What Is Depression?
Depression is a medical illness. It is marked by sadness, inactivity, difficulty in concentration, feelings of dejection, shame and hopelessness, and a significant increase or decrease in appetite or sleeping. Sometimes, suicidal tendencies are also part of this illness.
How Do I Know It's Depression?
While many people will feel sadness at some point in their life, clinical depression is is a state of sadness that lasts more than two weeks, and has symptoms that interfere with daily living such as apathy, boredom, or emptiness. More severe symptoms are frequent crying, suicidal thoughts, or self injurious behavior such as cutting or burning one's self.
When Do I Need A Doctor For Depression?
If the depression lasts longer than two weeks, you probably need help from a physician or therapist to fix it. It won't fix itself, and it is not something you can just 'snap out of'. Medication is not always necessary, but treatment is.
What Are the Symptoms of Depression?
The severity of depression symptoms varies with individuals and also varies over time. Some of them may be as follows:
- You feel hopeless or pessimistic much of the time
- You feel like slipping away from you -- time is moving too fast.
- You have extremes in social behavior that are different than you used to feel: You either don't want to see anyone, or you are afraid to be alone.
- You feel worthless.
- You feel numb or empty much of the day.
- You feel guilty most of the time.
- You feel anxious or sad most of the time.
- You have little energy and you don't want to do anything.
- You feel overwhelmed by even the smallest task.
- You spend a lot of time thinking about what is wrong with yourself or waht could go wrong with everything around you.
- You stopped doing activities you used to enjoy doing.
- You have no confidence in yourself: you don't feel like you can do anything right.
- You sometimes feel that there is no purpose to life and it is not worth it to be alive.
- You have extremes in sleep patterns: you sleep very little or not at all, or you sleep all the time.
- You cry frequently because you feel so sad.
- You have gained or lost a lot of weight.
- Your mind feels like it is in a fog, and it is difficult to get anything done.
- You want to kill yourself and see no point in being alive. (If this is the case, call 911 or your local emergency room now. You need help immediately.)
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