Symptoms of Depression
Mental health practitioners have recognized various forms of depression based upon severity of symptoms, duration of symptoms, and the degree to which depression interfers with your activities of daily life. Knowing the signs of depression can help you get through a difficult time or help a family member cope with this potentially debilitating illness. In simplest terms, depression is thought to be an episodic disorder and it is not uncommon for individuals with depression to have a return of symptoms even after very long periods of relatively euthymic moods. The common features of a depressive disorder are as follows:
- feeling depressed or sad all day long for many days
- losing interest in your daily activities, even activities that once brought pleasure
- weight gain or increased appetite and conversely weight loss and decreased appetite
- sleeping problems; either difficulty in falling asleep (insomnia) or in staying asleep. Some people find it difficult to fall back asleep should the awake in the middle of the night. Finally, some people tend to over sleep when depressed.
- low energy levels; depressed people tend to lose their energy to do anything except perhaps watch TV.
- feelings of worthlessness and other thoughts which indicate low self esteem.
- problems with cognitive functions like attention, memory, problem solving
- suicidal thoughts or behaviors
Signs of Depression or Dysthymic Disoder?
What is the difference between Major Depression and Dysthymic Disorder? You can think of dysthymic disorder as being a low grade depression. Major Depression involves one or more depressive episodes described above. In major depression, and individual may have more than half of the signs of depression mentioned above. Whereas, with a dysthymic disorder, and individual may possess fewer symptoms. An individual with dysthymia can have a depressed mood for a long time; it can become almost like a personality trait for them. People close to them will know them as being somewhat downcast, low energy, and sad. Major depression though, tends to occur in a more discrete time frame. It becomes immediately noticeable to someone that they are depressed, and there is no hiding it from family members or friends, that one has fallen into a depressive episode. It is possible to have a diagnosis of dysthymic disorder and then have a concurrent disorder of major depression if there is a noticeble decline in a person's level of functioning and self reported mood.
Depression Treatment
Depending upon how severe the symptoms of depression are, one may benefit from seeing a psychologist, psychiatrist, or other mental health professional. Psychologists can administer psychological tests to clarify your diagnosis and are experts in providing various forms of psychotherapy. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has been proven to be an effective treatment for depression. Not only does this improve behavioral outcomes but it also leads to functional changes in how the brain processes information and emotions. Besides individual therapy, one may benefit from group therapy as it can be therapeutic to hear other's stories and to contribute to the group. Sharing oneself and getting and giving support has been shown to help people improve their self esteem, their sense that they can master their problems, and it just feels good to help others. To find a clinic near you, please visit freementalhealth's clinic directory. The directory contains ratings and reviews for clinics and therapists across the country.
For severe depression, it is wise to consider taking an anti-depressant medication, especially if your level of functioning is very low. Some people are very hesitant to take medicine for a mental health problem even though they have no problems taking medications for other health disorders. A great part of this reluctance has to do with the stigma of depression and for some reason, it often gets manifested as a great resistance to drug treatment. In some states, your psychologist can prescribe you an anti-depressant, while in others, a psychiatrist may be needed. See freementalhealth's drug reference for more info on psychotropic drugs.
Is Everyone Depressed?
We can all honestly say that at one point in our lives, we have experienced a period of "the blues" where nothing in our lives seemed to be going our way. These periods of "the blues" are attributed to the most acknowledged mental condition known as depression. With all that has been written, said and known about depression the average American still has questions about what depression really is.
Clinical depression is so severe and prolonged that it hinders with the functioning of daily life. An individual that demonstrates two weeks of symptoms is clinically diagnosed with "depression," where as an individual showing symptoms for over two years the term "dysthymia" is used. So what are the symptoms and factors that lead to this mental illness.
Apparent symptoms of depression are low mood, loss of interest in daily activities, weight gain or loss, fatigue, agitation, loss of sleep, low self-esteem, inability to concentrate, thoughts of suicide and death. These are the most common but age and sex can also play a vital role in depression.
In terms of age, children exhibit more of the physical symptoms such as eating and sleeping habit changes and agitation. Adolescents experience irritability, restlessness and aggressive behavior. In adults, depression is internalized such as memory loss, low self-esteem and thoughts of suicide. As for the sex factor, women more often than men tend to experience depression although men combine depression with drugs and or alcohol, which can obscure the diagnosis.
Other important factors that put individuals at greater risk for depression are family history, medical illness and stress. Stress is said to be the most common cause of depression attributed to stress brought on by loss such as death or divorce. Unfortunately, there is no one reason as to why individuals experience depression but there are steps that one can take to combat this mental condition.
Treatment of any form of depression should begin with a thorough medical evaluation to rule out any possible biological factors. A balancing of other factors and their severity leads to a treatment plan. Once a systematic approach is followed, a majority of depression cases can be helped within a matter of weeks. Delay is the biggest enemy to recovery, so if you believe you are suffering with depression do not hesitate to act, for things will only get worst the longer you wait.