Recently, awareness of the importance of maintaining mental health has begun to often campaign. Did you know that these mental health problems can be connected to each other? For example, people who have mental health problems other than depression (such as anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and psychosis), are often diagnosed with depression as a result of their mental health problems. Therefore, Fitie wants to discuss mental health issues that are related to depression. Check this out, Ladies!
Bipolar depression
Bipolar depression occurs in depressive episodes in certain types of bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is a mental disorder that causes changes in mood, energy, concentration, and the ability to perform daily tasks. In bipolar disorder, there are periods known as manic episodes, in which the person with this disorder will feel very "up," happy, or excited, but there are also depressive episodes where the person feels "down," sad, or hopeless.
People who experience depressive episodes in bipolar disorder may:
- Feeling very sad, hopeless, or empty
- Feeling slow or restless
- Having trouble sleeping, getting up too early, or sleeping too much
- Have an increased appetite and gain weight
- Speaks very slowly, forgets something, or feels like you have nothing to say
- Having trouble concentrating or making decisions
- Feeling unable to perform basic tasks
- Have little interest in activities
- Have decreased or absent sex drive
- Having thoughts about death or suicide
Symptoms during a depressive episode last most of the day and can last for days or weeks. By treating bipolar disorder, the symptoms of depression experienced in a depressive episode can be less and less severe.
Depression and anxiety
Depression and anxiety can happen to a person at the same time. More than 70% of people with depression also have symptoms of anxiety. Although thought to be caused by different things, depression and anxiety can produce some similar symptoms, which can include:
- Irritability
- Difficulty with memory or concentration
- Sleep problems
If you think you are experiencing symptoms of one or both of these conditions (depression and anxiety), make an appointment to consult with a health professional such as a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist. You will be helped to identify symptoms of anxiety and/or depression and how they can be treated. These two conditions also share some common treatments. This means that anxiety and depression can be treated in some of the same ways, such as:
- Therapy, for example, cognitive behavioral therapy
- Drugs
- Alternative therapies, such as hypnotherapy
Depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a type of anxiety disorder that causes unwanted and recurring thoughts, urges, and fears (obsessions). This fear causes the sufferer to repeat the behavior that is expected to reduce the stress caused by the obsession.
People with OCD can feel isolated due to withdrawal from friends or the environment because of the circle of obsessions they have. This can increase the risk of depression in the person. Therefore, it is common for someone with OCD to also experience depression. In fact, 80% of people with OCD also experience a major depressive episode.
This dual diagnosis often occurs in children. This is because the obsessive behavior experienced can cause the child to withdraw from his friends, increasing the chance of a child experiencing depression.
Depression with psychosis
Some individuals who have been diagnosed with major depression may also have symptoms of another mental disorder called psychosis. The condition when a person experiences both of these at the same time is known as depressive psychosis. Depressive psychosis causes people to see, hear, believe, or smell things that are not real. People with this condition may also experience feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and irritability.
The combination of these two conditions is very dangerous. This is because a person with depressive psychosis may experience delusions that cause them to have suicidal thoughts or take other risks that harm themselves or others. It's not clear what causes these two conditions or why they can occur together, but treatment is needed to relieve symptoms. Understanding the risk factors and their possible causes can help avoid the onset of symptoms.
Ultimately, depression can be linked to a variety of other mental health problems. Therefore, we need to be aware of the signs of mental health problems and try to prevent them before they become a ticking time bomb.
Also, read other interesting articles from Fitie!
Source:
Higuera, V & Saripalli, V. (2021). Everything You Need to Know About Depression (Major Depressive Disorder). Healthline. [online]. https://www.healthline.com/health/depression