Depression, according to Martin Hodgson, may be one of the most misunderstood mental health issues in the world. Many individuals believe that what is usually referred to as “depression” is the same thing as having bad moods from time to time. They feel that people who are depressed are not ill and should be able to “snap out of it” in the same manner that their bad mood improves. Clinical depression, on the other hand, is more than merely feeling down or worn out for a short period. Patients who experience these symptoms may find themselves unable to manage and in need of professional assistance. Depression is a state of being in which one is unable (Niles, 2019). When depression strikes, there may be no obvious cause for it. The disease runs in families for some people. Some of the triggers are health issues including stress and bereavement as well as the loss of loved ones. Negative spirals are common in which people respond to stress by becoming depressed. In many cases, drinking alcohol only serves to exacerbate the problem. When a person requires home care, they may experience feelings of depression as a result of their diminished sense of self-sufficiency and inability to carry out the activities they once enjoyed.
Depression affects approximately 10% of the population at some point in their lives. Men and women are equally affected by major depression, even though women are more prone to experience mild to moderate depression. Bereaved or lonely seniors may be more prone to depression than others their age (Daré, 2019). Some people have bipolar illnesses, in which their moods shift from euphoria and impulsivity to despair and lethargy in a matter of minutes. The severity of signs and symptoms varies from individual to individual, as well as from one case to the next. A lot can hinge on a person’s current circumstances and the level of assistance they have. In some cases, people with mild to severe depression choose not to seek professional care and instead try to overcome their depression with self-help or the support of family and friends. This can often work, but it can exacerbate the condition by causing strain and stress.
Depression tends to be gradual and worsen over time if left untreated, according to the vast majority of sufferers. Alcohol is a common go-to for people with disabilities, and their social interactions might suffer as a result. Depression can be treated, and many people recover fully. For others, coping may necessitate ongoing assistance, and they may experience depression for an extended period (Daré,2019). Treatment is most effective if it is started early, but this is often challenging. In many cases, mild to moderate depression is not diagnosed as depression until it has a considerable influence on a person’s life. For mild to severe depression, the most common form of treatment is a combination of counseling, problem-solving, and dealing with feelings and anxieties. Dietary, exercise and general health advice is frequently included as part of the service. Medications may be prescribed from time to time.
When depression is moderate to severe, antidepressants are often used in conjunction with psychotherapy, such as cognitive therapy, to help patients analyze their feelings and shift their thinking. Professional psychiatric guidance and support are often necessary for those with severe depression and bipolar illness (Niles, 2019). Local mental health services will be provided by both governmental and non-governmental organizations in every community. The practice and primary health care team of the service user will have extensive knowledge and experience in treating depression. Prescriptions for medication and counseling services may be available.
With the help of community mental health teams, GPs, and mental health specialists, each region will be able to provide better care for those with mental health issues. Specialized assistance and therapies, such as cognitive therapy, can be provided by these teams of specialists. In addition, there will be a variety of support groups and volunteer organizations in each location. The needs of service users, especially those related to mental health conditions like depression, should be thoroughly examined at the outset of their treatment and periodically reevaluated. An agreement with the service user or their family/representative is necessary before any care interventions can be implemented.
Service users with depression should be encouraged to maintain their sense of self-determination and agency, and caregivers should make every effort to provide individualized care plans. For some new patients, they may already be receiving therapy for depression via local mental health services or their primary care physician (PCP). The nursing staff should collaborate with these services and support any existing strategy. Other service recipients may experience depression or relapse into old habits while receiving treatment. If a service user begins to exhibit signs of low mood, worthlessness, or emotional instability, or if they become irritated or close to tears, or if they suddenly find it difficult to concentrate, care workers should be on the lookout for these warning signs.
These symptoms may not always be indicative of depression, but they might serve as a warning sign. There should be an emphasis on encouraging nursing personnel to report these changes, and the service user should be informed of any issues that may arise. All suicide risks should be assessed, and if necessary, medical assistance should be sought by managers. To best assist and encourage a client, staff should spend time listening and talking with them about their concerns and thoughts. Psychiatric nurses or a primary care physician should be contacted if the service user needs additional support. Getting more active, cutting back on drinking, and eating better are all helpful for many people who are depressed. It’s through striving to keep oneself busy and pursuing their interests and social relationships that one learns to deal with. Apathy and a lack of ambition can make this tough for some people.
When possible, caregivers should support and encourage their patients’ hobbies, as well as their nutritional well-being and social ties within the community and with their families and friends. In addition, they can direct clients to local support groups and accompany them when they attend meetings. Men are more likely to have metabolic syndrome than women, both in people with mental problems and in the general population. There were still several physical and mental aspects that were influenced by gender when it came to obesity.
As a result, it is critical to help men with mental illnesses who are obese develop good living choices, as they are more likely to have poorer health scores and fewer daycare visits. Furthermore, schizophrenia patients had a weak sense of reality and a confused self-image. Obese males were shown to be self-aware of their weight since their degrees of body satisfaction were low. However, they were unable to simply change their lifestyle to increase their well-being. This group of patients needs their lifestyle to be improved since, despite their ability to notice their physical characteristics, they will not do so in their current state. Antipsychotic medication is also well-known for causing weight gain in patients.
The Breslow Health Index was found to be negatively correlated with BMI in this research. Individuals with mental illnesses and those in good health can both benefit from healthier practices in their daily lives. People with mental illnesses should seek help to maintain a healthy weight and avoid metabolic syndrome, which can be exacerbated by poor eating habits and lack of activity. Obesity was found to increase the incidence of depression in a comprehensive review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. This question necessitates multivariate and long-term research. People with mental health issues who attend outpatient psychiatric daycare facilities are more likely to be obese than the general population, according to our research. Because of this, people with mental illnesses are more likely to acquire metabolic syndrome or obesity if they don’t make lifestyle and dietary changes.
Co-occurring depression reduced this proportional difference by roughly 90 percent for women with a BMI of 35 or greater compared to women with a BMI of less than 25. It’s also worth noting that, if the overlapping effects do not indicate mediation, controlling for bias may not be necessary. 23 As an example, because obesity raises the likelihood of depression, which in turn increases the cost of medical care, obesity may result in higher medical expenses. If the influence of co-occurring depression were removed, the true link between obesity and healthcare expenses would be underestimated. Although our statistical analyses show a statistically significant interaction effect, the observed level of impact modification is unlikely to be relevant.
There was greater variation than expected by chance in the link between obesity and depression across levels of depression, according to a regression model that predicted proportional changes in expenses. Differences that aren’t clinically or publicly health-related may nonetheless be statistically significant in this large group. It is also crucial to note that a statistical test of interaction may yield different results if the costs are examined on their original scale or after being transformed by a factor of 10 (Chu, 2019). For individuals with higher depression scores (a difference of about $2,000 in overall expenses compared to roughly $1,500 in total costs for those with lower depression scores), however, the absolute change in total costs looked to be greater.
Both obesity and depression were associated with higher healthcare expenses regardless of the type of health service being used. Only a minor part of the additional expenses related to depression treatment, as in prior investigations, could be attributed to depression treatment. Outpatient medications and physician hospitalizations showed a stronger link between obesity and increased healthcare expenses. Depressive symptoms were more closely linked to the financial burden of medical care, particularly when it came to visits to general practitioners and mental health specialists. However, the prices of most individual healthcare categories rose when the degree of depression and BMI rose.
Chronic health issues may explain some of the links between obesity and costs. As an example, obesity might increase a person’s risk of diabetes or heart disease, resulting in an increased need for medical care. Rather than being considered confounding factors, chronic medical issues would be called mediators in this case (Chu, 2019). Depression, chronic disease, and health care expenses are likely to be intertwined in a more complicated manner. Health habits (such as diet, exercise, or cigarette use) or biological factors may raise the risk of chronic diseases in depression (such as neuroendocrine systems or inflammatory pathways). Chronic illness may act as a mediating factor in the link between depression and increased medical expenses in these situations. Another possibility is that depression and a rise in the use of medical services are side effects of long-term sickness. Chronic illness would be seen as confusing in this situation. The use of non-chronic health care may also rise as a result of increased help-seeking for physical problems that cannot be explained or identified.
There is no way to prove a connection between the variables based on this data alone. Healthcare costs and obesity may be linked by an antecedent factor that raises the likelihood of obesity and depression while raising the need for healthcare services. Obesity and depression are both linked to childhood trauma and social disadvantage (Chu, 2019). We should not expect healthcare expenses to go down as a result of efforts to reduce obesity or depression, given this confounding factor. However, prior studies have shown that a reduction in healthcare costs is connected with an improvement in depression. Weight loss after bariatric surgery has been linked to lower healthcare expenses in a few studies, but further research is needed to confirm this link.
These findings include several limitations that must be taken into account when interpreting them. In the first place, our study only included women between the ages of 40 and 65, so we can’t say if the findings apply equally to men or other age categories (Chu, 2019). We can’t rule out the likelihood that obesity, depression, and healthcare expenditures differ among those who didn’t participate in the survey, which was only completed by 62 percent of those who could have taken part. It is important to note that this technique of calculating health care expenses does not take into account changes in depression (natural or induced) over the 12-month period in which it is used.
References
Chu, D. T., Nguyet, N. T. M., Nga, V. T., Lien, N. V. T., Vo, D. D., Lien, N., & Pham, V. H. (2019). An update on obesity: Mental consequences and psychological interventions. Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews, 13(1), 155-160.
Daré, L. O., Bruand, P. E., Gérard, D., Marin, B., Lameyre, V., Boumédiène, F., & Preux, P. M. (2019). Co-morbidities of mental disorders and chronic physical diseases in developing and emerging countries: a meta-analysis. BMC Public Health, 19(1), 1-12.
Niles, A. N., & O’Donovan, A. (2019). Comparing anxiety and depression to obesity and smoking as predictors of major medical illnesses and somatic symptoms. Health Psychology, 38(2), 172.