Depression

Depression is a mood disorder that results in a state of psychological and biological decay and the significant and continued patient claudication, and manifests itself through psychic symptoms (lack of interest may appear, sadness, demoralization, low self-esteem ...) and somatic (which could be in the form of loss of appetite, decreased body weight, fatigue, sleep disturbances with periods of insomnia and sleepiness, etc.).

When a diagnosis has been properly discard transient episodes of sadness or frustration, considered as a natural reaction of the person to negative events and situations mourning the loss of a loved one or other as divorces or separations ; even if it lasts more than six months or is so important that it can lead to disabling what is known clinically as major depression.

Do I really suffer a depression?
Depressive symptoms can occur in situations involving a strong stress, either labor, economic or relationship type, which will gradually sending disappears from the trigger stress; It is what is called adjustment disorder with depressed mood.

Also secondary depressions, which are those that show depressive symptoms but are caused by somatic problems or are caused by certain drugs should be ruled.

This is a very common problem, it is estimated to affect 350 million people worldwide, being, according to WHO, the leading cause of disability worldwide. Only in Spain is considered that the incidence of depressive disorders is 5-9% of the population, about 1.5 million people, although at least 10-20% have suffered depressive episodes at some time in their lives, many cases have never been diagnosed or treated as such.

Another common problem in these patients is estimated that half of them drop out of treatment before six months recommended by experts, resulting in a greater number of relapses and increased the chances that the disorder becomes chronic.