Depression is a mood disorder with symptoms of extreme and persistent sadness, loss of interest in activities and loss of interest in life in general. Having depression is not just a "bad day" or even a "bad week", in order to be diagnosed as "Depression", one needs to have had 5 symptoms of depression for more than 2 weeks.
Depression can be "situational". Meaning related to an event or situation in your life such as: death of a loved one, divorce, job loss, job change, switching schools, moving, a new baby (postpartum depression) or any other significant change is one's life. But sometimes it's not...
Sometimes depression is genetic, sometimes it's brought on by substance abuse or trying to fight an addiction. Depression can signify an imbalance in your brain chemistry. Neurotransmitters such as serotonin are responsible for the communication between brain cells. For those of us who have an imbalance in one or more of these neurotransmitters we can become very susceptible to depression.
Depression is also much more common in those with a family history of depression or other mental illness.
Hormones can also contribute to depression. Women going through menopause with a drop in estrogen are more susceptible to depression, hormonal imbalances related to thyroid issues and others.
Some of the symptoms of depression include:
- Sadness
- Crying
- Thoughts of death
- Feeling like you'd be better off dead
- Suicidal thoughts
- Suicidal plans
- Insomnia
- Sleeping too much
- Loss of appetite
- Eating too much
- Loss of interest in life: social, hobbies, work, relationships, sex
- Weight loss or weight gain
- Irritability or Anger over little things
- Trouble concentrating
- Memory problems
- Anxiety
- Physical pain: such as back pain, headaches etc..
- Procrastination
- Slowed thinking and/or movements
Depression is a very serious mental disorder.
Thanks to those who have been advocating for awareness I think many of us know now what depression is supposed to "look like". Although the list above includes many of the symptoms of depression, depression is not a one size fits all mental illness. Every single person's situation is completely unique and different. Therefor what works for someone else might not work for you or your loved one. Regardless it is to be taken very seriously. Untreated depression is life threatening. It shouldn't take the suicidal death of a celebrity for us to realize the severity of this disease.
No comments:
Post a Comment