depression

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depression
Encyclopdia Britannica Article

in psychology, a mood or emotional state that is marked by feelings of low self-worth

or guilt and a reduced ability to enjoy life. A person who is depressed usually
experiences several of the following symptoms: feelings of sadness, hopelessness, or
pessimism; lowered self-esteem and heightened self-depreciation; a decrease or loss
of ability to take pleasure in ordinary activities; reduced energy and vitality; slowness
of thought or action; loss of appetite; and disturbed sleep or insomnia. Depression
differs from simple grief or mourning, which are appropriate emotional responses to
the loss of loved persons or objects. Where there are clear grounds for a person's
unhappiness, depression is considered to be present if the depressed mood is
disproportionately long or severe vis--vis the precipitating event. A person who
experiences alternating states of depression and mania (abnormal elevation of mood)
or hypomania (distinct, though not necessarily abnormal, elevation of mood) is said to
suffer from bipolar disorder.
Depression is probably the most common psychiatric complaint and has been
described by physicians since before the time of Hippocrates, who called it
melancholia. The course of the disorder is extremely variable from person to person;
it may be mild or severe, acute or chronic. Untreated, depression may last an average
of four months or longer. Depression is twice as prevalent in women than in men. The
typical age of onset is in the 20s, but it may occur at any age.
Depression can have many causes. Unfavourable life events can increase a person's
vulnerability to depression or trigger a depressive episode. Negative thoughts about
oneself and the world are also important in producing and maintaining depressive
symptoms. However, both psychosocial and biochemical mechanisms seem to be
important causes; the chief biochemical cause appears to be the defective regulation
of the release of one or more naturally occurring neurotransmitters in the brain,
particularly norepinephrine and serotonin. Reduced quantities or reduced activity of
these chemicals in the brain is thought to cause the depressed mood in some
sufferers.
There are three main treatments for depression. The two most importantand
widespread by farare psychotherapy and psychotropic medication, specifically
antidepressants. Psychotherapy aims to alter the patient's maladaptive cognitive and
behavioral responses to stressful life events while also giving emotional support to the
patient. Antidepressant medications, by contrast, directly affect the chemistry of the
brain and presumably achieve their therapeutic effects by correcting the chemical
dysregulation that is causing the depression. Two types of medications, tricyclic
antidepressants and the more recently developed selective serotonin reuptake
inhibitors (SSRIs), though chemically different, both serve to prevent the presynaptic
reuptake of serotonin (and in the case of tricyclic antidepressants, norepinephrine as
well). This results in the buildup or accumulation of neurotransmitters in the brain
and allows them to remain in contact with the nerve cell receptors longer, thus
helping to elevate the patient's mood. By contrast, the antidepressants known as
monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAO) interfere with the activity of monoamine
oxidase, an enzyme that is known to be involved in the breakdown of norepinephrine
and serotonin. In cases of severe depression in which therapeutic results are needed
quickly, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has sometimes proved helpful. In this
procedure, a convulsion is produced by passing an electric current through the

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depression

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person's brain. In many cases of treatment, the best therapeutic results are obtained
by using a combination of psychotherapy and antidepressant medication. See also
therapeutics.

To cite this page:

MLA Style: "depression." Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Ultimate
Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopdia Britannica, 2010.
APA Style: depression. (2010). Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopdia Britannica.

17/08/2016 14:27