Depression is a worldwide growing epidemic. It is a mental condition, which has its characterization in the lack of activity, lack of interest in life’s activities, persistent sadness with down mood, feeling of the inadequacy, and guilt of not being able to do well enough in life. Recurrent suicidal thoughts and un-alignment of life with its daily inadequacy is also the case with the depression. The continued down mood, which is a specific characteristic of the depression, is also a reason why depression leaves a profound effect on the person. Normally, all human beings go through the phases of mood swings and reduced daily functioning. However, in depression, it becomes a persistent situation and it is not in control of the person suffering from the depression.

According to an Essay Writing Service There are many definitions and textbook examples of  depression, which shed light on the depression in its most articulate form. By telling a depressed person that their sadness will end merely if they don’t think about it, is like telling an injured player that they will heal on their own without medical help.

There are many types of depression and many ways of coping with it. In a argumentative essay that I once studied, the author urged the people with depression to cope with depression by use of the humor, discipline and improved social support. In my opinion, depression is much more complicated than merely every day coping. It requires attention of a specialist. Depression is a crippling mental disability that requires proper diagnosis, treatment and follow-ups.  Moreover, the depressed people become very weak socially and have a reduced tendency to socialize. Due to this, the support required for coping with depression from outside sources is already diminished. The intrinsic motivation required to cope with depression is also focused on the motivation, which is already very weak in depressed people.

Multiple stressors and factors cause depression. These include biological factors, the social factors, and the personal factors. The biological factors relate to Serotonin levels inside the human body. Researches have shown that the people with lower levels of serotonin have a higher tendency to fall prey to depression. The differences in the grey matter and the white matter are a source of different levels of functioning that differentiates between the functioning of normal people from that of the depressed ones. The amount of grey matter is lesser in depressed individuals as compared to the normal ones. The genetic studies and the twin studies also indicate a biological link and disposition towards developing the depression. The social factors can also be taken in account to understand the depression. The family environment, the brought up, and the environmental factors play a huge role in the development of the depression. The childhood traumas, abuse, neglect, lack of social skills, lack of the social skills and other such factors also contribute to development of depression in the later life. The personal factors, socioeconomic factors, life events and health habits, learning of resilient behavior patterns, reduced support, lack of resources for diagnosis and therapy, and multiple other such factors are the contribution factors towards the development of the depression.

The depression has a profound effect on the life of the individual suffering from it. It reduces the everyday functioning, reduces resilience, creates a loop of overthinking and turns the life of the suffering individual unbearable. Many a times, the condition leads to Bi-polar disorder, Dysthymic disorder, personality disorders and many other relevant conditions. The mood disorder such as depression might lead to co-occurrence of other disorders such as schizophrenia. The physical health of patients of depression may also not improve or stay stable due to their lack of interest in the self-development and health care.

Many techniques are available to cope with depression. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is the source of the development by which the person may become able to deal with the mental health issue and cope with depression. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy works on the ABC principle. The Affect (A) factor relates to the development of the emotion relevant to an issue. The emotional aspects serve as the trigger factors to the events. The Behavior (B) factor relates to behaviors that follow the activating event that created the Affect. The Cognitive factor (C) relates to the rational thinking aspect of the entire situation. An example can justify the developments of CBT in context of psychotherapy.  A person witnesses his/her mother showing more care to his/her younger sibling. It created an activating event of competing affect. The person behaves resentfully towards the younger sibling due to the negative feelings. The underlying cognition is that a person thinks that his/her mother cares more about the younger siblings as compared to him/her. Thus, the repeated thoughts keep translating into the emotions and actions. The CBT works to break down this loop, by thought replacement strategy. It influences the person to change the negative thought patterns, and replace thoughts that are negative, to the ones that are positive in nature. Thus, the cognitive patterns are changed effectively in CBT.

CBT has effectively cured many patients. However, many other ways and strategies have also allowed the patients of the depression to bloom. The most important aspect to cope with depression is the behavioral therapies. You can find a great source of information over the internet in the form of articles with accurate annotated bibliography referring to authentic books written by psychologists and therapists. The token economy to reduce the lethargy and let go of the negative thoughts can be applied well for depression. The Mindfulness based Cognitive Therapy also provides a helpful alternate in which the person with depression can use the mindfulness based meditation in which the breathing exercises, muscle relaxation, and the positive thought patterns are applied. The previous Freudian methods of taking the past history in context is very time consuming, hence the practitioners focus more on the presenting conditions of the patient. There are many antidepressants also available in the market that has allowed the patient to have an effective and easy option for curing the biological causes of the depression.

To conclude, depression is a mental disorder due to which many people have lost their lives. It is important to understand depression, its causes and cures in order to reduce its impact on functioning of the individual.

Summary

The depression is a mental disorder that effects the mood and everyday functioning of the person. It is important to understand depression. Depression has biological, social and personal factors as contributors. The therapies for the depression primarily consist of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The other therapies include the Behavioral Therapies, anti depressants and Mindfulness based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). To cope depression, one must understand the depression.