‘To some degree, when the situations demand it, normal people develop a mild form of depression, which is transient, self-terminating, and not a disease.’
What is depression?
DEPRESSION is a state of emotion where the individual has some or all of the following senses, feelings or moods: downhearted, unhappy, anxious, irritable, unable to concentrate, socially withdrawn, empty inside, has inordinate fatigue and reduced interest in activities which used to be fun, hopelessness, indecision, impaired sleep, misery, helplessness, confusion, monosyllabic speech or abnormally quiet.
What is morbid mood?
The morbid mood in depression may be so severe that the patient is unable to cry (tears dry up) or to feel the usual emotions like pleasure, grief, or joy. The whole world appears lifeless and colorless to the patient, who could be pre-occupied with a sense of guilt and self-denigrating and destructive ideas.
What is melancholia?
It used to be called endogenous depression. Its features include marked slowness in thinking and activity, agitation, worthlessness, weight loss, restlessness, wringing of the hands, inability to experience pleasure or well-being, difficulty falling asleep and have insomnia, following arousal from sleep, with diminished or loss of sexual desire. The patient usually has the feeling of guilt that he/she has committed a grave crime, with hallucinations (voices of people accusing the patient of bad deeds, or condemning him/her to death. Others believe that they have incurable diseases like cancer or AIDs). Very rarely, the patient with this psychotic depression kills family members (“to save them from future misfortunes in life”) and kills himself/herself.
How rampant is depression?
In the United States, depression affects about 17 million Americans. In the Philippines, about ten percent of young adults had moderate to severe depression in 2022, about 3.6 million of the population. More than 2/3 or 75% of them do not benefit from proper therapy because of the patient’s inability to seek counseling, misunderstanding of the condition or misdiagnosis. Most people do not seek professional help because the condition is very common and many of them mild or subclinical (with no obvious symptoms). Sometimes, even physicians miss making the correct diagnosis in earnest, thinking the patient’s complaints could be due to some medication interaction.
Are there screening testsfor depression?
Yes, there are. Mental health specialists can administer preliminary tests such as the BDI (Beck Depression Inventory), or the HRS (Hamilton Rating Scale), which is composed of 20 questions to screen the patient. Today, computerized phone interviews are gaining effectivity as a screening tool. These tests are only a small part of the evaluation process, because the specialists have the symptoms of the patient and other criteria to aid them to make the correct diagnosis.
Don’t we all get depressed sometimes?
To some degree, when the situations demand it, normal people develop a mild form of depression, which is transient, self-terminating, and not a disease. As long as the resultant symptoms are trivial and temporary, and do not debilitate the person, the condition does not need any medical treatment.
What foods relieve depression?
Foods that are high in tryptophan, an amino acid involved in serotonin production, provide relief to some people with depression. Niacin (Vitamin B3), which is essential in the production of tryptophan, can be found in dried peas, beans, whole grains, dried fortified cereals, and especially in oily fishes like salmon and mackerel. It is reported that Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in fish oil may actually reduce depression. PMS Escape, a high carbohydrate drink, is claimed to increase tryptophan level and may control the depression related to pre-menopausal syndrome for about three hours. However, there are impurities in the L-tryptophan diet supplements that are associated with EMS (eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome), which increases the white blood cells and causes muscle pains.
Does calcium help alleviate depression?
Calcium supplements and Vitamin B-12 have been reported to reduce pre-menstrual depression. Also, some studies showed that depressed people who drink caffeinated beverages have a lower incidence of suicide, which seems to suggest that coffee or tea reduces depression.
What are the therapy guidelines?
Among adults who suffer from major or chronic depression, a trial of antidepressant drugs is used, together with psychotherapy that is designed for the patient. For those who do not improve with this strategy, ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) have been found to be effective and safe. If this fails, psychosurgery might be indicated.
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Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus based in Northwest Indiana and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international medical lecturer/author, Health Advocate, newspaper columnist, and Chairman of the Filipino United Network-USA, a 501(c)3 humanitarian foundation in the United States. He was a decorated recipient of the Indiana Sagamore of the Wabash Award in 1995. Other Sagamore past awardees include President Harry Truman, President George HW Bush, Muhammad Ali, Astronaut Gus Grissom (Wikipedia). Websites: FUN8888.com, Today.SPSAtoday.com, and philipSchua.com Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com
