Major Depression : A Disabling Illness

“Recent data estimate the overall prevalence of depression at about 11.1% of the American population, or nearly 35 million individuals (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). A predictive models suggest that up to 50% of the population will experience at least one episode of depression during their lives” (Life Extension, 2014). Depression has negatively affected the lives of many individuals throughout the world. Look around you there may even be someone close to you that is demonstrating signs of its stifling affects. Depression does not discriminate with its suffocating

Mental disorder is a common term to refer people’s mental health conditions in Canada and internationally. People who have studied Hamlet, a play that’s written by William Shakespeare, know that Ophelia is one of the characters who suffer from a mental disorder, which known as major depressive disorder. At the beginning of the play, Ophelia’s mental state is very healthy, she falls in love with her boyfriend Hamlet, yet their relationship is controlled by her father. During the play, Ophelia experiences a transformation of her mindset, which causes by Hamlet. As the play closer to the end, the death of Polonius, father of Ophelia, makes Ophelia’s mental becomes more unstable, which leads her to suicide at the end. Thus, due to all the unhappy events that happen to Ophelia’s life all at once, the psychological harms slowly turn Ophelia becomes insane and eventually brings her to death.

Today, 350 million people worldwide suffer from depression, over 5% of the entire population on Earth (Healthline). While 5% may not seem like much, it is absolutely appalling to think that any one person deserves to feel depressed. Despite being apart of the human mind ever since creation, doctors and psychologists today are still struggling to understand what causes the mind to break down to a state of utter sadness and self loathing. Even more troubling is the fact that not many people, primarily parents, are exposed to the utter damage that the disorder may cause to their children. Unlike physical disorders, injuries, or other illnesses that attack the body, depression attacks the mind. Depression can take the brightest day and turn it

Andrea Yates was born on July 2, 1964. In high school she graduated as valedictorian and moved onto college where she graduated with a nursing degree and preceded to become a registered nurse. It wasn’t until after Andrea met her husband, Rusty Yates, and had her first of five children that she started to show signs and eventually be diagnosed with major depression and psychotic features.

In this day and age depression is a catchword. It is applied to all imaginable situations, from grieving after the loss of a loved one to simple foul moods. Although such a loose usage of the word is hardly warranted, the statistics of the World Health Organization suggest that there is some real basis behind it: about 4-5% of the world's population suffer from depression, and it is the reason behind about 60% of all suicides (1). United States is ahead of the world's quota in this sad race: according to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 9.5% of the population (or about 18.8 million adults) experience a depressive disorder in any given year (2). With such

Nevid informs palpable statistics on depression “according to recent estimates, about 17 percent of U.S. adults develop major depression at some point in their lives (Conway et al., 2006; Forgeard et al., 2011; Nevid, 2015, p. 504). Furthermore, Nevid (2015) delineates on major depression, “major depression (also called major depressive disorder), people typically feel sad or “down in the dumps” and may experience feelings of worthlessness, changes in sleep or appetite, lethargy, and loss of interest in pleasurable activities” (p. 504). This writer, for this assignment chose to share from personal experience. Once this writer was a part of the 17 percent of Americans suffering from depression. However, that the moment in time enhanced my life; it was my truth and hopefully this post will encourage and uplift. Nevid (2015) cites:

Nearly 1 in 5 people will experience a major depressive episode at some point in their lives (Zhang, Li, Sha, & Bu, 2015). Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a widespread problem that can affect anyone regardless of gender or age. MDD is one of the most common mental illnesses (with an estimated lifetime prevalence of 16.6%) and is associated with significant impairments in social, occupational, and educational functioning (Synder, 2013). Depression causes problems in a person’s everyday life. There are various treatment models that been found to help in the treatment and cure of depression. The two most commonly used are psychotherapy and medicinal therapy. Psychotherapy comprises of cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy,

Imagine someone losing interest in all of their favorite activities, social gathering, friends, and being sad most of the time. This is what people with depression deal with daily. Depression is a health disorder that affects people’s daily lives. This can make everything in life a struggle for some people. The worst thing about Depression is usually people will have it for the rest of their lives. It is not the same thing as sadness; it last longer than 2 weeks. Depression is prevalent health disorder that is increasing in the United States (“Major Depression” 1). This is becoming a huge issue in our society today and people need to notice it. There are also can be various forms of depression like, Dysthymia, Psychotic, Seasonal, and Major

Fundamentals of Abnormal Psychology defines depression as “a low, sad state in which life seems dark and its challenges overwhelming” (Comer, 2014). For those who truly suffer from depression, their internal and external struggles delve deeper than a definition can provide. Depression not only affects the patient, but also the patient’s surroundings which include friends and family. The toll that depression takes on one’s life could potentially be everlasting, which is why further research on depression needs to be conducted in order to give patients and their families a more hopeful prognosis. The concept and awareness of depression seems to be ubiquitous, however there is a boundless amount of information researchers and psychologists

Depression is the feeling of severe despondency and dejection. In simpler words, depression is a state of low spirits, loss of hope, and sadness. Between the ages of 15-24 and 35-44, research has found that developing major depression is very likely. In my age group, 15-24 years, depression is quite common because of all the overwhelming physical, emotional, and social changes. Of course as teens we overreact when put in these kinds of situations and make them an even bigger deal than they actually are. Also as a teen, we are looked at as young adults and are getting ready to go off to college and start our careers and then a family. It’s a lot of pressure and stress and there are a lot of unrealistic academic and social expectations that we

Many people throughout their lives go through periods of sadness due to various different things such as grief at the loss of a loved one or a stressful event occurring, and this process is natural, even a part of human nature, in order to experience all aspects of life and get support from those around us (Horwitz & Wakefield, 2007). However, this “organic sadness,” as it were, is quite different from what we call depression as a mental illness; as to say that one has a mood disorder, a number of symptoms must occur at once and impair functioning of the individual (Ingrim, n.d). To put into perspective the prevalence of this disorder, over 98 million people are affected globally, with middle and low income countries more highly afflicted,

Major Depressive Disorder (also known as Major Depression, Clinical Depression): A depressed mood which disrupts your ability to, or decrease your interest in, carrying on normal life activities (like working, sleeping, studying and eating). It often lasts all day, for nearly every day, for two weeks. It is accompanied by at least four (or more) additional symptoms:

More people suffer from depression than you might think. People of all ages, backgrounds, lifestyles, and nationalities get clinical depression. An estimated 35 to 40 million Americas living today will suffer from major depression at some time during their lives. (4) This is about 13 to 20 percent of all Americans. (1) About half of these individuals will experience recurring depression. (3) Despite being what authorities call "the nation's leading mental health problem" (6), depression is often misdiagnosed or undiagnosed, and therefore not treated. (4) Often as a result, about 25 percent of these people attempt suicide to end their

Throughout life we all experience situations that may alter our mental health or make us feel like there is no hope in the world. One of the most common experiences we all go through is feeling great sadness or not feeling like we are the best version of ourselves. Even though we all may go through similar life transitions and the ups and downs that get brought along with such transitions, there is still extreme stigma around depression and mental health in general. So much so, that we very rarely talk about our mental health with each other and instead seek advice from the professionals in the medical field. As we grow older we may experience things that we did not think about while we were young, such as losing a loved one due to death or

Each year, 19 million Americans are affected by clinical depression, sometimes resulting in suicide (Emedicinehealth, 2011). This clinical depression is not merely a feeling of sadness. The illness affects every day activities and performance. Though there are different types of clinical depression, the most extreme case is major depressive disorder. The reoccurring disorder often prevents individuals from enjoying usually pleasurable activities and causes physical symptoms (Emedicinehealth, 2011). These individuals search for coping mechanisms and possible treatments. Seu (2008), a WORLD magazine writer, boldly stated that depression can be overcome by personally clearing your mind, living as though you are not depressed, and relying