Depression is a severe psychiatric disorder that should not be taken lightly and is sadly frequently under- diagnosed. It is an illness that forces significant and realistic public health concerns upon us. The impairment and interruption in daily functioning that depression causes can lead to devastating socio-economic burden.
Depression today is the 4th leading cause of worldwide Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY's), which are the sum of life years that are lost due to premature mortality and years lived with disability adjusted for severity.
Researchers have estimated that by the year 2020, major depression will be a disease that is second only to ischemic heart disease in the devastation of disability experienced by those who suffer from it, and according to epidemiological studies major depression has a lifetime prevalence of 17.1%
Which adds up to a 30-day prevalence of 4.9%- This is not a comforting statistic to look at!
Now the unfortunate truth is that women suffer double as much as men from the spidering ailment we have come to know as depression . However, in most countries and throughout the world it has been found that men tremendously exceed women in the rate of actual committed suicides as men are much more likely to use aggressive and forceful methods to commit suicide compared to women who frequently attempt suicide by taking prescription and/ or non-prescription medications that may result in harm but do not in immediate death.
Furthermore, the rate of untreated depressive disorders among men is high as many men are reluctant to seek help because of the “strong” male gender role that does not allow help-seeking and the appearance of weakness . Men also tend to not disclose their feelings but instead act out their depressive symptoms in a manner that has been hypothesized to represent a specific syndrome that is now known as the ''male depressive syndrome''
Having said that, women and men share the same core depression symptoms that should raise a red flag if seen in someone, which include:
- Depressed mood
- Decreased drive
- Anhedonia
- Changes in appetite (increased or decreased)
- Sleep disturbances
- Feelings of guilt, shame and unworthiness
- Concentration problems & forgetfulness
An Important point to mention is that sadness is expressed differently by both sexes: women tend to show more affective volatility, most likely as a coping mechanism or a social signal, whereas men tend to have higher levels of affective rigidity, resistance and blunted affect. Anger attacks are usually of a sudden onset that is not too different from panic attacks. Anger and rage are experienced by the people who themselves do regard theses reactions as highly exaggerated and inappropriate.
Anger attacks may result from suppressed feelings and unresolved psychosocial conflicts, which have to be expressed in some manner. During these attacks symptoms such as palpitations, dyspnoea, flushing, giddiness, sweating, tremor increased anxiety and feelings of loss of control are frequently encountered by people.
How To Treat Depression With Anger Attacks?
If you find yourself nodding your head in agreement as you relate to this article Psychiatrists today rely on a range of drugs with antidepressant effects. It has been suggested that depressed patients with anger attacks tend to respond better to treatment with SSRIs (selective Antoninus's reuptake inhibitors) than depressed patients without anger attacks . This goes hand in hand with anger management therapy and behavioral modification sessions.
This article is geared to help those who are struggling with undiagnosed depressive anger comes to a more definitive conclusion that this is an illness that requires medical treatment. So, Seek help and learn how to live well.
