It is normal for anyone to feel down or blue during the trying and difficult events in life. However, occasional feelings of sadness are very different from serious cases of depression. Clinical depression triggers millions of people worldwide, and as statistics for this type of mood disorder continuously increases each year, awareness programs and movements are also expanding to aid those who are suffering from such illness.

Defining depression and occasional sadness

Sadness is a part of life. One cannot go through life without experiencing the ups and downs of moods. It is a normal reaction of humans to frustrations, disappointments, and struggles in life. Sadness, however, should only be transitory. This means that low moods or painful feelings are not permanent, for everyone eventually moves on.   

On the other hand, clinical depression is characterized as a persistent or continuous feeling of sadness or down moment that significantly interferes with a person’s everyday life and productivity.  This condition is frequently confused with sadness for its symptoms and causes are basically the same with the latter.                           

Antidepressants as treatment for depression

Treatments or therapies are recommended to patients once they consult a specialist regarding their depression condition. Among the treatments for depression, antidepressant medication is the most highly advised treatment by most doctors to patients suffering from depression. These are recommended by doctors according to the patients’ condition, age, medical history, as well as personal choices.

Although antidepressant drugs are known for its efficiency, these medications also have its share of complications. Antidepressants are strictly prescription drugs, for these have certain beneficial and disadvantageous effects to users. With this, some people seek alternative medications to antidepressant drugs to avoid instances like drug abuse and intake complications.  

Herbal antidepressant as alternative treatment for depression 

Aside from the conventional treatments and therapies recommended by doctors to patients diagnosed with depression, there are also complementary or alternative treatments to choose from. As for alternative medication, herbal antidepressant is probably among the most popular.  
 
Natural or herbal medications are the same with conventional antidepressant drugs in the sense that they may be effective in most patients and may not work for some. Herbal antidepressant is also endorsed based on the patient’s condition.  

One of the most highly recommended herbal antidepressants is the St John’s Wort. Also known as Hypericum, St John’s Wort is actually a weedy plant extract that has long been used to treat various health conditions. This herbal medication is widely available as it is commonly sold as an over-the-counter drug and is supplied by complementary practitioners.  

Recent medical studies on the efficiency of St John’s Wort claimed that this type of herbal medication is as effective as the conventional drugs when taken at high dosages. However, St John’s Wort won’t be such a helpful medication for patients with extreme cases of depression.  

Furthermore, some people prefer to take herbal antidepressant like St John’s Wort for it manifests less side effects compared to conventional medications. Of course, just like other antidepressant drugs, St John’s Wort has some associated risks. With this, those who are considering to use this kind of herbal antidepressant are advised to consult their doctors first for precautions.

What is music? All sounds are comprised of sound waves. What distinguishes music from other sound waves is the manner in which the sound waves vibrate and decrease from loud to soft. Dropping a metal pan on the floor presents jarring, erratic vibrations. Striking a note on a piano chord presents a softer more uniform and smooth transition from loud to soft. Obviously, a musical note is going to be much more pleasant to the ear.

There’s an old adage about how “music sooths the savage beast.Not only is this true, it is actually an understatement. Music plays such a profound part of our lives, that we will barely scratch the surface here, but lets give it an overview.

All of us grew up with certain songs or instrumentals that strike a chord that reverberates through our entire being. For example, when I hear “A Summer Place,” it immediately carries me back to summer months in the fifties. The experience is so profound that I can remember the feel of the sun on my face, the smell of hot dogs cooked over an open fire and the laughter of friends and family.

There is a theory that certain notes or chords resonate with a vibration that is particularly harmonious to specific people. Have you ever heard a song that gave you goose bumps?” If so, then you give validation to this theory. When this occurs, the music has a profound affect on the subconscious. Add intense emotion to the equation and you have one powerful, indelible, blueprint on your subconscious that will follow you the rest of your life.

For example, let’s say that you receive news of the death of a loved one while a specific piece of music is playing on the radio. That particular music may have a lasting impression. Years later, for no apparent reason, you may find yourself immediately thrown into a state of depression upon hearing that same tune. The same can be true of “positive” feelings as described in the story above.

The subliminal effect of music is a proven fact. How often do you find yourself humming a fragment of a tune that you can’t identify only to discover that it’s a new commercial message you heard on your television. The advertising industry pays huge amounts of money to conduct research into why and how music works on the subconscious mind. This is also the reason why you see the recent trend by large companies to reconstitute classics originally performed by some of the greats of stage and screen.

Just for fun, the next time you find yourself humming a tune, try and remember when, where and under what circumstances you heard it for the very first time. The exercise will probably help you to better understand how past events have shaped your musical preferences. And, I’ll wager that the next time you hear “A Summer Place,” you will remember reading this article.

Happy Listening!

Depression also called as “The Common Cold of Mental Health” is a mental health disorder that affects your body, mood, and thoughts. It even affects your everyday routine like the way you eat, the way you sleep, the way you think, and the way you feel about yourself. The people who's suffering from depression may experience difficulty with their short term memory. Negative thoughts and thinking also occurs in their mind. They always feel that they are sad and hopeless and the results of these are poor self esteem, excessive guilt and self-criticism. When they reached their serious depression, they have self-destructive thoughts. For some people, because of the negative emotions being experienced, they lack motivation and concentration they no longer enjoy activities that they once found pleasant experienced.

Some types of depression run in families, indicating that a biological vulnerability to depression can be inherited. This seems to be the case especially with bipolar disorder. Studies have been done of families in which members of each generation develop bipolar disorder. The investigators found that those with the illness have a somewhat different genetic makeup than those who do not become ill. However, the reverse is not true. That is, not everybody with the genetic makeup that causes vulnerability to bipolar disorder has the illness. Apparently, additional factors, possibly a stressful environment, are involved in its onset.

Psychotherapy can help treat depression. A significant number (50 percent) of patients with mild to moderate forms of depression obtain substantial symptom relief with psychotherapy. Many patients begin to feel the effects of psychotherapy in the first few weeks. Full remission rather than improvement is the objective of treatment. If there is no symptom improvement at all within 6 weeks, the choice of treatment modality should be reevaluated. For patients who improve but who are still symptomatic after 12 weeks, treatment with medication is a strong consideration.

Maintenance Antidepressant medication is the most commonly known treatment strategy for mental health disorders. How do they work? It depends on the type of antidepressant. Basically, depression medicines alter brain chemistry by effecting neurotransmitters, the brain’s chemical substances which are responsible for various functions within the body. Anti-depressants are also used to treat other psychiatric and medical conditions. To obtain medications for depression, you need a prescription from a doctor, which can be filled at a pharmacy. A common mistake is stopping antidepressant medications without talking to your doctor first. Many people stop because of side effects and never talk to their doctor about other options. Now there are many different types of medicine for depression. Sometimes it may take several tries to find the right anti depression medication for you. The best antidepressant will be prescribed based on many factors such as the symptoms you’re experiencing, other medicines you’re taking, other medical conditions you have and the antidepressant’s potential side effects.