Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. It affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. It may require long-term treatment. But don’t get discouraged. Most people with depression feel better with medication, psychological counseling or both.

Sign and symptoms of depression include:

• Loss of interest in activities that were once interesting or enjoyable
• Loss of appetite
• Weight loss
• Loss of emotional expression
• Anxious or empty mood
• Feelings of hopelessness
• Social withdrawal
• Unusual fatigue
• Sleep disturbance and insomnia
• Trouble concentrating, remembering, or making decisions
• Irritability
• Thoughts of suicide or suicide attempt

TYPES OF DEPRESSION:

• Anxious distress
• Mixed features
• Melancholic features
• Atypical features
• Seasonal pattern
• Peripartum onset
• Psychotic features
• Catatonia

Causes of depression:

Few of the things that can play a role in depression:
• Genetic factor: People who have any of their blood relations suffering from depression are more prone to develop this condition and it has often been seen to run in families. Research is still going on to find out which particular gene is responsible for the same.
• Biochemical factors: Levels of chemical substances in the brain, especially serotonin and nor epinephrine, are linked to depression. However, its still not clearly defined whether the change in their levels is the cause of depression or caused due to depression.
• Environmental factors: Certain situations in life such as loss of loved ones, major financial loss, difficult relationship, immense disappointment of any kind in life, physical or sexual abuse, etc. can trigger off depression.
• Gender: After puberty, women are twice as likely to develop depression as compared to men. Before puberty, the incidence largely remains the same for both the sexes.
• Hormonal imbalance: This could be one of the causes for developing depression especially as seen during menopause, after childbirth, during premenstrual phase, etc.
• Suffering from physical ailments especially chronic ones like heart disease, cancer, HIV can be the cause for developing depression.
• Drugs: Depression can occur as a result of certain drugs especially corticosteroids, anti-parkinsonism drugs
• Certain personality traits.

Natural Treatment:

Natural treatment can effectively treat most forms of depression with good results. Research done in the past has also shown that significant improvement in depression symptoms and betterment in the quality of life of patients was clearly evident after natural treatment. At Hashmi Dawakhana, we have the experience and expertise in treating this condition successfully naturally for more than 40 years now.

The duration of natural depression treatment may vary from case to case and depends on several factors such as duration of the condition, its severity and its impact on the patient. Patients who have not lost touch with reality are likely to respond better than those who suffer from psychotic symptoms like delusions / hallucinations (which indicates loss of touch with reality). In addition, patients who develop a strong will (who do not give up on the treatment) and take adequate steps for the same are likely to show good response to treatment.

The medicines can help to reinstate the deviation from health back to normal and can help the patients to lead a better quality of life in general. In addition, Natural treatment can help in avoiding the use of anti-depressants which often tend to be habit-forming as well as lead to side effects like weight gain, high blood pressure, blurring of vision, etc.

Additionally, natural medicines for depression are not habit-forming and without any side effects. Thus treatment can be continued even for long periods without worrying about any untoward events due to medication. For people who are already on conventional treatment, Natural ingredients can help them to reduce their dependency on the conventional drugs while leading to good health in general.

Lastly, with adequate counseling and psychotherapy as an adjunct to natural approach, patients can be effectively helped out of their depression to lead a normal, joyful and satisfactory life.

Coping with Depression

Depression can be one of the difficult conditions to cope with especially since the patient experiences lack of interest in everything and at times even loses interest in treatment itself. However, with a strong will and with adequate support from family and friends, patients can effectively cope with this ailment and even get rid of it.
Based on our experience of treating a large number of cases of depression at Hashmi Dawakhana, we have seen that making certain changes in diet and lifestyle can effectively help patients to cope with their depression. Discussed here are few of them:
• Physical activities such as walking, jogging, swimming, exercise, etc. are known to reduce the symptoms of depression
• Maintain a diary and write down your feelings in it regularly – this helps to ventilate any pain, fear, anger, etc.
• Take steps to manage stress effectively – setting reasonable goals helps in the long run
• Take up yoga, meditation on a regular basis
• Remain educated about your condition; this awareness helps in better management
• Take time out with family and friends, try not to spend too much time alone
• Avoid alcohol and drugs – it’s very easy to fall for these when depressed although they only worsen symptoms as time passes
• Lastly eat a healthy balanced diet and get adequate sleep to ensure your system stays healthy