Melancholia is a major depressive disorder which affects the elderly primarily although children and youngsters can acquire this state. Persons affected with this disorder often find no purpose of meaning in life. This disease often masks itself and is highly resistant to treatment, and accompanies people who have bipolar disorder and want to increase serotonin naturally. In early 1960 there as a kind of Melancholia test which involved administering methadone to patients with melancholia. The cortisol levels rose dramatically in such patients while the same drug when administered in normal persons did not show increase level of cortisol. This test did not prove as a definite detector in melancholia and now days this disorder is diagnosed based or 8 to 9 symptoms out of which if four are positive the person is said to be suffering from Melancholia.
Melancholia Signs
Indicators of melancholia can be in the form of loss of interest and pleasure which were previously favorite activities. Feeling of sadness or being moody in the mornings lead to advice for enhancement for mood. Sometimes patients with melancholia may be insomniac and wake up at odd hours. These depressive tendencies can be due to biological changes or even inherited. That is why there can be no particular Melancholia test. Other symptoms for Melancholia can be manifested in the form of extremes in motor activities. Some may have very slow reactions and other hyper. At times underlying conditions can also cause Melancholia like type 2 diabetes or even drugs. Dementia can also be confused with Melancholia. Melancholia natural remedies can be tried before resorting to extreme medical intervention.
Effects of Melancholia
Another symptom of Melancholia is severe guilt for trivial things which can be as small as dialing a wrong number. The person can carry the guilt on and on. They also become extremely anorexic and in a marked decrease in their libido. While there is no single Melancholia test, there are treatments lines depending on how serious it is. Any disorder when detected early can be treated better. How serious is this disorder depends on the prognosis of the disease. Behavior therapy, rest and counseling may be some lines of treatment. Melancholia natural remedies can also be tried. This includes taking food rich if fruits and vitamins and getting plenty of sleep and rest. Some vitamins are known to be mood enhancers. Psychotherapy often accompanies these medications.
If all these lines of treatment are unsuccessful then electroconvulsive therapy may be the last resort. This includes sedating the patient and sending a mild shock that may last less than a fraction of a second. These shocks are transmitted to the brain by electrodes.
If mood swings and sadness can y symptoms of Melancholia, then one can at least try to suppress them at the initial stages by using Melancholia natural remedies. The early Greeks recognized this symptom and said that it can be caused due to excess black bile in the body. They attributed Melancholia as a biological condition which is accepted in medical terms even today. Some chemical in the brain undergoes a change causing depression and mood swings.