Depression
In everyday language depression refers to any downturn in mood, which may be relatively transitory and perhaps due to something trivial. This is different from clinical depression. In the field of psychiatry the word depression more specifically refers to a mental illness when it has reached a severity and duration to warrant a diagnosis.
The signs and symptoms of self-loathing, a decrease in self-esteem, periods of sobbing for no apparent reason, feeling of helplessness, feeling that you will never get better, anxiety over little or slight things, avoiding social situations are just a few common symptoms.
Post-partum, or post-natal depression, (another form of depression) is experienced by 10-15% of women within first 3 months after giving birth and can last as long as two years.
Owing to physical, mental and emotional exhaustion any form of depression is undeniably disruptive to a person’s social functioning and/ or activities of daily living.
It is widely recognised that certain biochemical imbalances in the body produce symptoms of depression. These can be helped in a number of ways, with acupuncture, nutritional therapy and exercise such as Yoga, even in combination with Western pharmaceutical drugs.
