Depressive disorder, also known as depression, is a mood-affective disorder; it is characterized by persistent low moods. The world health organization describes depression as a common mental disorder, and it affects 5% of the world’s adult population. Treatment for the disorder can vary depending on each global region. In Iceland, antidepressants are prescribed far more than in any other country. Other countries offer different approaches, such as China. In China, acupuncture can be used as a method to treat depression. It has been found to be effective, as stated by WebMD, after a study was conducted involving 151 participants. In less developed global regions, depression is under-diagnosed, which can be for many reasons; mental disorders are often seen as a taboo topic for many communities, and they can be seen as a sign of weakness or defeat, but in many cases, most individuals do not have the funding to receive a formal diagnosis.
The criteria for a diagnosis are low mood, reduced or complete loss of interest in activities or close relationships, low self-esteem, suicidal ideation, reduced energy, and reduced concentration. The cause for symptoms may differ depending on the individual, but the general causes for depression are genetics, stressful financial situations, traumatic events, loss, overuse of drugs and alcohol, illnesses, pregnancy, and loneliness. Depression disorder is a common disorder that has many forms of treatment. The medical treatment for depressive disorder is antidepressants. The same medication can be used to treat anxiety disorder. SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) are the primary antidepressants prescribed. Fluvoxamine, fluoxetine, sertraline, and escitalopram are all SSRIs that help increase serotonin levels in the brain. SSRIs are primarily prescribed because they have less severe side effects than other medications. Another form of treatment for depression is talking therapy. There are different types of talking therapy; counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy, guided self-help therapy, behavioural activation, hypnotherapy, interpersonal therapy, dialectical behavioural therapy, psychodynamic psychotherapy, and eye movement desensitisation reprocessing therapy. These forms of talking therapy are helpful in treating depressive disorder, especially when dealing with trauma and loneliness.
Depressive disorder is persistent low moods, but the symptoms can manifest differently depending on the individual. The ICD-10 states that there are three levels of severity regarding the disorder, these are mild, moderate, and severe. In some cases, an individual can even experience psychotic symptoms with their depressive episodes. These are typically severe cases of depressive disorder. These individuals may experience hallucinations, suicidal ideation, and delusions that prevent them from seeking treatment.
Depression is an umbrella term for several formal subtypes of depressive disorder. ICD–10 states that are 9 types of depressive disorders; these are major depressive disorder, adjustment disorder, psychogenic depression, psychotic depression, agitated depression, atypical depression, endogenous depression, neurotic depression, and reactive depression. The same antidepressants and talking therapies can be used to treat these forms of depressive disorder. Antipsychotic medication can also be used to treat these forms of depression. Antipsychotic medications like aripiprazole and risperidone, alongside antidepressants, can be used to treat and manage psychotic depression.
The three levels of severity heavily influence an Individuals experience with depressive disorder. Mild depression may cause an individual to lose interest in their hobbies, whilst severe depression causes an individual to lose complete interest in their self-hygiene and personal relationships. It varies depending on each individual, but the depressive disorder is known to be debilitating. It causes a change in the quality of life. Moderate depression is stressful as it meets a reasonable number of criteria for depressive disorder. Psychical symptoms may manifest with a moderate depressive disorder diagnosis. Fatigue, loss of appetite, weight gain, pain, and headaches may occur if an individual is experiencing a moderate level of depressive disorder. This may be a result of stress, prolonged sadness, and low mood.
When an individual is experiencing moderate to severe symptoms of depressive disorder, they may consider other types of treatment such as electroconvulsive therapy, yoga, meditation, herbal remedies, drama therapy, art therapy, exercise, and reflexology. These treatments can be helpful, but sometimes they are not enough to help a person recover from their trauma or change their persistent low moods.
Hypnotherapy can be an effective treatment for mild to moderate depressive disorder, and it can be applied to 8 of the subtypes of depression, but it is not advisable for those with psychotic depression. Hypnotherapy is used to alter the state of mind, it has positive intentions, but for those experiencing psychotic symptoms, it can cause a worsened quality of life as it can worsen the symptoms. Not every case of hypnotherapy has had a positive outcome, and it has negative side effects like all the methods of treatment. Hypnotherapy can cause headaches, panic attacks, issues with sleep, and false memories, as an individual is revisiting past memories with their hypnotherapist.
On its own, hypnotherapy can be difficult for many individuals, but when paired with cognitive behavioural therapy, hypnotherapy is quite effective. A study conducted by the University of Calgary (Alladin, Alibhai 2007) found that hypnotherapy and cognitive behavioural therapy significantly reduced depressive symptoms.
The commonality of depressive disorder has caused a significant number of methods to treat the disorder and its many causes, and different forms of manifestations have shown that some methods are extremely effective on some individuals whilst completely ineffective for others. Hypnotherapy offers an alternative, talking-based approach to treatment.
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