Depression in Asian Americans

Depression in Asian Americans
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Depression in Asian American
Depression is a mental illness that affects approximately 350 million people worldwide (World Health Organization., 2012). It affects people's moods and results to antipathy to activities that affect someone's cognitive judgments, emotions, and behavior. The following paper will analyze depression broadly. It will look at the generality of the disorder, symptoms of the illness, diagnosis, and treatment of the disorder. It is significant to the Asian communities in America as a result of their culture. It will go on to look at the recovery process and values related to seeking treatment within the Asian American community.
According to the World Health Organization, depression is marked by a continuous feeling of sadness, lack of interest, low self-worth, lack of appetite and poor concentration. Depression affects everyone, making it the most common mental disorder. Approximately one in five women and one in ten men are affected by depression at one time in their life (World Health Organization., 2012).
Depression is different from the usual feeling of sadness and other brief emotions as a result of life's challenges. Patients experience intense emotions of anxiety, misery, negativity and helplessness, and the feeling usually persists for a long period. Depression is a complex disorder, and it can be triggered by social, psychological and biological factors such as abuse, certain medication, conflict, death or loss, substance abuse, serious illness such as cancer, and major life's events, for example, losing a job. There is increased risk of development of depression in families that have a history of the disease (WHO, 2015).
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, depression can be described as mild, moderate or severe. Depression is not a transient condition. It is a long-term malaise divided into two main categories: major depressive disorder and dysthymia also referred to as chronic depression. Depression can, therefore, be chronic or recurrent, lasting between six months to more than two years. Half the people who get depression experience it again. Depression affects people's lives, and it can interfere with work, school, social relations and family (WHO), 2015).
Asian Americans describe a diverse group of people in America who trace their origin from countries in Asia. According to the United States (US) 2010 Census report, the largest groups of Asian Americans in the US are the Chinese, Filipinos, Indians, Vietnamese, Koreans and Japanese. The Asian communities are very distinct in their culture that is very different within the geographical region of Asia. The Asian culture is complex, and that is further enhanced by their different religion. Depression among the Asian Americans tends to be persistent and is less likely to be treated (Kalibatseva & Leong, 2011)
The lifetime prevalence of depression among the Asian Americans varies. The Chinese American Psychiatric Epidemiological Study (CAPES) shows a relatively low prevalence rate of depression among Chinese Americans. The National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS) studied three Asian ethnic groups: Filipinos, Vietnamese, and Chinese, and a fourth group that included Other Asians. Filipinos were the ethnic group with the lowest prevalence rates (7.2%). Lower prevalence levels were also among Asian ethnic groups non-US born participants than US-born (Kalibatseva & Leong, 2011)
Depression is a common mental illness among the Asian Americans. Intense research over the last 60 years has been done to address the disease. Depression is common in women more than men. The young adults between 15-24 years also test positive for symptoms of depression. Depression among the old is the most common mental illness (Grover, Dutt, & Avasthi, 2010). The disorder is most common among those from poor economic backgrounds and poor nutrition status. It is also shown that depression is more common in the low social class, unemployed, low educational level, individuals living with their nuclear family or living alone and those who have lost their spouses. Regarding gender, it's common to the elderly female. The studies also show that depression increases with the increase in age among the elderly people. Among the young people, depression is common as a result of a traumatic event such as the loss of life of a parent, parental disharmony, serious illness, failure in the examination and the end of relationships. Among the women from the Indian Americans community risk factors such as poverty, being married compared to being single, and pregnancy period. The sex of a child is a great determinant of postnatal depression (Grover, Dutt, & Avasthi, 2010)
Depression usually affects feelings, behavior, and thoughts. The most common symptoms associated with emotions are sadness, hopelessness, moodiness, guilt, angry outburst and loss of interest in family and friends. Depression also affects cognitive judgment such as making decisions, remembering, harmful thoughts, hallucinations and trouble concentrating. In behavior, depression results in withdrawal from people, substance abuse, missing school, job and other obligations. Other symptoms are physical, and they include a change in appetite, weight loss or gain, change in sleeping patterns, tiredness, and unexplained pains. The worst scenario as a result of depression is suicide (World Health Organization., 2012).
Culture plays an important role in how we perceive symptoms of mental disorder. For example, among the Indian Americans, concepts and practices regarding prenatal care and post-natal care have a significant effect on whether a woman will experience post-natal depression. Two-thirds of the depressed people in Asia are also suicidal. Individual with anger attacks exhibited suicide-related phenomena. Studies show that girls' symptoms of depression increase with age. Perceived discrimination has a correlation between stress symptoms among the adults and adolescents (Gautam & Jain, 2010).
Diagnosis is the first step towards appropriate treatment. Diagnosis requires a complete psychological and physical assessment to determine whether one has depression. Diagnosis of depression is according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). For an individual to be diagnosed as depressed, he/she should exhibit more than five symptoms of the illness. The symptoms should also last for more than two weeks. The doctor should also have a high sense of suspicion based on the awareness of c...