is not something only families of depressed people should be worrying about; we
should worry as well since we never know if our best friend, friend, partner, cousin, aunt etc. is
depressed. Not everyone who is depressed knows they are depressed. As the days go by their
depression is gets worse especially if they have no support from anyone. Depression is more than
just feeling sad and hopeless. It is a medical conflict that affects many people and needs to be
addressed.

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Frank: ________ Date: ________

Citations
1. Nemade, Rashmi, PhD, Staats Natalie, PhD, and Dombeck Mark, PhD. "Historical
Understandings of Depression." MentalHelp.net. N.p., n.d. Web.
http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=12995
2. "Carroll Montana." Carroll College Counseling Services. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
http://www.carroll.edu/students/wellness/counseling/depression.cc
3. "Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)." Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). N.p., n.d.
Web. 16 Apr. 2014. http://www.crystalinks.com/depression.html
4. "Drug Options for the Treatment of Depression." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 12 Apr.
2014. http://www.webmd.com/depression/symptoms-depressed-anxiety-
12/antidepressants
5. Feature, Arthur AllenWebMD. "Depression Medications Not Working? Avoiding
Relapses." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.
http://www.webmd.com/depression/features/the-ups-and-downs-of-depression-treatment
6. "Types of Depression: Major, Chronic, Manic, and More Types." WebMD. WebMD, n.d.
Web. 13 Apr. 2014. http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/depression-types
7. "Psychotherapy (Talk Therapy) for Depression Treatment." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web.
04 Apr. 2014. http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/treatment-resistant-depression-
psychotherapy
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8. "Coping With Side Effects of Antidepressants." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 31 Mar.
2014. http://www.webmd.com/depression/drug-side-effects
9. DeRubeis, Robert J., Greg J. Siegle, and Steven D. Hollon. "Abstract." National Center
for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 11 Sept. 2008. Web.
31 Mar. 2014. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2748674/
10. "Medical Association." Depression. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
http://liferay.medicalassociation.in/web/drfalakhomoeopath/when-homeopathy-blog/-
/blogs/798432
11. Why Antidepressants Don't Work for so Many (2010): n. pag. ScienceDaily. Web. 11 Apr.
2014. http://www.mentalhealthvic.org.au/uploads/media/stress_depression