Causes and Treatments of Depression - Essay Example

Position Paper: Depression The purpose of the paper is to demonstrate that depression is very important; it is a concern to society. Moreover, this mental disease is a rather widespread problem. That is why it is necessary to learn more about it. Both ordinary people and nurses should be aware of the causes and consequences of depression, its home cure, the cases when it is necessary to go to the hospital and the services that may help to overcome depression. The illness under consideration occurs among people rather often due to everyday problems and pressure at the office and family problems; so, this illness is not the challenge of a single person. It is a trouble that happens to the major part of our society. As a rule, depression is defined as a state of blue mood and low activity. This state usually affects one’s conduct, thoughts and even physical well-being. For instance, people under depression may be: restless, irritable, guilty, helpless, sad, hopeless, anxious, etc. Sometimes depression leads to suicides; that is why it is necessary to pay more attention to people who have the signs of this illness. The symptoms of depression are: 1) one has low mood practically all the time, 2) one gets no pleasure from everyday activities, 3) little energy and no pleasure in life, 4) problems with sleeping, 5) changes in appetite, 6) a person is very irritable, 7) one feels self-guilt, 8) it is difficult to concentrate and 9) constant thoughts of death and suicide (Keen 2002). There are cases when depression can be treated at home and sometimes it is necessary to consult a specialist. It may happen that it will be enough just to change lifestyle or go abroad. It is better to consult a medical professional if: one has the thoughts of harming herself/himself, an individual hears some strange voices that do not exist in reality, there is constant crying without reasonable cause, depression influences negatively progress at school or relations in the family, there are three or even more symptoms of depression, one takes medicine that may cause depression and one feels guilty about the amount of alcohol he/she takes. Treatments of this mental disorder may be the following ones: 1) cognitive-behavioural therapy, 2) physical exercise, 3) pet therapy (or animal-assisted therapy), 4) group therapy, 5) music therapy, 6) music therapy, 7) art therapy and 8) keeping a gratitude journal, 9) psychotherapy and taking antidepressants (Beck 2009). I have chosen this issue because of its relevance to the contemporary society. It is known that every person suffered depression at least once in his/her life. Sometimes there is no need to consult doctors in this case and sometimes there is a case of clinical depression that should be cured by nurses. The frequency and various types of depression make this issue highly debatable and important in the contemporary society. Both people and nurses need to know more about this notion. That is why I have chosen this topic. Moreover, I am not sure that medical services and people’s attitude towards the mental illness under consideration are the proper ones. There are a lot of things to improve. I am for my position because depression is a problem of the contemporary society. This disease is widespread among people. They suffer this mental disease and do not know how to get rid of it. If depression is not cured, there is a probability of suicide or some other unwanted consequences. Moreover, people do not have an opportunity to lead a more active and productive life because depression. That is why it is so important to be informed. I think that our society needs more attention and help with depression. There are two factors contributing to the issue. Firstly, the majority of people do not take depression seriously; however, it may lead to serious problems with health. Secondly, a lot of people suffer from this illness without even knowing that it is depression. According to statistics, three hundred forty million in the world suffer from this mental disorder. As for males and females, depression more frequently occurs to women. Thus, one in four females suffers from depression and one in ten males has the same problem. I think that the theme of depression is very important because of its frequency. Moreover, mental state influences people’s life greatly. That is why nurses should know as much as possible about depression, its symptoms and treatment in order to help patients with this illness. The information given in this paper is relevant to nursing practice because nurses should know how to behave with depressed people and cure them. Moreover, it is necessary to be aware of the consequences of depression. This will help to treat each case more seriously. I am not sure that the colleges where nurses study give enough information about depression as they are pressed for time. That is why nurses themselves should be ready to learn more about this issue. The concerned parties are: the members of the family where somebody is depressed. They suffer seeing the state of the person they love and want to help but do not know how. People from the circle of a depressed person are also a concerned party. They have to cooperate with the depressed. But it is rather difficult because he/she is sensitive to critic, irritated, angry and passive. The impact of the issue on society is evident. Society, nurses and ordinary people should know more about depression. Lack of knowledge on this illness will lead to problems with health among the patients, the society will become weaker because of constant depressions and the nurses are not qualified if they cannot help during depression. There are a lot of services that may help with depression. For example, it is possible to use the following services: Post and Ante Natal Depression Association (PANDA), Mental Health Carers, Suicide Call Back Service and others. The recommendation for nurses is to be aware of all the sources and methods to help depressed people. There are a lot of books and articles on depression online. Some new treatments are invented practically every day. If one wants to stay a qualified nurse, he/she should know this information. The recommendation for the society is to be informed about depression as well and know the contacts of the services that may help. Moreover, it is necessary to learn the symptoms of this mental illness and its home treatment. I see my work in interdisciplinary team the following way: a) planning the work, 2) learning the information about depression and 3) having practice on the issue under consideration. Something should be done to improve the life of the mentally ill people and the society. It can be done with the help of the following things: advocacy at the legislative level, financial funding for responses, delivery for nursing and other interdisciplinary care, and reduction of stigma at the local, state, or national level. To conclude, it is necessary to stress that depression is a serious mental disorder that needs treatment. This issue is too widespread to ignore it; a lot of people suffer depression and cannot be active and happy in everyday life. Nurses and society should learn more about depression and the ways to stop it. Everyone should be involved in the process of opposing this illness, because it influences the productivity and life of the society. References Beck, Aaron. (2009). Depression: causes and treatments. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press. Hammen, Constance. (1997). Depression. UK: Psychology Press, Ltd. Keen, Ernest. (2002). Depression: self-consciousness, pretending, and guilt. New York, NY: Praeger Publishers. Read More