How to Handle Depression

A friend of mine recently went through an intense breakup, and he has since spiraled into a pretty heavy state of depression. He has told me that facing the winter as a single person terrifies him, and since he feels helpless to do anything about it, he has sunk into depression. From what I can tell, he is starting to show some of the 7 symptoms of depression such as a sullen mood, lack of energy, and loss of appetite. This last one is particularly serious because he also happens to be diabetic. He started to show the signs of depression almost immediately after he and his girlfriend broke up.

This is actually a fairly common cause of depression among men and women. It has been reported that depression rates tend to be higher in the divorced and separated, while lower for people in relationships. This does not mean that folks in relationships can not get depressed; it is just that the data seems to suggest that the number of occurrences is lower. In some cases a person may not know if they are depressed or not, and may submit to a depression test to see if they have any and all of the major symptoms. If they do, then they will usually have some options as to how to treat it. Some folks take drugs, others see a therapist, while others do both.

Men and women experience depression differently. For married men symptoms of depression may begin to show if they feel like they are failing their family. Many men feel that the best way they can have fulfillment is if they can adequately provide for their family. To reverse the situation, it may be that the same man has a full time job, but he hates it. In this case, signs of depression may begin to show because he feels trapped in a place that he abhors, but feels it is his duty to remain in.

For women, there are a variety of factors as well that can lead to depression. Postpartum depression can be major event for a woman to go through. One important thing for any woman to keep in mind is that postpartum depression is not a disorder, and is actually quite natural. There are, of course, cases where the depression is overwhelming for the new mother, and they may choose to seek treatment for it. Another issue that can lead to depression in a woman is when they enter into menopause. This is another case wherein they do not have a disorder, but are going through a natural process for the female body.

In short, both men and women can experience depression, and in some cases for very different reasons. It can be from a loss of a job, to a long stretch of unemployment. Or it can be from biological processes taking place in the body. There are cases, though, where depression is actually based on a chemical imbalance in the depressed person that may require drugs and therapy to overcome.