Depression Paper

No one is immune from depression. We all can have a period in our lives that we can suffer from depression. Depression not only affects the patient; it affects everyone who is around the patient. Some famous people who have suffered from bipolar depression disorder are Edgar Allen Poe, Jimi Hendrix, and Theodore Roosevelt. Some of the most famous people who have helped shape our world are Sigmund Freud, Sir Issac Newton, George Washington had faced unipolar depression disorder (Sherma, 2006). Bipolar and Unipolar are both depression disorders however, they are slightly different. Let's explore the difference, the causes, and the treatments of both bipolar and unipolar depression disorders.

People who suffer from bipolar disorder suffer from depression that alternates with periods of mania (Comer, 2005). Mania is excessive or unreasonable enthusiasm. People who have this disorder go from having moods happiness to moods of irritability, anger, and depression. Those who suffer from this disorder experience very sad moods and very happy moods with no level or middle ground. When a patient is in a really low mood, it is the most dangerous for them because he or she may have many thoughts of suicide (WebMD, 2012). These mood swings may or may not be as dramatic, however, they are frequent. Although doctors do not completely know the causes of this disorder, there are some experts who believe that it may be hereditary. Evidence does show that the environment and lifestyle has an effect on the severity of bipolar disorder, but it is more likely caused by the imbalances of chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters (Comer, 2005).

Symptoms of bipolar are lack of sleep, feeling of hopelessness, change in eating habits, decrease in self-esteem, and loss of interest in activities. They also have long periods of feeling overly happy, high risk behavior, jumpy, extreme irritation, are easily distracted, and impulsive behavior. During the period of his or her high, happy stage, they may not take too much care in their drinking habits, such as drinking too much. They may also have excessive drug use, large numbers of sex partners, and shopping sprees that they may not be able to pay for later. When they are in severe depression or mania mood swings, they may experience psychotic episodes such as hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia (NIMH, 2012).

Psychotherapy and medications is the best treatments for bipolar disorders (WebMD, 2012). The medications that are usually prescribed are ones that controls sleeplessness, hyperactivity, irritability, and hostility. Psychotherapy is important to the patient because the patient is able to talk about their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that causes them discomfort and problems (WebMD, 2012). The patient will most likely be on medications and have therapy for the rest of his or her life.

Unipolar, on the other hand, is just depression with no history of mania. It is known to be major depression, major depressive disorder or clinical depression (Sherma, 2006). Patients who have this disorder suffer severe and long-lasting effects. They may lose interest in their everyday life, such as carrying out daily task, and not able to work because they are not able to perform certain task or tasks. They eventually isolate themselves and become withdrawn