What is depression?

Depression is one of the common symptoms of addiction from drugs. It refers to a condition or illness that causes a constant feeling of sadness and lack of interest. The depressed person will in most cases stay isolated and doesn’t like talking to other people around. Although it is common that any human being will at one time feel moody and not willing to talk with people around, this happens for some time then it disappears. In the case of depressed persons this state doesn’t seem to go away.

What causes this depression?

Depression mostly is caused by chemical compounds which lower neurotransmission levels, which in turn depresses or reduces arousal or simulation in various areas of the brain. These drugs which contain this compound known to cause depression are widely being used all over the world either as prescription medicines or illicit substances. These drugs are used for their effects which are initially friendly e.g. pain relief, sedation etc. but in the long run or abuse, they result into depression.

Which are the indicators of depression?

Depression symptoms can be identified through behavior of the depressed person, or through the feeling of the depressed. Some of the common symptoms of depression may include;

Concentration difficulties, difficulties in remembering details of something and even decision making difficulties. The depressed person can be observed to possess at least one all even all of these challenges.
Loss of interest in activities. The person may loss interest in activities that he/she liked previously. For instance, a person who liked playing chess, may no longer show any interest in playing it and his/her friends may be able to observe this abrupt change in taste.
The depressed person may show signs of chronic headaches, cramps, pains etc.
Sometimes the depressed person will possess intense sadness, anxiety and “feeling” towards the people around.
The person may look restless. In many cases, a depressed person will not seem to settle and often he/she looks disturbed by something unknown.
Some victims of depression are faced with fatigue and decrease in energy that they initially possessed.
A depressed person may feel worthless and helpless. This can be observed when the person possessed indicators of low esteem.
A depressed person will either miss sleep or oversleep. In terms of sleeping they do it to the extremes.
Another symptom worthy mentioning is that a depressed person possesses thoughts of suicide or sometimes attempt to commit suicide.

Note: The depressed person may possess several of these symptoms at the same time and thus, do not over rely on one indicator to judgment. Also note that sometimes, what you see as a symptom may actually not be. For instance, not all the times being moody will be considered a symptom of depression!

Diagnosis of depression

The detection of depression and determination of its type and intensity requires a professional person. Are you wondering where you will get these professionals? Then you don’t have to worry anymore! At AWAREmed, we have professionals who will diagnose you and if diagnosed with depression, you will be given the appropriate treatment for you to recover completely.

How we diagnose

It is a fact that we had for long been accustomed to doctors using specialized blood tests or some other expensive lab tests which helped them in making a conclusive diagnosis. This is no longer helpful when it comes to depression. One of the most powerful tool which has been proven effective is talking to the patient, as you try to analyze the situation and identify symptoms. This is the tool that we mainly use to ensure that we give you the most appropriate and effective treatment which will lead you to a very fast recovery from depression. The importance of it is to give you a sustained recovery. It has been common that depression as a mental problem in many cases may have some other underlying factors, which not unless they are addressed, the result may not be sustained for long and thus lapse may occur.

depression

How do we treat depression?

Just like any other disease, treatment of depression begins with diagnosis. Once you have been diagnosed with depression, you can now proceed to the step of treatment. Here, the doctor will discuss various depression options with you. The appropriate treatment for depression will depend on the type of depression you have. For example, based on the type of depression that you have, the doctor will decide which of either antidepressants, psychotherapy or both will work best for you. The appropriate treatment will then be administered.

Sometimes, a person may be subjected to a given treatment and then he/she doesn’t respond to the standard depression treatment. In this case, the doctor may opt you train your brain via simulation techniques. Whatever treatment the doctor prescribes to you, it is importat to note that there is no instant solution. You must be patient to heal slowly and finally be fully depression free. You must remember that you should not give up in the race of addiction recovery.