What Is Depression?
You’ve probably heard many people say “I’m depressed”. Well, these types of people are normally not depressed at all but simply unhappy. This is due to overuse and exaggeration of the word “depressed”.
In terms of a medical condition then “clinical depression” is a different kettle of fish altogether.
It can take many forms but the underlying theme to all of them is the severity and the need to act quickly to control it.
For instance, I have a friend who had a nervous breakdown. Until you see this for yourself then you cannot understand just how devastating it can be. My friend looked like a zombie and probably felt like one too. With true depression like this, the brain chemistry plays a huge part.
A course of drugs is definitely recommended in these cases. Usually these days, a drug such as an SSRI is commonly prescribed. There are many different types of SSRIs available such as Seroxat, Paxil and others and they all have slightly different indications and effects.
People can become depressed in other ways too but, as I mentioned earlier, the common theme between them all is just how severe the effect on a person is.
In these cases, drugs are recommended but, in general, drugs are prescribed far too often by doctors. People have spoken of a “Prozac generation” in the past. Prozac just happens to be one of the most commonly prescribed drugs by doctors and, whilst it is effective, one has to question just why the doctors are so quick to prescribe it - are there really that many truly depressed people in America?