What are The Risks?

About 15 per cent of the population is likely to experience at least one period of depression severe enough to require medical help, though the symptoms may not be specifically identified as a depressive illness. Some types of depression tend to run in families.

The gravest risk of depression is suicide, the last resort of someone who finds life unbearable . In rare cases the illness can unbalance a person's mind so much that they feel forced to kill others as well as themselves, to spare them the agony of being alive. Although they are too common in all age groups including the young, depression and suicide are particular problems of the elderly, and sometimes depression can resemble and be confused with senility . This confusion is particularly unfortunate since depression is often reversible. Thus a depressed elderly person may be thought to have senile dementia and get no treatment for his or her depression.

What Should be Done?

If you recognize the symptoms of increasing depressive illness (not just a passing sadness) in yourself, see a physician now. Do not be ashamed to tell him or her about your fears. If you recognize the symptoms in other people, try to persuade them to accept medical help.

What is The Treatment?

Self-help: If you think a mild form of depression is lasting too long or beginning to deepen, a vacation, active sports, or a hobby may help you pull out of it. It may not be possible to do this, however, if you have a depressive illness, so if these measures fail, see your physician. If a member of your family seems to be severely depressed, try gentle but firm persuasion to get him or her to a doctor. Threats of suicide should be considered an emergency.

Professional help: Treatment depends on the type and severity of symptoms. If you go to your family physician with symptoms of depression, he or she may refer you to a specialist for treatment. Treatment may consist of medications, psychotherapy, or a combination of both. Antidepressants, which are often used in treatment of depression, can usually begin to relieve a mild case within two to three weeks. In severe cases, especially when there is a risk of suicide, the physician may advise hospitalization, because in a hospital your symptoms can be monitored, you can be prevented from harming yourself, and drug treatment and psychotherapy can be closely supervised. In rare cases of persistent illness, electroshock therapy (EST) may be recommended.

If you are treated in a mental hospital, the goal of treatment is not only to cure your depression but also to prepare you for a return to normal life.

What are The Long-Term Prospects?

People who have a depressive illness almost always respond well to treatment. Unfortunately, some types of depression tend to recur. Yet many people who have repeated attacks of depressive illness manage to function by getting treatment in the early stages of each attack.

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