What Causes Depression According to Scientists

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Sadness is how the human being reacts to the loss of a loved one, the struggles of life, the disappointments, and the frustrations. Although it is a normal feeling in all these situations, there is a broad difference between being sad and being depressed. Unlike normal feelings of sadness, depression overwhelms a person, last a long time, and interferes with his or her day-to-day life. According to the World Health Organization in 2010, depression was reported as the most common mental disorder; it affects 120 million people globally and is among the leading causes of disability. The person that suffers from depression has to deal with being misunderstood and under-diagnosed on a daily basis, which leaves the patient with physical, psychological, and emotional scars. Agreeable to the DSM-IV, a manual used to diagnose mental disorders, the criteria to diagnose a depressive episode contains five, or more, of the following symptoms, for a period longer than 2 weeks: 1. Depressed mood, most of the day, nearly every day. 2. Markedly diminished interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, activities most of the day, nearly every day. 3. Significant weight loss when not dieting or weight gain (e.g., a change of more than 5% of body weight in a month), or decrease or increase in appetite nearly every day. 4. Insomnia or hypersomnia nearly every day 5. Psychomotor agitation or retardation nearly every day (observable by others, not merely subjective feelings of restlessness or being slowed down). 6. Fatigue or loss of energy, nearly every day. 7. Feelings of worthlessness, excessive, or inappropriate guilt (which may be delusional) nearly every day. 8. Diminished ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness, nearly every day. 9... ... middle of paper ... ...f becoming depressive. Works Cited American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-IV. 4th ed. Washington, DC. 1994. Print. "Depression." Krames Signs and Symptoms FastGuides: Depression. Harvard Health Publications Group, 2009. Psychology Collection. Web. 6 Mar. 2014. Fu, C, and K Parahoo. "Causes Of Depression: Perceptions Among People Recovering From Depression." Journal Of Advanced Nursing 65.1 (2009): 101-109. Web. 5 Mar. 2014. Hammond, S, and K Crozier. "Depression: Assessing The Causes." RCM Midwives 10.8 (2007): 365-368. Web. 5 Mar. 2014. Livingstone, Bob. "Mood walking." Going Bonkers Magazine Aug. 2010: 38. Psychology Collection. Web. 6 Mar. 2014. Scholten, Amy. "Depression." Genetics & Inherited Conditions. Ed. A. Knight Jeffrey, 3d Pasadena, CA: Salem Press, 2010. Salem Health Web. 06 Mar. 2014.

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